Sights Archives ⋆ Page 32 of 152 ⋆ The Passenger

January 8, 2023January 22, 2023

Restoration

What many people don’t know is that Hildesheim was once a location for military important productions. Different companies produced tank parts, fuzes, aircraft engines and torpedoes as well as machine parts that were needed for the tanks and lorries of the Wehrmacht. Because of that Hildesheim was seven times the target of British, Canadian and US-American air raids in 1944 and 1945. On March 22nd, 1945, the historic city center was destroyed by 90 percent. 1,300 of the once 1,500 half-timbered houses were lost in a firestorm.

January 1, 2023January 15, 2023

Borderland

The Elbe is a 1094 kilometers long river which starts at the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše) of the Czech Republic and floats through Hamburg and into the North Sea close to Cuxhaven. During the times when Germany was separated into two different states the river was part of the inner-German border: after 1945 the US-American and British occupation zones met the Soviet zone here. On the side of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, DDR) a metal fence was created, towers built, villages removed and mines were placed.

December 29, 2022January 15, 2023

Inselstädtchen

Hitzacker, Dannenberg, Gorleben – these are the names of small cities known well throughout Germany. They are part of the Wendland, a very secluded region of Lower Saxony. Here a temporary storage for atomic waste was created and a final storage was planned, without any good reasons. It was merely the fact that this region was at the inner-German border which supported the idea of storing this long-term dangerous waste there. Between 1995 and 2011 thirteen so-called Castor transports arrived there and protests grew massively over time. That brought the region onto the inner maps of Germans.

December 28, 2022January 15, 2023

Wasserturm

Where to find the best views on the city of Lüneburg, Germany? A brilliant option is the Wasserturm, an old water reservoir created in 1907 which was used until 1986. The technology inside was removed and the building is now protected as a cultural heritage. If you buy a ticket you can take an elevator to the top of the 56 meters high tower (okay, there is a little amount of steps that you still have to take) and enjoy the city from up above.

December 26, 2022January 14, 2023

Flown away

In the south of Göttingen, in a quite prominent location at the intersection of the Geismar Landstraße and the Friedländer Weg you can find the stub of a memorial that is pretty much unknown to the citizens of Göttingen. It is the Süd-West-Afrika-Denkmal, commemorating the fallen of the 82nd regiment (once located at the city) during the uprising of the Herero and Nama against the colonial forces in former Deutsch-Südwestafrika, todays Namibia.

December 23, 2022April 23, 2023

Centerpiece

At the heart of the ancient city center of Göttingen you can find the Altes Rathaus, the old town hall building dating back to the year 1270 CE. It was changed multiple times over the centuries and was used by the city administration and city council until the year 1978. After that time both institutions use a skyscraper created outside the city center, the Neues Rathaus at the Hiroshima-Platz.

December 18, 2022June 15, 2023

Reichsparteitagsgelände

Until 1933 the area around the Dutzendteich lake in the East of Nürnberg, Germany, was used for recreation. People could swim in the lake and restaurants as well as coffee bars were a much welcomed destination for an excursion on weekends. In the Luitpoldhain park nearby the Luitpoldhalle in art nouveau style was home to exhibitions and the park was used for political rallies. And then in 1933 the fascist organization Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) decided to make Nürnberg the host city for their political rallies, the Reichsparteitage, for the next 100 years.

December 17, 2022December 25, 2022

Christkindlesmarkt

If people only know one thing about Nürnberg, Germany, it is the Christkindlesmarkt – one of the oldest and best-known Christmas markets in the world. Every year the Hauptmarkt and the streets surrounding it are filled with stands where you can buy sweets (especially Lebkuchen and Früchtebrot) and Christmas decorations. But also the typical German bratwurst and mulled wine can be found there.

December 17, 2022December 27, 2022

Bavarian Protestants

Nürnberg is part of the federal state of Bavaria. Traditionally the Roman-Catholic church has the most members there but in Nürnberg the situation is different: The city belongs to a region called Franken and the city was independent until the year 1806 when it became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Mittelfranken and Oberfranken, but especially the city of Nürnberg are Protestant areas and therefore the two most impressive churches of the city also belong to Protestantism.

December 17, 2022January 14, 2023

Kaiserburg

The icon of the city of Nürnberg, Germany, is also the place most visitors go to first: the castle. In fact it is a combination of two castles, the Kaiserburg and the Burggrafenburg. It dates back to the year 1000 CE and is located on a rock in the north of the city center. The castle was important during the times of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1806 CE), starting with the Holy Roman Emperors Henry III, IV and V.