A Sunny Day in Kilmartin Glen - Dunadd Hill Fort
One morning I took the bus from Oban to Kilmartin Glen and asked the driver to drop me off somewhere in walking distance of Dunadd Hill Fort. That's the nice thing about busses in the UK, the local ones will drop you off and pick you up where you want.

Dunadd Hill Fort
Kilmartin Glen is a place rich in ancient remains, mostly cairns and standing stones, though I didn't have time to see more than a few of those. What I had on my list first of all was the ancient hill fort of Dunadd. It is part of a hill strewn with boulders that sits in the middle of the Mòine Mhòr, the Great Moor, near the village of Lochgilphead, offering a good view to all sides and thus making for a perfect defensive position. It's no easier to get to the summit today than it was in former times. I didn't bring my trusty walking stick which proved to be a bit of a problem. Fortunately, there was a nice couple better equipped for hiking that lent me a spare one. They also gave me a ride to Kilmartin later albeit it was out of their way - there's still a lot of hospitality and kindness to strangers in Scotland.

The way up the hill (one of the easier parts)
Dunadd has been occupied since the Iron Age and later became the seat of the kings of Dál Riata. As so often in early history, dates and details are not known or not agreed upon, or both, but it is mostly assumed that Dunadd became the main seat of the Dálriatan kingdom in the 5th century under Fergus MacErc and his two brothers, invaders from Ireland. That is if we don't consider the migration of Cairpre around 400 as the starting point of the Dálriatan kingdom. But he probably didn't hold Dunadd.

The famous footprint (left) and basin (middle)
At the time of the Dálriatan kings, there was a stone fort on top of the hill, defended by natural rocks and perhaps some additional man made ones. It was no fun trying to climb that place when people threw pointy and heavy things at you - it's difficult enough without that. Which doesn't keep tourists from going there and walking through photo shots. What remains of the old ruins is mostly the famous stone with the carved footprint and basin, which are said to have been used during the inauguration ceremony for the kings of Dál Riata, though we don't know any details. It's assumed from the interrpetation of an ogham inscription that the king had to step into the footprint, but for what reason can only be guessed.

The summit with remains of the ancient fort (and tourists)
Legend also has it that Dunadd was the original place of the Stone of Scone which was later brought to Scone near Perth where it was used in the coronation ceremony for the kings of the Scots until Edward I took it to Westminster as booty in 1296. The stone was returned to Scotland in 1996 and is now kept in Edinburgh Castle. But no one can be sure where that Stone originally came from though it has made quite a career for a mysterious slab of red sandstone.

View over Kilmartin Glen
According to the Annals of Ulster (AU 741.10) in 736, "Óengus son of Fergus, king of the Picts, laid waste the territory of Dál Riata and sized Dunadd [...] and bound in chains two sons of Selbaig, king of Dál Riata." The names of the sons are Dúngal and Feradach. The fort may have been difficult to conquer but not impregnable. Óengus mac Fergusa was a powerful king of the Picts for some twenty years who expanded his realm to a considerable extent. He is mentioned also in sources outside the Irish/Scottish ones, like the Welsh Annales Cambriae and the Historia Regum Anglorum. Got some attention, the guy. There are discussions about the importance of Óengus' connections to Irelands and their importance for the merging of Picts and Dálriatans before Cinaéd mac Alpin. I'm tempted to get back to Óengus and the unfortunate sons of Selbaig who obviously had to do without the support from Ireland that had aided in the rise of the kingdom of Dál Riata.

View to the other side of the glen (you can see the bogs here)
Another important time in the history of Dunadd was the reign of Cináed mac Alpin, King of Dál Riata (also called King of the Scots) finally defeated the Picts and merged both people in the kingdom of that would later become Alba. Cináed claimed descent from both royal lines, though his ancestry is not clear from the sources. The Picts had subsequently lost power, to a good extent due to the Viking attacks, while Cináed obviously had a better hand in dealing with them. The official date for the end of the Pictish kingdom is 843, and for some years Dunadd was the political centre of the new, 'united' kingdom, until Cináed moved his seat to Scone (and maybe took the mysterious Stone with him). Cináed is another historical character who deserved his own blogpost. *sigh*

The path downhill, with another view of the glen
There have been three official excavations in Dunadd which brought to light brooches and metal workings that can easily be associated with the seat of a king. Some of those, plus carved stones and other items from the Iron Age and Pictish and Dál Riatan times are displayed in a museum in Kilmartin. 
Read more! ¶ 6:55 PM 1 comments

  The Books I'm Expecting in 2010
OK, maybe not, but it would be fun to make such a series. I blame it - again - on Susan who resurrected the idea from last year. And I won't take any responsibility in case this spreads again. Blame it on the procrastination virus or something, lol.





































Some books I'm really expecting are the third installments of Ben Kane's Forgotten Legion Chronicles and Harry Sidebottom's Warrior of Rome trilogy; both some fun Roman action stuff. Plus the last volume in Steven Erikson's vast Fantasy epic Malazan Book of the Fallen, and if we're really lucky, GRR Martin may finish the 5th book in his A Song of Ice and Fire epic. History buffs seriously should read that one - there is some sort of conclusion after book three in case you're worried about starting an unfinished series. 
Read more! ¶ 5:04 PM 13 comments

  Soaring Spires - More About Castle Hanstein
Here are some more photos of a castle I visited in 2007, the charming ruins of Castle Hanstein, situated on a cliff high above the Werra river.

I had mentioned that the Hanstein first appeared in historical documents when the chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld notes that it belonged to Otto of Northeim but was destroyed by the Emperor Heinrich IV during their feud. But Otto obviously didn't lose the property as such and must have rebuilt the castle when he made peace with Heinrich, because it was part of the dowry his granddaughter Richenza brought into her marriage with Lothar of Süpplingenburg. Later it came into possession of their grandson, Heinrich 'the Lion' Duke of Saxony.

