The Lost Fort
My Travel and History Blog, Focussing mostly on Roman and Mediaeval Times
Happy Halloween
It hasn't really found its way to Germany yet, at least I could not get any Halloween candy anywhere, and the houses aren't decorated with vampire toothed pumpkins and green plush Cthulhus. But most people know about it and some kids figured it's a way to get some sweets. That's why I wanted chocolate spiders.
This one is real, a tarantula in the Snake Farm Schladen.
Fortunately behind glass. And here's what happens to people who don't give treats.
Mediaeval pillory, HansteinThe holes for the wrists were pretty wide, and I have slender hands, so I got them through without problems. The head was another matter. The pillory was locked, probably to make sure no one would get hurt playing with it.
More Castle Ruins - Hanstein
This post is scheduled for a rewrite.
I could see the towers of the castle above the trees for years without being able to visit it. In the 80ies, my parents lived in a small town south of Göttingen, and both road and railway between the towns ran close to the German border. Castle Hanstein was on the East German side and thus out of reach.
Hanstein seen from the southeastOf course, we had visited it as soon as the passage was open, and it was pretty impressive already then. Efforts to prevent further decay and some renovations had been going on, partly financed by West Germany. Today, more parts are accesible, and the great hall has been repaired and is used for concerts sometimes. So when after several days of autumn mists the sun played nice yesterday, I decided to give it another look, accompanied by my faithful camera.
The road meandering through some villages no longer is East German concrete with cracks, but it still is small and a better fit for the almost extinct Trabis than for a Mercedes. I left the driving to my father who came along. *grin*
Inner curtain wall and connected hall with natural stone foundationsThe Hanstein is quite different from the
Plesse. For one, while it has two curtain walls, there is no clearly distinguished outer ward, but the entire living complex is behind the inner wall. Second, a lot more of the buildings remains, an interesting maze of roofless walls in various stages of crumbling. Often two to three storeys are left, and some of the towers stand amost to full height.
One of the many views from inside the bailey ruinsCastle Hanstein had been in possession of Otto of Northeim and later Henry the Lion of Saxony in the 11th and 12th century. At that time, the inner bailey was still a wooden construction. In 1308, the brothers Heinrich and Lippold of Hanstein were granted the right to build a new stone castle. They had to pay for it, and in exchange the family held the hereditary right to the fief. The family still exists today.
The construction of the Hanstein was finished in 1414; afterwards only small changes took place. The castle was partly destroyed in the Thirty Years War, and while repairs were made, it yet was abandoned in 1683. I suppose one of the reasons was the changing life style - castles no longer offered sufficient protection, and palaces in the valleys were more comfortable and probably warmer. Constance owes me some really good chocolate cookies for the pics - there was an icy blast and my hands got
very cold. :)
A view of the inner towers, main hall and various annexes from the westWhen interest in the old times grew in the 19th century, the main hall of the Hanstein was rebuilt in 1840, and further repair went on in the early 20th century, and then again since 1985.
Despite the cold wind, my father and I had a blast with the ruins. So many interesting motives for pics, and few tourists around to spoil them.
Here's a bit more about the history of the Hanstein.
Rain Again
After almost three weeks of Golden October, the nasty version of autumn is back with a vengeance, rain, storm, snow and cold. Much as I like the snow, I'm afraid if we have winter in October, we're going to get spring in January, much like we had summer in April and autumn in July and August this year.
I would mind less if the owner of my appartment buidling hadn't decided to give the balconies a new layer of Kemperol right now. The work gets delayed and the damn stuff won't dry.
The picture to the right is me in the rain, taken on the Limes path Walldürn in the Odenwald forest. At that point I had decided to grin at the rain instead of getting pissed. And since my shoes were already soaked (because I have some 25 pair and yet forgot to bring decent ones), I didn't mind wading through more wet grass and puddles. I'm a tough German, not a spoiled Roman who needs hots baths and hypocaust heating. *grin*
BTW, the Friday snippet will be late. I got delayed by a trainwreck.
Ferry on the Weser River
It's one way to get from one side of the Weser to the other. Those ferries have been more frequent in former days; I remember a tour along the river as teenager where we crossed by ferry on several points to get to interesting places on both sides.
Nowadays there are some more bridges, but mostly, it's longer ways to get to a bridge because many of the ferries are out of service. This time there are only hikers and cyclists on the ferry, but it can carry several cars.
Setting offThis is one of the few ferries left; at a place called Gieselwerder. It's a so called
Strömungsfähre (current ferry) because it works by the power of the water current alone, without a motor. The ferry is connected to a thick wire across the river, and by angling the connecting lines it is directed so that the current will drive it sort of riverwards/shorewards. I suck at physics thus I can't explain it better. The crossing takes less than ten minutes with the current as strong as this wet summer. The ferry is not used in winter.
In the middle of the riverIt makes one wonder how the Romans crossed. Did they build ponton bridges or did they use ferries? The Batavians under Chariovalda crossed by swimming, together with their horses, during the battle of Idistaviso, that much we know, but they're Germans, not Romans (though on the wrong side in that war, lol).
