Completed 19th August 2024

 

1000 Pieces

 

Frankfurt and Darmstadt (Vivarium), May 2024

Photos taken by me 

 

a swan on the River Main in Frankfurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impressions from our long weekend in Frankfurt and Darmstadt (II)

 The Frankfurt Cathedral Museum displays ecclesiastical treasures, a rich collection of medieval chasubles and important exhibits relating to Frankfurt's imperial cathedral, from early medieval excavation to evidence of its historicist redesign in the 19th century.

The museum was opened in 1987 in the cloister of the Frankfurt Imperial Cathedral of St. Bartholomew. The cloister itself dates back to the early 15th century, but destruction and alterations in later centuries have left their mark.

Here I show you some of the exhibits that stand out for me, whether because of their artistry or their age

Cross reliquary, Middle Rhine, 1370

Lamentation of Christ
Winged altar, donated by Johannes Latomus in 1587.
Center: Antwerp, 1550
Wing: Frankfurt, 1570

Mary with child and angels playing music, Cologne, c. 1420

 

Bibel, Johannes Schönsperger d. Ä. (1455-1521), Augsburg, 1490

Doors of a liturgical cabinet from Frankfurt Cathedral (c. 1370-1382), by Master Johann, painter at Babinberg (Bamberg), citizen of Oppenheim

Magnificent monstrance, Augsburg, 1719 (made by Thelott and Lutz)

 

 

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We also visited the so-called Vivarium, a small, fine zoological parc in Darmstadt 

Here I show you a few animals whose photos are particularly successful

 

 Vicuñas eyeing a female peacock...

while the male peacock mates mightily :-)

A tortoise chilling in the sun...

... while some flamingos had a loud, tough discussions.

 

A spacious outdoor area with avocets

In the Reptile House:

Bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), curiously "smiling" 

 

Spiny-tailed monitor (Varanus acunthurus)

Dyeing Poison frog (Dendrobates pinctorius azureus)

 

Frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii)

 Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

 

Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis)

 

 

Later in the day we discovered the Messel Pit

 From a circular, high lookout we had a good view of the pit, which is still being scientifically explored. The area is generously fenced off and does not allow unauthorized access.

 

 

The Messel Pit is a UN World Heritage Site

 The state of preservation, quantity and variety of fossils found there is unique. The pit documents the history of the earth's development 48 million years ago, when explosive changes in the animal and plant world followed the extinction of the dinosaurs.

 

Many special finds can be seen in a magnificent exhibition. There is also a small movie theater with a film about the protests against the plans to turn the pit into a landfill site. There is also a room where you can virtually sink to a depth of almost 400 meters.

 

 Please enjoy some of the amazing finds:

 

 

Diplocynodon

A Crocodile

 

 

Lizard (Ornathocephalus)

Turtle (Trionyx)

The oldest snake of the world (!) (Messelopython freyi)

Juvenile Crocodile (Diplocynodon)

Darwinius marsillae

IDA

 The female animal was named Ida and was not yet fully grown when it fell into the lake. It is the best-preserved, most complete skeleton of an early primate. The state of preservation of the bones, teeth and stomach contents are of such high quality that it has significantly expanded our insight into the life of the animals. Ida was a vegetarian and had broken her wrist. However, scientists are certain that she is not the so-called "missing link".

 

Garfish (Atracosteus strausi)

 

Eurohippus messelensis

After seven years, another original horse was found. Teeth and bones between the ribcage (not visible here, but on wikipedia) come from the skeleton of an embryo. It was therefore a pregnant mare. The team at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt prepared the mare in record time so that it can now be exhibited.

Propalaeutherium voigti

A Stallion, skeleton almost complete, 48 Million years old

found at Messel Pit in 2015

and outside the museum

orchard meadows with various trees named "Tree of the year..."

 

a 2-tons-turning stone ... it wheighs more than my car and I could move it with my fingertips (after i had set the stone in motion)

 

Impressions from our long weekend in Frankfurt and Darmstadt, Germany

 We spent our long weekend (9.-12. May) in the near of Darmstadt

Our first sightseeing hotspot was Frankfurt and "Mainhattan", the financial district at the river Main, related to Manhattan, NYC

 

We also visited the St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt, which was a Protestant church.

 

   ©I, Dontworry

 It became  famous because the first German parliament met there:

On May 18, 1848, liberal, radical democratic and monarchy-loyal members of parliament gathered in Frankfurt's Paulskirche to adopt a liberal constitution and a unified German nation state. Since then, the church has been regarded as a symbol of the first German democratic movement.