During the time of Heinrich the Lion, a certain Boppo of Hanstein is mentioned in documents a few times, 1145 as Boppo of Hanstein or Hanenstein, 1151 and 1170 as Boppo Count of Hanstein. If this is the same man and not a son with the same name, he held the castle a fairly long time and must have been one of Heinrich's trusted vassals.

The castle did not play a significant role during the war between Heinrich of Saxony and the Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa, and we don't know Boppo's fate. When Heinrich returned from his exile in England in 1185, he was given back his allodial possessions around Braunschweig and Lüne-burg, but not the duchy of Bavaria and the lands he had held from Friedrich as vassal. Since the Hanstein was part of the inheritance of his oldest son, Heinrich Count Palatine of the Rhine, it must have been an allodial property. During a division of the allodial possessions of the House Welfen in 1202, the castle came to Heinrich the Lion's youngest son, Otto IV.

The next part of the history of the Hanstein involves the archdiocese of Mainz which held lands all over the place, even in Thuringia (the Eichsfeld) far away from the Rhine. Archbishop Siegfried of Mainz was interested in getting his hands on a castle that protected a Werra ford on the way to his possessions farther east. Otto IV, who faced a lot of opposition on his way to become Holy Roman Emperor, needed a favour and thus agreed to give the Hanstein to Siegfried (1209).

The next time the Hanstein appears a chronicle is 1236 when a vassal of the archbishop of Mainz, one Hethenricus of Hanstein (spelled Hanenstene) is mentioned. His family came from Apolda and was in a feudal relationship to Mainz since at least 1150 when they appeared as bailiffs of lands in the Eichsfeld. The now held the fief of Hanstein and took their name from the place. I don't think they are related to the above mentioned Boppo Count of Hanstein because the archbishop would have prefered to install one of his own vassals in the castle.

A sidenote: The Eichsfeld is still a Catholic enclave in lands that nowadays are mostly Protestant. They get some extra holidays which they spent on shopping tours in the surrounding Protestant towns. I've already mentioned the Eichsfeld in a post about Heiligenstadt, another of those pretty, little German towns with some old churches.

The photos show part of the inner bailey and the palas, sitting on a bedrock cliff. And a somewhat blurry fir tree swaying in the wind.

To be continued 
Read more! ¶ 7:43 PM 10 comments

  Happy Halloween
Or should that be Scary Halloween, lol?

Get out of the woods before it's dark.

A way in the Harz National Park
 
Read more! ¶ 3:58 PM 6 comments

  Doune Castle - A Virtual Tour
This post is not only for my regular readers, but also for the fans of George RR Martins' epic Fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire on the Westeros forums. The books may be turned into a TV series by HBO, and filming of the pilot has started this weekend. Besides shootings in Belfast and Morocco, Doune Castle will be used for some settings, most probably Winterfell, the seat of Lord Eddard Stark (played by Sean Bean; it can't get any better than that *wipes drool off keyboard*).

The rest of the cast for the pilot can be seen here. They acquired a number of good actors, and with Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo another hottie besides Bean (says I, lol).

If you are interested, please, follow me on a virtual tour of the castle:

Doune Castle, north front
Contrary to most castles in Scotland that have been altered over the times, Doune is the product of a single building period and has survived relatively unchanged - albeit somewhat renovated - until today. It was built by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (1340-1420, duke since 1398), son of King Robert II of Scotland and Regent of Scotland since 1388, ruling first for a weak father and then his nephew, James I, who was a prisoner of the English. He may also have had a hand in the untimely demise of another nephew, David Duke of Rothesay, but that could never be proven.

Robert Stewart became Earl of Menteith by marriage to the heiress Margaret Graham, and was granted the lands on which Castle Doune stands in 1361, the earliest date construction may have started. The castle was at least partially complete in 1381 when a charter was signed there.

Courtyard seen from the Lord's Hall
(The windows are glazed today, thus I could not avoid some reflections)
Doune was obviously planned as courtyard with buildings on all sides (there are windows in the southern curtain wall, fe.), but the only buildings that were completed are the gatehouse tower with the rooms of the lord and his family, the great hall, and the kitchen tower with kitchen and guest rooms, ranging along the north and part of the west side. Doune can be seen as development towards the palaces arranged around a courtyard like Linlithgow, built in the 15th and 16th century (photo here). Though the curtain walls of Doune were much stronger than the defenses, if you can call them that, of Linlithgow Palace. The stonework is still mostly from the later 14th century.

Nevertheless, the castle displays the wealth and status of its owner, who was called the 'Big Spender' - though Doune was not the only castle he spent big on, albeit it became his favourite residence.

Doune Castle, Gatehouse Tower
The rectangular gatehouse tower has a size of 18 x 13 metres (59x43 ft) and rises to 29 metres (95 ft), according to Wikipedia. The Historic Scotland guidebook gives no measurements. There is a projecting round tower on the north.east corner; I guess one possible function could have been to shoot missiles at attackers of the gate from it. The somewhat older Dunstaffnage Castle once had a corner tower serving that purpose.

The gatehouse tower held the lord's hall and three storeys of chambers. The function of most of those can only be guessed at since comparable architectural features have not been found in other castles

Entrance archway
The 14 metres long vaulted passage was once secured by timber doors and iron grilles, so called yetts, on both ends. The outer one can still be seen. On both sides are guardrooms; one serves as castle shop today. The entire entrance was separated from the rest of the castle, and the thick stone vault protected the tower from fire.

