My Travel and History Blog, Focussing mostly on Roman and Mediaeval Times
31 Dec 2008
Happy New Year
We're close to the beginning of the New Year, and it's time again for making resolutions that won't be kept until January 10th or so. Personally, I've given up on that, but some historical characters have made New Year Resolutions that can be found here and on the blogs of Susan Higginbotham and Nan Hawthorne.
Alexander the Great: Come up with other town names than Alexandria. Hannibal: Take some lessons in Italian geography. Arminius: Kick the Romans out of Germania and myself into German legend. Chariovalda: Take swimming lessons. Nero: Win Roman Idol and tour Greece. Septimius Severus: Spend some quality time with my sons. Caracalla: Get a bigger bathroom. Louis the Pious: Tell my sons I'm the king and can send them to bed without supper. Maud: Have an equal opportunity commisioner present at the royal succession debate. Heinrich IV: Rehearse that contrite expression. Richard Lionheart: Be nice to Johnny. Edward I: Take a course in accountancy. William Shakespeare: Do more research. Sir Walter Scott. Stop collecting antiquites. My house is cluttered already. Richard Sharpe: Settle down. Well, maybe..
I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
¶ December 31, 2008 12 comments
We're close to the beginning of the New Year, and it's time again for making resolutions that won't be kept until January 10th or so. Personally, I've given up on that, but some historical characters have made New Year Resolutions that can be found here and on the blogs of Susan Higginbotham and Nan Hawthorne.
I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
¶ December 31, 2008 12 comments
29 Dec 2008
Summer in the Harz. With Castles
After all those posts with lots of text and few pictures, I thought I'd go back to some picture posts for a change. Summer impressions on a cold winter day.
View to the north-eastern Harz foothills
Seen from Regenstein Castle. Somewhere in the distance lies Quedlinburg
Michaelstein Monastery, cloister
Remains of a 12th century Cisterciensian monastery. The cloister and some of the outhouses have been preserved and today house a museum for music instruments, a school, and a restaurant.
Michaelstein Monastery, herbal garden
I want a garden like that.
Falkenstein Castle
Falkenstein Castle was originally built in 1115 and altered several times during the following centuries. It was never conquered, but in the 18th century it was a ruin until the then owner reconstructed most of the buildings.
View from Falkenstein Castle to the Selke valley
Germany can be very green, too.
Arnstein Castle
A picturesque ruin. And a nice uphill walk in 30°C summer heat.
Bode River
One of the many shots I took of that one. I love running water.
Rappbode Reservoir
The sun had given way to some thunderclouds, and the air was very still.
¶ December 29, 2008 10 comments
After all those posts with lots of text and few pictures, I thought I'd go back to some picture posts for a change. Summer impressions on a cold winter day.
Seen from Regenstein Castle. Somewhere in the distance lies Quedlinburg
Remains of a 12th century Cisterciensian monastery. The cloister and some of the outhouses have been preserved and today house a museum for music instruments, a school, and a restaurant.
I want a garden like that.
Falkenstein Castle was originally built in 1115 and altered several times during the following centuries. It was never conquered, but in the 18th century it was a ruin until the then owner reconstructed most of the buildings.
Germany can be very green, too.
A picturesque ruin. And a nice uphill walk in 30°C summer heat.
One of the many shots I took of that one. I love running water.
The sun had given way to some thunderclouds, and the air was very still.
¶ December 29, 2008 10 comments
26 Dec 2008
Historical Christmas Wishes
Trust Susan Higginbotham and Nan Hawthorne to come up with some fun. What some historical characters would like to find under the Christmas tree.
Varus: To just get OUTTA HERE. Arminius: Roman baths. Segestes: An obedient daughter. Caligula: Shiny new boots. Nero: An e-guitar. Agricola: Caledonia. Calgacus: More PS to my chariot. Maximinus Thrax: More wine. Honorius: Some sheets to hide under until the Visigoths are gone. Charlemagne: A new rearguard. Heinrich I: Fowling equipment. A crown would be nice, too. Heinrich IV: A pope's head or two in a vinegar jar. Heinrich the Lion of Saxony: My lands back. Friedrich Barbarossa: A life jacket. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Marriage counselling for my husband. It's not my fault. Henry II: Family therapy for my wife and sons. It's not my fault. Llywelyn Fawr. Glass windows for Criccieth Castle. Richard III: A horse. William Wallace: The director of Braveheart. Duke of Wellington: Night. Or the Prussians.
Here's the reason why Llywelyn wants new windows
¶ December 26, 2008 11 comments
Trust Susan Higginbotham and Nan Hawthorne to come up with some fun. What some historical characters would like to find under the Christmas tree.
