Summer 2007 - Day 7

Day 7

Back to visiting castles. First stop, Lichtenstein Castle. Lichtenstein castle is a fairy tale castle built on a steep rock overlooking the Echaz Valley. It was constructed between 1840 and 1842 by Count Wilhelm of Urach. Its name, Lichtenstein, means light stone.

On the tour of the castle we couldn't take photos inside. We saw a musket that used to take 2 men to fire it and it could only fire 3 shots per hour.

There was also the world's longest champagne glass. This glass was over 6 feet tall and needed 3 people to use it. One person to hold the glass, one person to drink and one person to hold the drinker.

We saw the painting of the "Crossbow Archer of Lichtenstein". Whereever you stand in the room the archer is looking at you.

After Lichtenstein castle we next visited Hohenzollern Castle which sits atop an 855 metre hill.

The original castle, thought to have been built early 11 th century, was completely destroyed in an 18 month siege in 1423. A second castle was then built in 1454. Owners of the castle changed frequently and the castle was eventually used as a military base by the Austrians. By the end of the 18 th century the castle had fallen into ruin.

The castle was then rebuilt around 1819 and, over the years, was filled with works of art and memorabilia of Prussia and its rulers.

Maintaining the castle, even today, represents a bit of a challenge as the castle stand on the "Zollern Trench". This is one of Germany's most dangerous earthquake regions. An earthquake occurred in 1978 which caused millions in damage.

Castle Courtyard.

As usual, we couldn't take photos inside the castle.

During the tour of the castle we heard the legend of the "White Lady". Agnes wanted to marry the Prince who told her that "4 eyes" stood in the way of their marriage. She assumed that he meant her 2 children. So she killed them. The Prince was so horrified by what she had dome that he called off the wedding.

He had, in fact, been referring to her parents. She also realized the mistake she had made and joined a convent. Upon her death she began to haunt the castle. I believe the "White Lady" is a bit of a regular haunter of castles around the place.

Went inside St Michael's chapel which was consecrated in 1461.

Saint George slaying the dragon.

Our next stop was the town of Nordlingen where we saw St Georg's Church with the Daniel Tower. The church dates from the 15th century and if you want to climb the 350 steps to the top of the tower, then you do get a nice view.

We finished touring for the day and spent the night in Ingolstadt.

Summer 2007 - Day 6

Day 6

We spent the day in the Black Forest surrounded by acres of woodland and cuckoo clock shops. The forest is also apparently filled with werewolves, sorcerers and witches. Didn't see any but I imagine the dwarfs keep them under control.

We bought ourselves a cuckoo clock and had it posted home or it would have taken up most of our boot. The making of cuckoo clocks has been developed in the Black Forest since the mid 1700's. Prior to that wood, silver and ore were the mainstays of the region. The main industry, now, is tourism.

We visited Triberg and gasped at the wonders of modern tourism. We then went and visited the waterfall. We paid our entrance fee, bought a bag of peanuts for the kids to feed the squirrels and nutcrackers and followed the crowds.

The Gutach Waterfall is the highest in Germany with a drop of 160 metres. The waterfall has 2 turbines and the electricity produced can power almost 1000 homes.

This photo was taken at the entrance to the waterfall.

The kids fed the squirrels and nutcrackers. Photo a bit blurry as these guys didn't believe in staying still.

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Other wildlife.

A fairly relaxing day.

Summer 2007 - Day 5

Day 5

Today, we spent the day in Stuttgart. The main attraction in Stuttgart is the Mercedes Benz museum.

Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz separately pursued the development of the automobile. Daimler focused on the development of the internal combustion engine as the source of power and Benz sought to develop the automobile.

Daimler filed a patent in 1885 for his vertical single-cylinder four-stroke engine, known as the Grandfather Clock.

Karl Benz used the four-stroke engine to power the Benz patent motor car. It's maiden journey was in 1886.

Daimler also produced the first motorised truck in 1898.

Daimler founded his company, Daimler Motoren Gessellschaft in 1890 and Benz founded Benz & Cie in 1883. One of DMG's best customers was Emil Jellinek. Jellinek began participating in motor races in 1899 in a car he bought from DMG. He used the pseudonym "Mercedes" - his daughter's name.

"Mercedes" became a product name in 1900 and was used to brand the new 35 hp model which enjoyed a lot of success. The 40 hp Mercedes Simplex followed 15 months later.

Daimler and Benz developed engines for aircraft before WWI. These didn't supply enough power at high altitude so the supercharger was developed. This concept was then used on their automobiles. In 1926, DMG and Benz & Cie merged to form Daimler-Benz AG. The focus was on performance and the supercharged Mercedes-Benz 500 K & 540 K were produced.

After WWII, Daimler-Benz developed the 300 SL sports car. The height of this car did not allow for the use of conventional doors. The Gullwing door was adopted into the design.

Request were made for an open-top version of the 300 SL, so the roadster was produced.

Also on display was the car driven by Princess Dianna. She was the first member of the Royal family to drive a foreign car. In the background is the Popemobile used the first time in 1980 when Pope John Paul II visited Germany. The perspex canopy was replaced with bullet-proof glazing after 1981 assassination attack.

After we left Stuttgart we drove to Tubingen.

Summer 2007 - Day 4

Day 4

We drove from Wertheim to Bad Mergentheim to see the castle and museum of the Teutonic Order. Apparently we were the first Australian visitors.

The Teutonic Order or Teutonic Knights or Teutonic Knights of the Hospital of St Mary the Virgin began as a charitable order in 1189. The knights started out looking after German pilgrims in Jerusalem. During the siege of Acre, Palestine, by Richard the Lionheart in 1191, the order ran a hospital for wounded German knights.