It could be used to film Lord Stark of Winterfell or even King Robert riding through. *grin*

Kitchen Tower, seen from the courtyard
The kitchen tower can be considered as second tower house, measung 17 x 8 metres (56x26 ft). The kitchen is on hall level, beneath it are storage cellars. The kitchen had an oven for baking bread, and an 18 ft wide fireplace, large enough to roast entire animals on a spit. The vaulted ceiling has smoke holes above the windows, and there are slop-drains on one side.

A staircase leads to the so-called Royal Appertments on the upper floor. They are also known as Queen Mary's Chamber, though we can't be sure she ever was at Doune Castle. The situation of the chamber plus adjacent sleeping closet and latrine was fit to host guests of high rank, not at least because the location over the kitchen added some warmth to the rooms, besides the fireplace.

Servery, seen from the entrance to the Great Hall
The righthand staircase on the photo of the kitchen tower leads into a triangular lobby, the servery, which links kitchen and hall. You can see two arched serving hatches on the left of above pic, big enough to pass a roast hog through; a feature unusual for the period. There's a nice drawing in the guidebook of servants retrieving platters from the hatches and carrying them into the hall, where the guests are seated. I bet GRR Martin would approve of a feature like that - after all, King Robert will want his meat hot and juicy. In other castles like Caernarfon, the way between kitchen and hall was much longer.

The Great Hall
The great hall is an impressive room of 20 x 8 metres (66x28 ft) and 12 metres (39 ft) high, with a timber roof (reconstructed in the 19th century) with a smolke hole in the middle. The hall has no fireplace and was probably heated by a central fire like the fire basket you can see today, though I wonder how much use that would be in a room of such dimensions. A roaring fireplace or two should have worked better.

The entrance is on the opposite side of the photo, with a wooden minstrel's gallery (also reconstructed) above, and a staircase leading down to the buttery where the wine and beer were kept. The walkways on the battlements could also be reached from the gallery.

Five windowsl of different shapes lit the hall. In one of them, a large dais window, a little side door to a latrine is hiiding.

The Lord's Hall
(The mason must have been a bit drunk, compare the lines of the fireplace to the candelabrum.)
It is also called the Duke's Hall; the large room above the entrance in the gatehouse tower and adjacent to the great hall. It would have been used for smaller parties and audiences. The room has an unusual double fireplace which is original, but the furniture dates to the renovation of 1883. A staircase on the north side (not seen in the photo) gives access to the minstrel's gallery and the battlements. The staircase on the pic leads to a chamber above.

That chamber has a fireplace and a latrine closet. It is assumed that it was the duke's bedchamber. As I said above, the function of some other rooms in the gatehouse tower and the annexed round tower are not easily to determined, but a similar chamber above the duke's could have been the duchess' bedchamber.

The Duchess' Hall
There is a second hall about the lord's one that is supposed to have been the duchess' hall. Midway along the courtyard side is some sort of alcove that may have been screened from the rest of the room and served as oratory or private chapel (on the right side of the photo). On the wall is a so-called credence which held the consectated vessels and a basin to wash them. There would have been a small altar as well.

The ceiling of this room is missing today (you can see a glimpse of an upper floor window on the right). Originally, the topmost floor might have been divided into smaller chambers for the duke's family and higher ranking members of the staff and the duchess' ladies-in-waiting. A man of the social status of the Duke of Albany would have had a permanent staff of some 50 people - most of those had to bed down in the great hall and kitchen. Though the latter was probably not the worst place because it was warm. :)

Cellars in the Kitchen Tower
The crypts of Winterfell. Well, not really, those were storage cellars in the kitchen tower.

The Duke of Albany died in 1420, and both dukedom and Regency passed to his son Murdoch (born 1362). When the King James I finally returned to Scotland after his ransom had been paid in 1424, he was not happy about the way some nobles had taken up control of the kingdom. He had Duke Murdoch of Albany and his sons arrested for treason and executed in 1425. Doune Castle fell to the Crown and served as hunting lodge for the Scottish monarchs during the next decades. In the end, the Albany lost the Game of Thrones.

Some more pics are here.  
Read more! ¶ 3:38 AM 9 comments

  More Doune Photos
In addition to the above post with a virtual tour of Doune Castle, here are some additional photos of some places in the castle seen from a different angle.

Great Hall and Gatehouse Tower
Great hall in the middle of the pic and gatehouse tower to the right. The Pisa tower to the left is the kitchen tower. My camera can't prevent those funny angles from some perspectives, but I'm sure HBO has better equipment.

Great Hall
Another view of the Great Hall, towards the entrance side with the minstrel's gallery above. No party without music, lol.

View down from passage way
A shot down from the way between lord's hall and gallery. It was a sunny day when I visited Doune Castle; I don't know how dark the place will be on a rainy day. No wonder there seem to be lights outside the windows for the filming.

Lord's Hall
The lord's hall seen from the double fireplace. The wooden screen covering the stairs to the battlements is from the 19th century, but there may have been one in the Middle Ages as well. The flagstones are 19th century, too.

Courtyard
Seen from the entrance. I'm not sure what they're going to do about the pretty green grass that's probably turning into mud soon if many people tramp on it in the rain. It's not original anyway so the film crew is probably going to cover it somehow.  
Read more! ¶ 5:27 PM 3 comments

  Dunstaffnage Castle - The Wars of Independence
This is the continuation of the first post about Dunstaffnage Castle.

Alexander Lord of Lorn, 4th chief of clan MacDougall, married Julienne Comyn, daughter of John Comyn of Badenoch, thus allying himself with the powerful Comyn and Baliol families. When John Baliol became King of the Scots in 1292, he made Alexander MacDougall the Sheriff of Lorn, and Alexander became a powerful representative of the king over a large territory on the west coast and the islands.

