Remembering the end of WWII (8.5.1945)

 The Second World War ended in Europe in 1945 with Germany's unconditional surrender on 8th May. Fighting in Berlin had already ended on 2nd May, but the official surrender was signed on 8th May. Germany was then divided into four occupation zones. 

During the division of Germany, the Berlin Wall was a border fortification system of the German Democratic Republic that existed from 13th August 1961 to 9th November 1989 to hermetically seal off West Berlin from the territory of the GDR. On 13th August 1961, the SED began to seal off the borders around West Berlin, initially with barbed wire and, a few days later, with walls. 

The people of the GDR protested during Monday demonstrations in Leipzig 1989. They wanted freedom of expression and free elections; they wanted to be able to travel to the West again. The peaceful revolution was successful, because the Berlin Wall fell. 1989/1990 East and West Germany were reunited.

In my hometown there are several memorial stones, together in a city park to commemorate the victims of WWII

"In memory of the victims of Nazi tyranny and World War II"

"Enemies became friends, committed to peace

Donated by Veteran's Association"

"In honourable memory of the dead, as a warning legacy for the living. For us"

Photos taken by me in June 2025
 

Completed 23rd November 2024

500 Pieces

The Albrechtsburg in Meissen, Germany

A limited edition by Schlösserland Sachsen

400 jigsaw puzzles only * manufactured by puzzlefabrik

 

In 929, King Henry I built a wooden fortification on a rock above the Elbe. The Margrave ruled over the entire Mark Meissen, which went down in history as the “Cradle of Saxony”.
Between 1471 and 1524, the brothers Ernst and Albrecht von Wettin, who ruled jointly in Saxony, commissioned the construction of a late Gothic castle: Albrechtsburg.  This made it less of a defensive structure and more of a castle - the first in German architectural history. 

Due to the steep slope of the Elbe, the basement had to be built over two floors, followed by the first floor and three upper floors. The ingenious way in which light was directed through curtain arch windows and the cell vaults used throughout the castle were an architectural innovation. A masterpiece of staircase construction is the Great Spiral Staircase, a staircase of curved steps that wind around a filigree spindle.

Augustus the Strong made active use of Albrechtsburg Castle again in 1710 - as Europe's first porcelain manufactory. Porcelain was produced at Albrechtsburg Castle for 153 years until the production facility disappeared from the Gothic rooms in 1863. Extensive restoration work was carried out to restore the original Gothic appearance and eliminate the massive damage caused by its use as a manufactory.

Additional money from the reparations paid by France for the Franco-Prussian War then made the new artistic design of the castle possible. From 1873 onwards, murals were painted, mainly depicting historical events of the castle, the Mark Meissen, the Wettins and the creation of the ‘White Gold’.

Completed 28th September 2024

 

 

500 Pieces

 

The Kyffhäuser Puzzle

Photography by Foto-Görtz, Bad Frankenhausen, Germany

Limited Edition of 3000 jigsaw puzzles

to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Kyffhäuder Monument (1896-1996)

 

The Kyffhäuser (German pronunciation: [ˈkɪfˌhɔɪ̯zɐ], sometimes also referred to as Kyffhäusergebirge) is a hill range in Central Germany, southeast of the Harz mountains. It reaches its highest point at the Kulpenberg with an elevation of 473.4 m (1,553 ft). The range is the site of medieval Kyffhausen Castle (Reichsburg Kyffhausen) and the 19th century Kyffhäuser Monument; it has significance in German traditional mythology as the legendary resting place of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.  

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 :-)