Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
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.
Continue reading “Flown away”
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.
Continue reading “Centerpiece”
Nürnberg, Germany, has a long tradition with zoological gardens: in medieval times there was a zoo close to the city center (next to the Tiergärtnertor), from 1912 on it was located near the Dutzendteich lake but then it had to move because of the creation of the Reichsparteitagsgelände. Since 1939 the Tiergarten is located in the East of the city in a mountainous region called Schmausenbuck.
Continue reading “Manatee paradise”
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.
Continue reading “Reichsparteitagsgelände”
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.
Continue reading “Christkindlesmarkt”
During the times of Nazi Germany the city of Nürnberg was very important as the NSDAP Nazi party planned to hold their party conventions there. On the Reichsparteitagsgelände different vast buildings in fascist architectural styles were planned and partially build. Later the city became important for another reason as the Nürnberger Prozesse against war criminals were held there. The allied forces took over room 600 of the Schwurgericht belonging to the Justizpalast of Nürnberg and prepared it for this very special trial.
Continue reading “Saal 600”
The Neues Museum is an impressive museum for modern art at Nürnberg, Germany. It was opened in the year 2000 and shows changing exhibitions as well as works from its own collection of contemporary art which began in 1967. The museum receives a lot of donations, especially from art collectors of the region. By that for example it holds the third largest collection of works by Gerhard Richter. You can also discover works by Joseph Beuys, Neo Rauch, and Andy Warhol.
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The Germanisches Nationalmuseum is a vast cultural history museum at Nürnberg, Germany. Its name is a bit odd, as the Germanic people are a combination of different tribes just grouped by the origins of their languages: Germanic people are people that are speaking a Germanic language. And therefore the Germanisches Nationalmuseum is a national museum without a nation. This name can only be understood in the historical context of the creation of the museum in 1853: during the German revolutions of 1848–1849 people tried to define and unite a German(ic) state.
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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.
Continue reading “Bavarian Protestants”
The Deutsches Museum at München is well-known, but it also has four spin-offs: the Verkehrszentrum and Flugwerft not far away showing vehicles, an exhibition at Bonn and as the latest addition a museum at Nürnberg. The latter was opened in 2021 and is focused on a specific topic, the future. That is special as you can’t leave it as it is over time; you always have to adopt the exhibits to let them remain a window into the future.
Continue reading “The Future”