Dunstaffnage Castle, seaside view
At that time the MacDougall/MacDonalds and the Campbells also started what they would become famous for during the next centuries: being at cahoots. A boundary dispute led to the Battle of the Red Fort (Allt Dearg) where the Campbell Chief Colin 'Cailein Mor' was killed in 1294.

At first, Sir Alexander fought on the Scottish side in the Wars of Independence. But in February 1306, Robert the Bruce killed John 'the Red' Comyn (the murder in the Greyfriars Kirk at Dumfries), a nephew of Alexander's wife, and from that moment on it was blood feud between the MacDougall chief and Bruce. Robert crowned himself king six weeks later, and Alexander supported King Edward I of England against him. His brother Duncan MacDougall fought on the side of Bruce, though. Don't you love family dynamics, lol.

Entrance Hall
Alexander was ill and left the leadership in battle to his son John of Lorn, also known as Iain Bacach (John the Lame or Crippled). John did quite well in the beginning, defeating Bruce at Dalrigh in August 1306. King Robert had to leave his cloak and brooch in the grasp of an attacker but escaped. That brooch is still in possession of clan MacDougall. There are plans to partly restore Dunollie Castle (the pretty, vine-covered one you can see here) and add a museum where the Brooch of Lorn and other items connected with the history of clan MacDougall will be displayed.

Battlements
But John's luck in war did not hold. In August 1308 he was defeated by Bruce in the Battle of Brander on the slopes of Ben Cruachan. Bruce had divided his troops on land and water, and John could only watch helplessly from his galley on Loch Awe as his men were routed by Bruce and his second in command, Sir James Douglas. According to the guidebook, John fled to Dunstaffnage Castle which was besieged by Bruce; according to the clan website, he made it to Inchconnel Castle.

The guidebook mentions a letter he wrote to King Edward II asking for support because he only had 800 men against the 15.000 Bruce gathered on land and at sea, and the lords of Argyll gave him no help (hehe, small wonder that). Alianore found it (CDS vol. III, p. 16), it dates to March 1308, that is before the battle. Of course, Edward did not, and probably could not, considering the problems he had himself, assisst John. Dunstaffnage fell to Bruce and thus to the Scottish Crown. But John MacDougall managed to gather some of the MacDougall galleys from the islands and escaped to England.

His father, Sir Alexander, was forfeited the lordship of Lorn and fled to Ireland where he died 1310.

Inner bailey
King Edward II made John of Lorn his Admiral of the Western Seas. The English ships only operated on the east coast where they did not have to face the Hebridean galleys. It makes me wonder what ships John had for his job, but he seems to have harassed the west coast garrisons and fought the clans siding with Bruce on sea, even managed to recapture the Isle of Man in 1315. Though he lost it again to the Earl of Moray only two years later. Finally, Bruce (I keep calling him that so save myself from typing King Robert I 'the Bruce' of Scotland every time, lol) gathered a fleet strong enough to deal with John for good. A battle was fought in the Sound of Jura. Some sources say that John was captured and died, a prisoner, at Dumbarton in 1318.

Another variant (English records, CDS vol III ) says that John returned to London in 1316 (a date I don't think fits with the battle of Jura where John obviously participated as admiral - maybe Alianore can sort out that mess) and died on a pilgrimage to Canterbury in September 1317, having been of ill health for some time.

View towards Ben Cruachan and the Pass of Brander
John had never sworn allegiance to Bruce and so was not a traitor according the Mediaeval law. His son Ewan was Bruce's prisoner for some time but eventually restored to the Lordship of Lorn, probably after the death of his uncle Duncan in 1320.

Duncan of Dunollie, Alexander's brother, stayed on the side of Bruce during the Wars of Independence. Duncan, William Wallace and their Campbell allies defeated an Irish mercenrary force in the pay of King Edward I at the Pass of Brander in 1300 (this is a different battle from the one John of Lorn lost, the Pass must have been really important). In 1310, Duncan MacDougall was granted Dunollie Castle which is still in possession of the family. 
Read more! ¶ 2:30 AM 5 comments

  Oldtimers
I mentioned that we also visited the VW Works in Wolfsburg, a visit that turned out interesting even for a non-car geek like me. We saw part of the production but of course, it was not allowed to take photos there. But it was OK to do so in the Oldtimer exhibition. So here are some fun old cars.

A very old oldtimer
It looks more like an XXL bicycle that has sprouted a third wheel, but the thing does indeed have a motor. Unfortunately, my brain didn't remember all the names of those cars. There were more than just VW models in the exhibition, though.

A coach without horses
Also a very old model. It looks like bit like a horse coach, but the power of the engine was more like that of a barouche landau. Though I'm sure Mrs Hugh Elton would have found it stylish had she lived a bit later. Or she might have prefered the model below.

A beautiful, large one
That one looks like the typical oldtimer. They had a number of those big beauties, all polished to a shine. But while the presentation background was really cool, it made for difficult photographing.

Front view with eyes
The front view of one of those big, beautiiful oldtimers. I think that one already has electrical lights, not carbide lamps, but I'm not sure. Maybe my father will remember. But it does have a shiny bumper. :)

A shiny rocket - a Cadiallac
It looks really flashy with those rocket-like thingies (tail fins, thank you Hank and Carla) along the back. A show off car, I bet. Probably drank gasoline like a blood-starved vampire, too. *grin*

A Star Trek model
Well, it's not really a car used in Star Trek, but it looks the part. You can imagine Spock looking at it in his usual expressionless way, "and I am supposed to ride in that?"

An Isetta
An Isetta, or bandaid-bomber (because you could repair it by slapping some bandaid on it). I asked my father to stand beside it so you can see how tiny those cars were. The entire roof opened for the passengers - it can hold two - to climb in.