 One of the historically outstanding achievements of the Frankfurt National Assembly is the imperial law on the Fundamental Rights of the German People passed on December 21, 1848. This was the first time that human and civil rights became law in Germany.

  The Paulskirche constitution failed because it was rejected by German princes, the deputies had no power to enforce it and the Prussian king rejected the imperial crown.

Inside the plenary chamber

 

 

 Today, the building is a venue for all kinds of events, such as concerts, speeches and award ceremonies.  It is a national monument that is important for the whole of Germany.

 

 Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: German Publishers and Booksellers Association), awarded during the frankfurt book fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche. The prize has been awarded since 1950 and all award winners are immortalized on the plaques at the entrance to St. Paul's Church

 Impressions from the "Römer"

We went on a river trip on the Main and show you some impressions here

Remarkable is a large and imposing inscription on top of the "Eiserne Steg", written in ancient Greek. It reads Homer's line from the Odyssey, when the goddess Athena descends to Ithaca to urge Telemachus seeking his father, Odysseus: "PLEON EPI OINOPA PONTON EP ANTHROPOYS" which means "Sailing through the dark sea with people of other languages".

New building of the European Central Bank

 

Tower of the imperial cathedral St. Bartholomew behind a row of houses by the river

 

Exterior view of a cement factory with green crane

 

Niederräder railroad bridge

The characteristic spire of the Messeturm (on the left)

A real gem of Frankfurt is hidden under the Niederräder Brücke bridge: the Orange Beach. It's actually just a slightly larger kiosk with unusual seating, including beer benches, deckchairs and beach chairs. But with a little beach feeling and a lot of charm, this place has quickly achieved cult status and enjoys enormous popularity, not only among cyclists and walkers. 

Riverport Gutleuthof (also known as Flusshafen Gutleut or Flusshafen Gutleuthof) is an inland port in Frankfurt am Main, which was built as a landing stage in the early 1960s and is used in particular for handling bulk goods and metal products.

"Maynblick Project", a luxurious home

 

Mainova AG is one of the largest regional energy suppliers in Germany and supplies around one million people in Hesse and the neighboring federal states with electricity, natural gas, heat and drinking water.

Inside St. Bartholomew

Gothic altar

 

Byzantine style icon of St. Hedwig 

Inside the Electoral chapel

From 1438, the electoral chapel attached to the south of the choir, which otherwise served as the abbey library, was the venue for the imperial elections. There was an altar on the east wall and seven chairs on the long walls for the election. During elections, the electors' armchairs were covered with red velvet.

At the beginning of the election, the electors gathered in the Römer for preliminary negotiations. The following day, they went to St. Bartholomew's Church early in the morning in full electoral regalia. The collegiate chapter received them there and opened the ceremony with a Mass of the Holy Spirit to ask for a blessing for a wise decision. An oath was taken in front of the altar of the election chapel. In the sanctuary, above the electors' chairs, there was an impressive depiction of the Last Judgement with Christ as the Judge of the World, who will also hold the earthly rulers to account for the consequences of their actions. The imperial marshal closed the chapel. The electors met as a conclave. The actual election was secret, a simple majority of votes was sufficient.

The result was then solemnly announced in the cathedral. As the highest-ranking of the electors, the Archbishop of Mainz swore in the new king, after which the electors lifted him onto the altar of the cross in front of the rood screen. After the Te Deum had been sung together, the election of the king was publicly proclaimed. 

Floor tiles in the electoral chapel

Every year on the last Saturday in January, the Office of Charlemagne is celebrated in the cathedral; this pontifical mass in honor of Charlemagne has commemorated his death and memorial day, January 28, since 1332. Today, the focus is on the idea of a Europe united in Christianity, of which Charlemagne is considered the representative. A cardinal or bishop from another European country is therefore usually invited to deliver the sermon. 

A large painting with an eventful history: "Deposition from the cross" 

by Anthonis van Dyck painted in 1627. He originally painted it for the Archbishop of Mainz, 

who did not want to pay for it after completion.

The disgruntled painter eventually donated the painting to an impoverished Franciscan monastery. The monastery was delighted with the gift in the middle of a war and soon sold it on, which saved the painting: the monastery was burned down by an enemy army shortly afterwards. 

 

The painting ended up in the Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna and from there in the possession of the Birkenstock family. Their daughter Antonie later married a Frankfurt patrician's son, Franz Brentano, and brought the painting with her to Frankfurt. After Brentano's death, his widow bequeathed it to St. Bartholomew's Abbey in 1852. In 1952, the painting was given its current place of honor in the north transept of the cathedral. 

I will show you Darmstadt Vivarium and "Grube Messel" in a separate blogpost :-)