Close to the other shoreI had no need to cross, or I'd have taken the chance to get some pics from the middle of the river. I took the pictures from the eastern, the Gieselwerder side.
Königslutter Cathedral - Exterior Decorations
The construction of the Imperial Cathedral Königslutter was begun in 1135 by the Emperor Lothar of Süpplingenburg and finished by his grandson Henry the Lion of Saxony in 1170.
The cathedral is surrounded by trees which makes photographing a bit tricky, but it led to some atmospheric pictures.
East choir and transept
I like the play of foliage and the glimpses of the building, like a past hidden in an enchanted forest. It is easier to imagine people in Mediaeval garments on the scene than with churches surrounded by modern houses and parking lots.
North side and crossing tower
To the left of the crossing tower (the part belonging to the east choir) you can distinguish more ornaments particularly under the roofs, while the naves to the right have simpler lines; they date from the younger period. The difference can be more clearly seen inside. Unfortunately, the choir is undergoing restoration and has been closed up.
West side seen from a hill
The western part is a typical Romanesque
Westwerk, massive, with small windows and short towers, almost a fortress. It's impressive when you stand in front of it. Later westworks like Speyer Cathedral have already begun to break up the solid walls with ornaments and rosette windows, a process that would continue in the Gothic style.
Apsis of the east choir
For the eastern part of the cathedral, Italian masons were employed. The Hunting Frieze outside the apsis of the choir is most probably the work of Nicolaus of Verona. It shows a number of hunting related scenes, and the one in the very center is the curious motive with the hares binding the hunter.
Imperial Cathedral Königslutter, Hunting Frieze, detail
And those below must be plotbunnies taking over. *grin*
Another detail from the Hunting Frieze; the hares binding the hunter
Mediaeval humour or the philosphoy of the Upside Down World where Creation is out of order - those who have read Eco's
Name of the Rose may remember some of the book illustrations are described to show similar motives.
Königslutter Cathedral, Lion Gate
The lions of the Lion Gate display the same style of sculpture. The lions are 19th century replicas; the time gnawed originals are kept inside.
Closeup of the right side lion.
The originals date from the 11th century and were created by Italian masons.
Closeup of the left lion.
They look like they were crossbred with the Cheshire Cat, though. :-)
Some decorations of the cloister can be found
here.
Leaves and Monsters
The northern side of the cloister annexed to the Imperial Cathedral Königslutter belongs to the older part created by masons from northern Italy under the lead of Nicolaus of Verona.
With its ten different pillars, this part of the cloister is very unusual in German Mediaeval architecture. Every pillar is fully ornamented, and the capitals abound in delicate stone mason work.
Königslutter Cathedral, cloisterThe akanthus leaves shown below are a variant of an ornament form already used on classical Greek pillars of the so-called Corinthian style.
Closeup of an akanthus decorated capitalThe half pillars at the outer wall between the windows show ornaments as well. Some of them display the abundant Mediaeval monster style, creatures put together of several animals, and demons. The one below is my favourite. It is also the best preserved.
Demon capitalSome years ago, the cloister has been renovated, some of the pillars cleaned and the windows glassed to avoid further destruction because of environment influences. The cloister had no glass windows in the Middle Ages.
A Lake of Darkness and Mystery
I finally got some pics from one of my favourite places in the Harz, the Oderteich reservoir. It is the oldest in Germany (built 1715-1722 for the needs of mining) and until the end of the 19th century it was the largest as well, but today its 1,700,000 cubic metres pale in comparison with reservoirs like the Edersee.
Oderteich on a September evening
The Oderteich is no longer used for mining water supply and has become a recreational area. It is part of the National Park and
not touristically developed. There are no places selling ice cream, no walkways easing the way into the water, and the parking lot is a mile off.
Dark water and gathering clouds
Moreover, the Oderteich lies in the higher mountains of the Harz range, and the water remains cold even in summer (it's about 14°C now). It comes from the surrounding moors and has a brownish colour that makes the lake look dark and forbidding.
A glimpse of sunshine
Therefore, it's a quiet place with few people hanging around even on sunny days. When I'm not bathing or sitting at the beach reading, I often walk in the woods and moors around it, playing with plots in my mind and breathing the clean, fragrant air.
A tree fallen into the lake
This year, after a rainy summer and a stormy September, the lake holds more water than ever before. The Oderteich reservoir has no floodgates, so if it gets much higher, they'll have to close the road across the dam. Already now, some trees have fallen into the water, their roots been washed out.
Here are some more pics: the dark, cold lake in the Harz mountains. It's larger than the lake in front of the Gates of Moria and the Mirrormere, but it reminds me a bit of those locations.
Reflections in Mirrormere. Maybe there is a crown in those depths.
Since the Harz is rich in ore, a family of busy dwarves would have thrived there. There are stories about them, and other creatures, and no sane man wanders those ways in the dark.
When darkness falls, the kraken will appear.
I've never been there at night. Maybe I should go some day.