A row of Beetles
Now we come to some of the true stars of VW, the Beetle or Käfer as they are called in Germany. That model was around with slight changes for I don't know how long, a true Volks-Wagen (people's car) because it was affordable for many.

'Our' Käfer
We had one, too, back in 1968 when I was a kid aged seven, my father's first car. We lived in Stuttgart then and I still recall tours to places nearby like Ulm with its great cathedral, and Lichtenstein, a castle that became famous thanks to Wilhelm Hauff's novel in the tradition of Sir Walter Scott's historical fiction.

Interior of the Käfer
Yeah, the interior of cars has changed a lot since the 60ies. But no modern AC and heating system beats the old hole under the backseat where the warm air came out. It was the only car in which I never had cold feet.  
Read more! ¶ 11:05 PM 10 comments

  Europe's Largest Quadriga
The quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin may be the most famous, but the one on the portico of the palace in Braunschweig is the largest in Europe. The present one has been standing there but a year, but its history goes further back.

The neo-Classicistic facade is in fact hiding a modern shopping mall. Of course, the shopping centre is larger than the former palace, but the modern part with its glass facades is so well integrated that you don't see it when approaching the palace from the direction of the castle square.

Front of the Palace in Braunschweig, with the quadriga on top
The original palace, residency of Duke Wilhelm of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, had been built in 1833-41 to the plans of Carl Theodor Ottmer. The quadriga was part of the original plans but was left out - together with other expensive statues and colonnades - because the duke wanted to save money.

In 1856 Duke Wilhelm celebrated 25 years of government, and the citizens of Braunschweig gifted him with the quadriga. Sculpturer Ernst Rietschel from Dresden designed the model; the quadriga was then crafted in copper repoussé technique by Georg Ferdinand Howaldt, a coppersmith from Braunschweig.

Closeup against the sky
A fire destroyed part of the palace in 1865, and the quadriga became its victim as well except for the head of the charioteer - or charioteeress, the allegoric town goddess of Braunschweig, Brunonia. Howaldt made a second, somewhat smaller version that was installed on the restored palace portico where it remained until the end´of WW2.

Much of Braunschweig itself and parts of the palace were destroyed by bombs during the war, but the quadriga survived only to fall victim to metal thieves after the war - copper was much sought after. The remains of the destroyed palace were further dismantled and for many years a park marked the fomer residency of the Dukes of Braunschweig-Lüneburg; a line of the House Welfen and thus related to the Import Kings of England George I - III.

Seen from the side, with a furtive ray of sunshine tinting the bronze golden
During the last years, the palace has been reconstructed using old plans and photos, as well as about 600 original pieces salvaged from the WW2 debris. The mall hiding behind the palace facade opened in 2007, and in October 2008 the new quadriga was installed on the portico. It is based on the original 1:3 gypsum model by Ernst Rietschel which still stands in the Albertinum in Dresden (a sculpture museum), but this time it was made of silicium bronze which is cheaper than copper. Duke Wilhelm of Braunschweig-Lüneburg wasn't the only one who had to look at his budget. Though they did go back to the larger version.

Seen from the other side, with a good view of Brunonia
The entire group is about 9 metres high, 9.5 m long, 7.5 m wide, and weighs 25.8 tons. Brunonia alone stands at 5.30 metres; her head was modeled after the original that had been saved from the fire in 1865. The bronze has its original, red golden colour now but it will develop the typical green patina over time.

The platform on which the quadriga stands can be visited at certain times, but that's an endeavour for sunnier weather than we had.  
Read more! ¶ 2:34 AM 14 comments

  Autumn has Arrived
The leaves begin to turn yellow and red, and on a hazy day, a golden shimmer lies over the woods. We've had the first autumn gale that sent the leaves dancing and the crows swirling towards the town with angry croaks. Mists veil the valleys in the morning, and the air smells of wet leaves and coming frost.

Woods at the Weser
It is my favourite time of the year. Somehow I always wax a lot more poetic when describing fall than spring. Maybe it's the gentle melancholy of this time that responds to my mood, the muted light and warm colours.

I just realised when looking through the archives that I wrote an autumn post every year. Blame it on the ton of autumn photos I have. Or on my sentimental side; whatever you want.

A hidden lake
Of course there are other days, too, days of what one website called Varus weather. Torrential rains and icy blasts that make the ground slippery and bend the branches. Days where you want to stay inside with a cup of hot tea and listen to the rain drops singing on the window panes. 
Read more! ¶ 6:11 PM 8 comments

  Mediaeval Braunschweig
I'm back from the Braunschweig (English 'Brunswick') visit. I got photos but not from the exhibition - I really don't know what's the problem with Medieaval exhibitions in Germany, since the Roman ones I've seen all allowed to take pictures. Culture is for sharing, not for hiding in vitrines for a privileged few to see. Ok, rant over.

I got exterior shots of the Burgplatz (Castle Square), though, and pics of the cathedral.

-- Dankwarderode Castle

Dankwarderode, palas building
This one's not on a hilltop for a change. It dates back to the 11th century and was expanded by Heinrich the Lion in the style of the palatine castle in Goslar in the 12th century. The entire castle took up the island in the Oker river and was considerably larger than todays 'castle square'. Dankwarderode and most of the old town of Braunschweig were destroyed in a fire 1252.

In the 17th century only the two storeyed palace building - rebuilt in Renaissance style - was still in use, and in the 19th century even that lay in ruins. But the palas was reconstructed on the ground plan of the Medieaval building in what's called Neoromanesque style. Except for the unhistorical staircase and the arrangement of the windows in the upper floor, it's a pretty adaequate representation of the exterior of Heinrich's palace, though.