¶ December 26, 2008 11 comments
24 Dec 2008
Frohe Weihnachten
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May Santa Claus, the Christkind or whoever is responsible for the task, bring you lots of books and other presents.
¶ December 24, 2008 10 comments
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May Santa Claus, the Christkind or whoever is responsible for the task, bring you lots of books and other presents.
¶ December 24, 2008 10 comments
11 Dec 2008
Romanesque Ornaments
I mentioned that one of the features of the Chapter Church in Quedlinburg is the decorative frieze that runs around the main nave. It does so on the outside as well. I got a good view at a piece of it from a window of the abbesses' Renaissance palace that today houses a museum.
Frieze on the main nave of Quedlinburg Cathedral
It is an architectural element that found its way from Italy into German buildings. While in Königslutter the monsters and figures are restricted to the apsis, and the other parts of the frieze (they can be seen on these photos) are merely patterned, Quedlinburg Cathedral shows a mix of monsters and ornaments all the way on the outside - the interior frieze has no monsters, though.
Frieze detail, showing some monsters and animals (partly restored)
Not all Romanesque churches have such friezes (the Weser abbey churches of Lippoldsberg and Bursfelde don't) whereas others take the ornaments a step further, like the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer with its decorative arcades running around the entire building.
¶ December 11, 2008 9 comments
I mentioned that one of the features of the Chapter Church in Quedlinburg is the decorative frieze that runs around the main nave. It does so on the outside as well. I got a good view at a piece of it from a window of the abbesses' Renaissance palace that today houses a museum.
It is an architectural element that found its way from Italy into German buildings. While in Königslutter the monsters and figures are restricted to the apsis, and the other parts of the frieze (they can be seen on these photos) are merely patterned, Quedlinburg Cathedral shows a mix of monsters and ornaments all the way on the outside - the interior frieze has no monsters, though.
Not all Romanesque churches have such friezes (the Weser abbey churches of Lippoldsberg and Bursfelde don't) whereas others take the ornaments a step further, like the Imperial Cathedral in Speyer with its decorative arcades running around the entire building.
¶ December 11, 2008 9 comments
9 Dec 2008
Chapter Church Quedlinburg
The old town of Quedlinburg is dominated by the Chapter Church St. Servatius (also refered to as Quedlinburg Cathedral) on the Castle Hill. There's no exterior shot except the one on the post about the town because of the scaffolding, but I got some nice interior ones.
Main nave, view to the choir
The hill had been the site of a palatine castle and a chapel when Mathilde, widow of Heinrich I, commissioned the building of a chapter church to replace the smaller chapel where her husband lay entombed. It took from 997 to 1021 for the church to be finished, and after a fire part of it had to be rebuilt. The present church was consecrated in 1129, in presence of King Lothar of Süpplingenburg, the later Emperor and founder of Königslutter Cathedral.
View towards the north aisle
The Romanesque interior shows the so called Niedersächsischer Stützenwechsel (Lower Saxonian Pillar Alternation) with rows of two slender pillars, one square column, two pillars again, one column. The pillars divide the main nave from the lower aisles (basilica style). The west wall holds the Imperial Lodge behind the upper row of interior windows (see post about town) which was proabably used not only by the Emperors during their visits to Quedlinburg but also by the abbesses and ladies of the chapter.
An example of the Stützenwechsel
The choir to the east was rebuilt in the Gothic style under the Abbess Jutta von Kranichfeld in 1320. In 1938 an attempt was made to restore the Romanesque interior by adding an apsis wall to the choir. It is a high choir (like in Lippoldsberg) since the crypt is not built into a cellar but on one base with the nave, though using lower vaults - in case of Quedlinburg I suppose the sandstone bedrock was the reason.
Crypt
The crypt is undergoing renovation so I could only get a sneak photo through the iron grilled door. I think the two tomb plates in the background are the ones of Heinrich I and Mathilda.
There is also a relief frieze running around the entire main nave. This as well as the decorations on the pillar capitals and the window frames show a strong Lombardian influence; much the same as Königslutter Cathedral. The ceiling is not a cross grain vault but the older timber cassette structure.
View to south aisle - you can see the frieze under the upper windows
The transept has very short wings with separate rooms that today are used to display the famous Domschatz (Cathedral Treasure) parts of which have been given back from the US. Because of the dim light it was almost impossible to get photos, though, and I don't use flash near objects that may react badly to stark light.
Room in the transept with treasure exhibition
During a restoration under Ferdinand von Quast in 1882 two 'Romanesque' towers with the wrong sort of gables were added, so that the most outstanding feature of the church is actually the youngest. I hope they use the ongoing renovation as chance to replace those roofs with something more authentic looking.