In 1198, the order was transformed into a religious, military order of knights. The order received support from Pope Celestine III and Innocent III and grants of land in Jerusalem, Germany and elsewhere. With these the order gained power and prestige very quickly.

In 1525 the German Master moved the knights to Mergentheim. They remained there until 1809. Napoleon dissolved the order in 1809 and re-distributed their lands. The order has been administered from Vienna ever since.

The knights wore a white habit with a black cross. The cross was used as a model for military decorations such as the Iron Cross. The head of the order was known as the Grand Master.

Lutherans, Reformed Church and Catholics, belonging to the order, all had equal rights. The Grand Master was always a Catholic.

This is just a small part of the history of the Teutonic Knights. Photos of the museum and castle.

Inside the castle church.

We then drove from Bad Mergentheim to Rothenburg. Rothenburg is where the Romantic Road and Castle road intersect. These are tourist routes and we mainly followed the Romantic road.

Just outside of Rothenburg.

We visited the Medieval Crime Museum and saw the imaginative ways people were punished in days past. Couldn't take photos but bought the book.

The largest church in the city is the Church of St Jacob. It was constructed from 1311 to 1484.

The main altar - The Altar of the Twelve Apostles.

This is the Town Hall (Rathaus) which was built from 1572 to 1578.

This the Meat and Dance Hall. Butchers used downstairs and the upper floor was where citizens of Rothenburg celebrated their festive occasions.

In front of the Hall is the St George's Fountain. As Rothenburg is on a plateau, water had to be piped from nearby mountain ranges. Their location was a secret so that the pipelines could not be cut off in times of siege. In Medieval times, this area was where the gallows, the pillory and the hoisted cage were set up. The shepherds also used to dance around the well each and were credited with ridding Rothenburg of the plague. This tradition continues each year - the dancing not the plague.

Back in the car and off to Stuttgart.

SUMMER 2007 - Day 3

Day 3

First stop today, Wurzburg. The Marienberg (St Mary's Hill) Fortress, overlooks Wurzburg and is its oldest landmark. The fortress was the home of the Prince-Bishops for around 5 centuries. The Prince-Bishops ruled until 1719.

Entry to the castle was via the Scherenberg Gate. In the background is St Kilian's Tower.

St Mary's Church and the Keep. The church was built at the start of the 11 th century. It was originally used for baptisms, then the burial place of Frankish apostles and then the church of the princes in 1200.

The Keep is the stronghold of the castle. It's a bit of a place of last resort. If you end up in the keep then the battle isn't going overly well.

This area once housed extensive artillery which was used to subdue the masses below. From around 1523 the area was converted to a garden. The garden is in the shape of a ship with pavilions at each end. The aristocracy used to slurp wine as they looked down on their loyal subjects. (After having been subdued with artillery they were probably fairly agreeable by then).

The prince-bishops lived in Marienberg Fortress until the start of the 18 th century. The prince-bishop Schonborn then decided that he needed something more that befitted his status. Quite a bit more. He had the Wurzburg Residence constructed between 1720 and 1744.

Couldn't take photos but we bought the book - we had no choice. This photo is from one of the books in the souvenir shop.

The staircase (treppenhaus) is rather impressive. Above the staircase is a huge unsupported vault (ceiling). At the time, no one thought the vault would hold and there were offers from other architects to hang themselves, at their own expense, should the vault hold. The ceiling didn't collapse and it also survived the 1945 bombing.

The vault was decorated with a single painting to cover the 30 x 18 metre area. The fresco, "The Four Continents" (at the time only Europe, America, Asia and Africa were known) is meant to be the largest ever produced.

Inside the Court Chapel (Hofkirche)

We ended the day in Wertheim, where the river Tauber flows into the river Main. Our hotel was on the banks of the river Tauber. This view is from the opposite side of the river to our hotel.

Overlooking the town are the remains of the castle of Wertheim.

It was a long, uphill climb but there was a lovely view of the town.

Despite the castle being only ruins, there was still a restaurant at the top. After the climb, we all needed a drink and we then stayed for dinner.

Summer 2007 - Day 2

Day 2

Today we drove from Cologne to Marburg. We visited Marburg Castle and Elisabeth's Church.

Elisabeth's church was built by the Teutonic Knights in honour of Elisabeth of Hungary (not the Queen of England). This Elisabeth was married at the age of 12 to King Ludwig IV. Germany is chockers with Kings that are called Ludwig. Elisabeth didn't think much of royal life and was more interested in caring for the sick and poor.

After her husband died, Elisabeth was booted out and had to fend for herself. She started a hospital and gave everything she had to the sick and poor. She died at the age of 24 in 1231. Her relatives, who bagged her when she was alive, sought her canonization. This was agreed to in 1235. The Teutonic Knights then built a church over the grave of St Elisabeth.

The church is supposed to have been a model for the cathedral in Cologne.

Elisabeth built her hospital at the foot of the fortress. The Landgraves of Hesse enlarged the fortress into a fortified castle and lived there until 1604. Hesse is a state of Germany which includes Marburg. The landgraves are the Counts, Princes etc.

Next stop - Wartburg.

Wartburg came into being in 1067. It was founded by another Ludwig. This fellow was called Ludwig de Springer (Ludwig the Jumper). Construction of the castle began around 1155. In 1521, Martin Luther sought refuge at Wartburg after being excommunicated by the pope. He translated the New Testament into German during this time.

Photo of the drawbridge - the only access to the castle.

After our visit to Wartburg we drove to our hotel in Bad Salzungen. We stayed in a hotel by the lake.