-- A Romanesque cathedral

Braunschweig Cathedral
The cathedral was founded by Heinrich the Lion as chapter church in 1173 (after his return from a pilgrimage to Jeruslalem) and dedicated to St. Blasius and John the Baptist; later Thomas Beckett was added as patron, a pretty unusual patron saint as far as I can tell.

The building was only finished in 1226 - there seems to have been a break in construction during Heinrich's exile. Heinrich was buried in the cathedral after his death in 1195; the main nave, crypt and choir had been finished at that point.

Cathedral, main nave
The cathedral is built in the basilica style (which my readers should meanwhile be able to recongise) with three naves ending in apsides, transept and high quire, and a so-called Saxon Westwerk, the mostly unadorned western wall with the two towers. The ceiling of the main nave has one of the earliest surviving barrel vaultings in Germany.

There have been several changes, as usual with Mediaeval buildings. During one of those alterations a special feature was added: the pillars and cross grain vaults in the northern nave are of the English perpendicular style that was not normally used in Germany, the windows have so called Tudor bows.

-- Mediaeval murals

Cathedral, murals in the apsis
The crossing and apsides had been painted in secco mural style in 1230-1250. Those paintings have been recovered under layers of whitewash paint in 1845 and were 'reconstructed'. Unfortunatley, in the 19th century that meant not only refreshing the colours but also adding a few elements people thought looked Medieaval. But there are still enough orignal elements to give a good impression of 13th century sacral paintings esp. in the southern transept where the orginals have been recovered as far as possible. Murals in places where there had been none in the Middle Ages have also partly been ereased.

The photo above shows Christus Pantokrator, a motive that has its origins in the Byzantine art.

-- Shinies

Decoration of a casket containing bones of a martyr
There is a permanent exhibition of Medieaval art in the Squire Hall (Knappensaal) of Dankwarderode Castle, mostly of the sacral variant like crucifixes, reliquaries and a few tapestries with religious motives. It is part of the Duke Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig.

Since that one's not part of the Otto IV exhibition, taking pictures without flash was allowed.

-- Some lions

Original of the lion statue of Heinrich the Lion
The Lion of Braunschweig, the heraldic animal of the Welfen family (Welf means lion cub) was commissioned by Heinrich the Lion in 1166. It demonstrated his ducal position and power. The lion is the oldest remaining large style sculpture north of the Alpes - the bronze cutie is 1.78 m high and 2.79 m long - and probably forged in Braunschweig itself. Its models are the Capitoline Wolf (the one that's causing discussions whether it is Etruscan or Medieaval), the Lion of Venice and the Marc Aurel statue in Rome. Heinrich had seen those sculptures during Emperor Barbarossa's first two Italian wars.

There is a copy on the castle square, standing on a big stone pedestal. You can see it in the first pic. The original is kept in the museum because pollution would damage the bronze. 
Read more! ¶ 1:45 AM 9 comments

  Need More Fish
Another short absence. I'm going to visit the exhibition about Otto IV in Braunschweig and will be back on Friday. Otto IV, son of Heinrich 'the Lion' of Saxony and Mathilde of England and thus a nephew of Richard Lionheart, was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 800 years ago. During the nine years of his unfortunate reign, Braunschweig became the urbs regia, and the town is celebrating this fact.

Remains of the outer curtain wall of the Harzburg
The photos in the post are from the Harzburg, the place where Otto IV died in 1218. I had been there in summer 2008.

In case you wonder why a day tour to Braunschweig will require an overnight stay, that's because my father bought a VW car (a Jetta, for those who can tell the difference) some time ago and we still have an open invitation to visit the great VW works in Wolfsburg which is close to Braunschweig, so my father decided to combine the two.

Remains of wall and dyke between outer and inner bailey
I'm not sure if photographing will be allowed in the exhibition - in the one about Heinrich IV in Magedburg two years ago it was not permitted - but I should get some photos of the town centre and the cathedral at least. I also doubt taking pictures inside the VW construction halls will be allowed - can't make it too easy for the Chinese, lol. 
Read more! ¶ 4:06 PM 2 comments

  The Defeated Varus
Der gescheiterte Varus is the title of a 2.30 m bronze statue in Haltern am See. It was created by Wilfried Koch in 2003 and shows Varus at the moment of his defeat; the legions lost and maybe the province Germania as well, Arminius whom he trusted turned traitor.

Wilfried Koch (born 1929) is a German artist and art historian, and member of the European Academy of Science and Arts. His book about 'European Architec-ture from Antiquity to Present Time' (1982) has become one of the standard books about the subject and was translated into 20 languages. He added a great number of his own pencil drawings as illustrations.

Koch has painted more than a thousand portraits and since 1982 works mostly in sculpture. His bronze statues, created in wax melting technique, have become famous for their strong facial expressions and their over-large hands. Body and limbs are shaped of open shells. Most of his statues portray figures from mythology and Christian iconography (Lilith, Eva, Franciscus, Prophet, among others)

I admit I'm not much into modern sculpture, but the face of Varus' statue did impress me. You have to see it live to fully appreciate it; there is so much hopelessness and emotional pain - you can almost hear him say, "why, Arminius, why?"

Closeup of the head
Wilfried Koch says that he creates sculptures of humans in emotional and existential borderline situations, and that he wants to stir the beholder into responding with his own emotions and thoughts. The strange thing is that once you get used to his style and the 'rough' look, it works.

Closeup of the face from a different angle
When I walked towards the statue, situated in a little park outside the town centre, my first reaction was, oh dear, another of those odd looking modern thingies. But then I stood a while and looked into Varus' face. Spellbound almost. 
Read more! ¶ 10:54 PM 6 comments

  My Blog is Kreativ
Carla awarded me this shiny icon - the Kreativ Blogger Award (no idea where the German spelling comes from, lol). Thank you very much.