¶ December 09, 2008 10 comments
The old town of Quedlinburg is dominated by the Chapter Church St. Servatius (also refered to as Quedlinburg Cathedral) on the Castle Hill. There's no exterior shot except the one on the post about the town because of the scaffolding, but I got some nice interior ones.
The hill had been the site of a palatine castle and a chapel when Mathilde, widow of Heinrich I, commissioned the building of a chapter church to replace the smaller chapel where her husband lay entombed. It took from 997 to 1021 for the church to be finished, and after a fire part of it had to be rebuilt. The present church was consecrated in 1129, in presence of King Lothar of Süpplingenburg, the later Emperor and founder of Königslutter Cathedral.
The Romanesque interior shows the so called Niedersächsischer Stützenwechsel (Lower Saxonian Pillar Alternation) with rows of two slender pillars, one square column, two pillars again, one column. The pillars divide the main nave from the lower aisles (basilica style). The west wall holds the Imperial Lodge behind the upper row of interior windows (see post about town) which was proabably used not only by the Emperors during their visits to Quedlinburg but also by the abbesses and ladies of the chapter.
The choir to the east was rebuilt in the Gothic style under the Abbess Jutta von Kranichfeld in 1320. In 1938 an attempt was made to restore the Romanesque interior by adding an apsis wall to the choir. It is a high choir (like in Lippoldsberg) since the crypt is not built into a cellar but on one base with the nave, though using lower vaults - in case of Quedlinburg I suppose the sandstone bedrock was the reason.
The crypt is undergoing renovation so I could only get a sneak photo through the iron grilled door. I think the two tomb plates in the background are the ones of Heinrich I and Mathilda.
There is also a relief frieze running around the entire main nave. This as well as the decorations on the pillar capitals and the window frames show a strong Lombardian influence; much the same as Königslutter Cathedral. The ceiling is not a cross grain vault but the older timber cassette structure.
The transept has very short wings with separate rooms that today are used to display the famous Domschatz (Cathedral Treasure) parts of which have been given back from the US. Because of the dim light it was almost impossible to get photos, though, and I don't use flash near objects that may react badly to stark light.
During a restoration under Ferdinand von Quast in 1882 two 'Romanesque' towers with the wrong sort of gables were added, so that the most outstanding feature of the church is actually the youngest. I hope they use the ongoing renovation as chance to replace those roofs with something more authentic looking.
¶ December 09, 2008 10 comments
4 Dec 2008
Aberystwyth Impressions
Aberystwyth was a flyby visit on my way from Pembroke to Caernarfon, though should I ever come to Wales again, I'd like to spend more time there than two hours. It's a lively place because of the many students, but less hectic than Bangor with its connection to the train line to Manchester. James from the Sir Benfro blog (that's not a title, but Welsh for shire, btw.) gave me a qick tour to the promenade and the castle remains.
View to the Pier at low tide
The pier had once been 900 feet long, but only about 300 remain today after the sea reclaimed parts of it. The sea tends to do that; Ceredigion Bay is also the location of the legendary Cantre'r Gwaelod, one of the sunken cities that line the coasts - its legends are related to Kêr Ys in Brittany.
The history of Aberystwyth goes back to the 4th century BC when Iron Age settlers fortified the hilltop called Pen Dinas. The remains of that large hillfort can still be seen. Albeit the Romans had been in the area (there's a stretch of arrow straight road the way I came that stands out among the winding Welsh tracks, and James told me that a few remains of a smaller Roman fortress can be found near where he lives) there is no trace they ever tried to establish a Roman fort on the site.
Pen Dinas, seen from the castle
To the far right is a slender pillar; a monument erected in 1852 to honour the Duke of Wellington's victory at Waterloo, paid by public funding. It's interesting to see what people in the 19th century were willing to support financially - we got the misplaced Hermann (Arminius) monument much the same way. Try that today and you'll get laughed at.
In the foreground are some of the stones that form a bardic circle of 13 standing stones symbolising the 13 old counties, pre the 1974 reform. The castle ruins have become a park today, a change Edward II might have liked better than his father.
Aberystwyth Castle, one of the towers
But it was not Edward I who started the castle building at Aberystwyth, it was one of the Gilbert de Clares who erected an earthen and timber ringwork castle down at the river Ystwyth in the 12th century.
In the early 13th century, after he ousted the de Clares and other Norman chaps, Llywelyn ap Iorweth 'the Great' decided a hill by the sea was a better place for a castle than a valley and built the first one in the present spot. Makes one wonder why he didn't chose Pen Dinas, either. Like so many castle at the time, the one of Aberystwyth changed hands several times after Llywelyn's death as the Norman/Welsh wars moved to and fro.
