Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The egapark in Erfurt, Germany is a landscape and garden park with some special features. It is 36 hectare large and has been built on the ground of an old castle and fortification. It was opened in 1950 with a first horticultural show and from 1961 on the Internationale Gartenbauausstellung (iga), an international garden show of the socialist states was located here.
The cathedral of Erfurt, Germany is a huge catholic church located on a hill in the center of the city. Next to it the Severinskirche can be found. It is said that the building dates back to the year 725 CE. During the many years different changes have been applied to the building, mostly gothic style elements have been added.
Continue reading “Erfurter Dom”
When you leave the main railway station of Erfurt, Germany you’ll immediately see a building with the words “Willy Brandt ans Fenster” (“Willy Brandt to the window”) on top. It is the Erfurter Hof, a former hotel in which the very first steps towards the German reunification were made. On the 19th of March, 1970 the chancellor of the FRG, Willy Brandt, met here with the prime minister of the GDR, Willi Stoph.
If you are leaving the railway station in Göttingen, Germany you cannot miss to see the newest monument in town. The privately funded pedestal by artist Christiane Möbus is at first sight a mere copy of the Ernest Augustus memorial close to the railway station of Hanover – without king Ernest on top. Uncovered just some days ago it has already attracted a lot of mockery and malice.
Always bad news from Dresden, Germany: every monday a movement of ant-islamic and xenophobic citizens demonstrates their view on politics, inviting speakers that even cross the border to fascist statements. And the crude excesses at the asylum-seeker housing in close-by Heidenau. And the violence-prone “fans” of the soccer club Dynamo Dresden. A city to avoid?
One of the mayor sights in Dresden, Germany is the “Zwinger” – an orangery and garden close to the river Elbe. It dates back to the 17th century and has been planned by famous architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. You can walk through the gardens, roam the terraces and enjoy the buildings in Baroque style.
The opera of Dresden, Germany has been named after its architect Gottfried Semper and was built from the year 1838 on. It is one of the landmarks of Dresden and located close to the Zwinger and the river Elbe. It was destroyed twice: In 1869 and in 1945. And only in 1985 the building could be re-opened with a show of “Der Freischütz” from Carl Maria von Weber. One of the last positive moments for the government of the GDR.
The Fürstenzug in Dresden, Germany is a huge mural display attached to the castle within the city center. It has been painted from 1871 to 1876 and should celebrate the former sovereigns of Saxonia on the 800th anniversary of the Wettin family. It is 102 meters long and depicts 35 noblemen mounted on their horses.
I still remember the moment when I was standing in front of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden, Germany the first time in my life. It was a ruin. Big blocks of stone were lying around. The government of the GDR had no interest in repairing a house of prayer and left it standing in ruins – as a memorial of war.
Continue reading “Finally restored”
Kraków, Poland is a wonderful medieval city that survived the centuries without being destroyed or harmed. That is why it has a very unique atmosphere and style. It was until 1596 the capital of the kingdom of Poland and most Polish kings are buried within the cathedral of Kraków. Here you’ll also find the second-oldest university in northern Europe directly after Praha, Czech Republic.