To play along I have to list seven of my favourite things, seven of my favourite activities and seven things no one knows about me.



Seven favourite things;

Books

Opera CDs and DVDs

All things Roman

My camera

My flat - I love a cozy home

A winter wth snow

The sea

Seven favourite activities:

Traveling

Reading

Writiing

Hiking

Visiting museums

Photographing

Riding

Seven things no one knows about me:

I can't sleep in total darkness. If there's not lantern outside my room, I need a nightlight.

I'm hopeless when it comes to sewing and knitting, but I can crotchet pretty well.

Since I don't feel old enough for stray greys, I'm coloring my hair.

I'm afraid of spiders but even more so of cobwebs. Disgusting, sticky things.

I got my first colour TV in 2000, and I still don't have a mobile phone, but when it comes to computers I'm not a luddite.

As teenager I collected postcards with horse photos. I gave away several hundred to other horse crazy girls when I moved to Göttingen.

I can hold my middle and litte finger so that they build a portal and move the ringfinger through it.

I'm also supposed to list seven people to pass the award on to, but I'm bailing on that one. All the blogs on my sidebar are kreativ. Consider yourself awarded if you want to play along. *grin* 
Read more! ¶ 11:39 PM 4 comments

  Much Fun Was Had
I'm back from my visit to the Romans in Haltern am See. The exhibitions are great, and I was glad to have stayed long enough to do both of them justice and not rush through in two hours. I took a lot of photos, but the conditions were more than tricky and I suppose I'll have to count for at least 10% blurred pics this time. But some turned out fine; here are a few samples:

-- Shiny things

Cup from a set of silver ware
This one - showing a chariot race - and several other pretty cups were part of the Roman Lifestyle section in the special exhibition 'Imperium' in the Seestadthalle (Lakeside Town Hall). The level of craftmanship of those luxury items is amazing.

-- A dysfunctional family

Statues of some members of the Imperial Family
From left to right: Germanicus, Tiberius, Livia, Augustus, Agrippa Postumus (a grandson of Augustus who died early). Augustus wears his toga with a fold of cloth over the head, signifying his role as priest. Poor Claudius has been left out of the family portrait again.

-- Models

Closeup of the model of the fort at Haltern
One of the interesting features in the Westfälisches Römermuseum (Westphalian Roman Museum) are several models ranking from the complete fort in Haltern to a single barrack. In the background of the photo you can see a display showing a column of mounted playmobil Romans. There were three legions worth of the little figures all over the place.

-- Army life

Parts of a horse harness
Central part of the museum is the Roman army. This exhibition, showing all the finds of Roman origins along the Lippe river where the Romans had a number of forts and marching camps, is statuary in Haltern, though it has been expanded with some additional displays during the duration of the Varus Battle Anniversary events.

-- Pointy things

Roman dagger
Army life of course, includes all sorts of weapons, and you know I can never resist a pretty pugio. Well, with all the photos I took in various Roman-themed museums, I now have an impressive collection of virtual weapons, armour and horse equipment.

-- A Roman ship

The Victoria, a reconstructed Roman ship
This one was really fun. Not only was I lucky to see the reconstructed Roman ship Victoria (modeled after a find from the Danube) close up, I also managed to join in rowing her around on the lake for an hour. Not an easy job, but it can't get much more Roman for a geek like me. 
Read more! ¶ 9:55 PM 10 comments

  Gone Fishing
I'll be off for a few days hunting Romans in Germania again. With the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest celebrating its 2000 year anniversary this year, there are exhibitions not only in Kalkriese, the assumed battlefield location, but also in Haltern am See, the location of a Roman fort that was abandoned after the defeat. Besides a long standing display in a museum on the site of the fort, there's an anniversary exhibition as well that is said to be very good.

dolabrae
The pic shows some pioneer axes from the Hedemünden finds that are presented in an exhibition in Hannoversch-Münden right now. I'll hope to get back with more photos of Roman things. Since Haltern is going to feature in A Land Unconquered, it will be interesting to see the place, though the landscape has changed a bit because of a reservoir lake at which Haltern is situated. But lakes are always nice.  
Read more! ¶ 7:36 PM 7 comments

  Wallace Views
There's one man you can't escape in Stirling: William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish hero who probably would love the idea of time travel into the future, so he could have a few words with Mel Gibson about that Braveheart movie.

The main reason for his popularity as tourist attraction is because of this. OK, you'll have to take a close look, but that spiky thing on the hill in the middle of the pic is the Wallace Monument.

Wallace Monument, seen from Stirling Castle
The hill is called Abbey Craig, and it's said to have been the place from where Wallace watched the gathering of Edward I's army before the battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. Wallace won that battle, which is one of the reasons for his popularity - defeating Edward I counts as something. After the battle Wallace was proclaimed Guardian of Scotland, though I don't think there's an exact job description anywhere.

Wallace Monument, near Stirling
This picture of the monument looks pretty dramatic; an effect you'll get when photographing objects against the sky. And the Scottish sky is prone to be dramatic all in itself.

The monument was constructed in the wake of a resurgence of Scottish nationalism in the 19th century (1), based on a fundraising campaign that yielded £18,000. The 220 feet high sandstone tower was completed in 1869 to the Victorian Gothic designs of architect John Thomas Rochead. There's a museum inside.

View from the monument towards Stirling
There was still some time left after I visited Stirling Castle, and I decided to see the Wallace Monument. The official guidebook said it's open until 6 am but when I arrived at the foot of the hill, it turned out opening time was only until 5 am. Well, I climbed the hill anway because the terrace in front of the tower offers a great view over the surroundings, but I miissed the exhibition (and climbing 280something stairs, lol).