Aberystwyth Castle, remains of the inner bailey and hall
Edward I was the one who got really serious about the castle thing once he conquered the Welsh, and turned Aberystwyth castle into a structure as formidable as Caernarfon or Conwy. Our friend Master James was the official overseer though he soon left his associate Master Giles of St. George in charge and returned to north Wales. The modernising of Aberystwyth castle according to the standards of 1294 cost 'only' some 4,300 pounds.
The reason the castle is damaged much worse than Ed's other biggies lies in the fact that the sea is only a few yards away, and on a bad day not even that. Add to that the gales and torrents of a typical Welsh day, and even stone and mortar will crumble within time. The castle was beginning to succomb to decay as early as 1343, and the Civil War saw the end of it.
Old College with Constitution Hill in the background
What we got here is not a castle or cathedral, though it looks a bit like a mix of both, but the Castle Hotel, built 1872. It soon went bancrupt and was bought by the University College of Wales. It still houses some departments of the university, besides the newer locations at Penglais Campus and Llanbadarn Campus. The students surely got a pretty place to work in, but I wonder how often they'll find the Atlantic in the cellar. Let's hope they at least have a functioning central heating, something the Llywelyns, Owains, Henrys and Edwards will have sorely missed. Maybe that's the reason the Romans stayed away from the rain- and windswept Ceredigion Bay.
I was lucky, I had a nice day when I visited Aberystwyth.
¶ December 04, 2008 16 comments
Aberystwyth was a flyby visit on my way from Pembroke to Caernarfon, though should I ever come to Wales again, I'd like to spend more time there than two hours. It's a lively place because of the many students, but less hectic than Bangor with its connection to the train line to Manchester. James from the Sir Benfro blog (that's not a title, but Welsh for shire, btw.) gave me a qick tour to the promenade and the castle remains.
The pier had once been 900 feet long, but only about 300 remain today after the sea reclaimed parts of it. The sea tends to do that; Ceredigion Bay is also the location of the legendary Cantre'r Gwaelod, one of the sunken cities that line the coasts - its legends are related to Kêr Ys in Brittany.
The history of Aberystwyth goes back to the 4th century BC when Iron Age settlers fortified the hilltop called Pen Dinas. The remains of that large hillfort can still be seen. Albeit the Romans had been in the area (there's a stretch of arrow straight road the way I came that stands out among the winding Welsh tracks, and James told me that a few remains of a smaller Roman fortress can be found near where he lives) there is no trace they ever tried to establish a Roman fort on the site.
To the far right is a slender pillar; a monument erected in 1852 to honour the Duke of Wellington's victory at Waterloo, paid by public funding. It's interesting to see what people in the 19th century were willing to support financially - we got the misplaced Hermann (Arminius) monument much the same way. Try that today and you'll get laughed at.
In the foreground are some of the stones that form a bardic circle of 13 standing stones symbolising the 13 old counties, pre the 1974 reform. The castle ruins have become a park today, a change Edward II might have liked better than his father.
But it was not Edward I who started the castle building at Aberystwyth, it was one of the Gilbert de Clares who erected an earthen and timber ringwork castle down at the river Ystwyth in the 12th century.
In the early 13th century, after he ousted the de Clares and other Norman chaps, Llywelyn ap Iorweth 'the Great' decided a hill by the sea was a better place for a castle than a valley and built the first one in the present spot. Makes one wonder why he didn't chose Pen Dinas, either. Like so many castle at the time, the one of Aberystwyth changed hands several times after Llywelyn's death as the Norman/Welsh wars moved to and fro.
Edward I was the one who got really serious about the castle thing once he conquered the Welsh, and turned Aberystwyth castle into a structure as formidable as Caernarfon or Conwy. Our friend Master James was the official overseer though he soon left his associate Master Giles of St. George in charge and returned to north Wales. The modernising of Aberystwyth castle according to the standards of 1294 cost 'only' some 4,300 pounds.
The reason the castle is damaged much worse than Ed's other biggies lies in the fact that the sea is only a few yards away, and on a bad day not even that. Add to that the gales and torrents of a typical Welsh day, and even stone and mortar will crumble within time. The castle was beginning to succomb to decay as early as 1343, and the Civil War saw the end of it.
What we got here is not a castle or cathedral, though it looks a bit like a mix of both, but the Castle Hotel, built 1872. It soon went bancrupt and was bought by the University College of Wales. It still houses some departments of the university, besides the newer locations at Penglais Campus and Llanbadarn Campus. The students surely got a pretty place to work in, but I wonder how often they'll find the Atlantic in the cellar. Let's hope they at least have a functioning central heating, something the Llywelyns, Owains, Henrys and Edwards will have sorely missed. Maybe that's the reason the Romans stayed away from the rain- and windswept Ceredigion Bay.
I was lucky, I had a nice day when I visited Aberystwyth.
¶ December 04, 2008 16 comments