View towards the Highlands
The view was worth the climb, though it was the first time I regretted not having brought my trusty walking stick (I would regret it several more times in the days to follow).

I got a Historical Scotland booklet about William Wallace I bought ten years ago, and Nigel Tranter's novel is on my TBR pile, so I may come up with some information about the man that are a bit more historical correct than Wallace having sex with Queen Isabella three years after his death. ;)

Zoomed in view to Stirling Castle, seen from the Wallace Monument
In the evening light only the renovated hall can be distinguished by its yellowish stone, the grey walls beneath almost merge with the landscape.

(1) Nationalist revival spread all through Europe at that time. The German Hermann Statue celebrating Arminius' victory over Varus dates from the same era. Let's hope Gibson never finds out about that piece of history.  
Read more! ¶ 8:20 PM 19 comments

  Weather Patterns
This summer could be classified as crazy, but following a pattern - at least in Germany. It goes like this:

Day 1: patchy clouds, mostly dry and warm

Day 2: sunny and warm

Day 3: sunny and HOT

Day 4: hot, big fat thunderstorms

Day 5: rain and wind, cooler

Day 6: showers, still windy, cold

Day 7: overcast, few showers, getting warmer.

Rinse and repeat.

Thunderstorm clouds
At least it makes for an interesting sky sometimes. Here's one of those big fat thunderstorms coming in from the south-west (their favourite direction).

Rainbow
Sometimes there are rainbows when the storm moves east and the sun comes out again; a constellation that happens mostly in the afternoon.

After the storm
And an hour later the sky looks as if it never did anything bad.

But since this fun is going on more or less since I returned from Scotland, I could do with some different weather. What about a few not too hot but sunny days in a row?  
Read more! ¶ 6:40 PM 6 comments

  Boleyn Spork
One of my favourite blogs, History Spork, is back with a take on The Other Boleyn Girl, a movie based on Philippa Gregory's novel of the same title. Since Tudor specialists don't think very highly of her research, and the movie seems to be rather close to the book, some of my readers should get a laugh out of it.

You may also check the archives of History Spork; they've taken their sharp pens ... er, keyboards to a bunch of other questionable 'historical' movies. But get some popcorn and a glass of wine, because you can easily spend a few hours there. 
Read more! ¶ 10:58 PM 3 comments

  Another Cool Castle - Scharzfels
Scharzfels Castle in the Harz foothills was erected to protect the nearby monastery of Pöhlde. Mathilde, the widow of Heinrich the Fowler and mother of the emperor Otto the Great, had been given Pöhlde as widow seat in 952 and it can be assumed that Scharzfels Castle was built around the same time. But the first sure proof for the existence of Scharzfels Castle is a charte dating to 1080 which names a knight Albrecht von der Helden as chatellain.

Scharzfels Castle, the dolomite rock foundation of the inner bailey
It made for another nice summer afternoon tour. It is not so hot any longer, and the two miles ascent through a beech wood made for a good, though not too stressful walk. There's a little café in the former outer bailey, so we got some ice cream and Alsterwasser (a mix of beer and lemon juice) as reward before we explored the castle.

The Gate, hewn into the rock
Scharzfels Castle is situated on a montain ridge 150 metres above the Oder valley. It was considered unconquerable in the Middle Ages (in fact, it took until the 18th century for it to be partly destroyed), due to the fact the inner bailey was constructed on a 20 metres high dolomite rock with steep sides.

Looking from the entrance tunnel into the yard
It is this eagle nest situation which makes the Scharzfels interesting. There is not much left of the buildings (there had been at least a keep and a palas with a hall and living quarters) and walls, but the remains and the caves in the dolomite rock are a lot of fun to explore and make for some nice photos.

One of the caves
Nothing is left of the outer bailey (Vorburg in German) except the well house. A staircase from the 19th century leads to the inner bailey (Oberburg), surely an easier access than what may have been there in the Middle Ages. The plateau on top of the dolomite rock is 20x60 metres with several natural and man made caves, thought not as many as the Regenstein. The stone buildings had been erected on the rock or built into crevices. Only some ruins of those remain today.

View to one of the tower foundations and the Harz foothills beyond
The Scharzfels, as it is usually called, played a more important role in history since 1131, when Emperor Lothar of Süpplingenburg got the castle by exchanges of land and made it into what is called a Reichsfeste - a castle belonging directly to the emperor. Lothar gave the castle as imperial fief to Siegebodo Count of Lauterberg-Scharzfels.

Natural rock and a few ruins
In 1157, Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa gave Heinrich the Lion got some lands in the Harz, including Scharzfels Castle as reward, perhaps because Heinrich had saved Friedrich's life during the riots in Rome. But when Heinrich fell out of grace, rebelled and lost the war against the emperor, he had to return those possessions, and Scharzfels Castle came back to the counts of Lauterberg-Scharzfels.

View from the corner tower to the remains of the palas with a firpelace
After the Scharzfels family died out, the fief fell to the Counts of Hohnstein. In 1596, Duke Heinrich Julius of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (there's some German names for you, lol), a member of the House Welfen inherited the castle, so in a way it came back to the family of Heinrich the Lion.

The dolomite rock from the other side
The trees got a bit in the way of a good picture of the backside of the dolomite rock. There were some freeclimbers around, and they managed to get on top quite easily. But they were not an army, and not clad in mail and dragging swords and spears around. Plus, whoever tried to attack Scharzfels first had to get up the hill, and I'm sure the castle garrison had some fun ideas how to deal with assailants. The worst I had to deal with was a pebble that had found its way into my sandal. 
Read more! ¶ 12:20 AM 11 comments