Germany Archives ⋆ Page 30 of 113 ⋆ The Passenger

March 19, 2020March 19, 2020

Magazinhof

Locals call it the Nazikaserne (Nazi barracks): the Magazinhof at Kassel, Germany. It was built in 1940 for the Wehrmacht which used it to store grain and other food (it was officially called Ersatzverpflegungsmagazin). After the war, the Bundeswehr took over the three buildings and stored cloth inside. In 1994 the army moved out, the buildings deteriorated, trees began to grow within the buildings, vandalism happened and fires broke out. But the building was protected by monument protection and therefore it was hard to sell.

March 18, 2020April 14, 2022

Ahnepark

Vellmar is a municipality north of Kassel, Germany. It was formed in 1967 by combining Obervellmar, Niedervellmar and Frommershausen. When Vellmar received the city rights in 1975 it was decided that there should be a centrally placed recreation zone and the result is the Ahnepark opened in 1986. It is a beautiful park next to river Ahne with artificial lakes, a restaurant next to the water, a playground, sports areas, a miniature railway and much more to explore.

March 8, 2020April 14, 2022

Firnsbachtal

The Firnsbach is a small and rather short stream (3.2 kilometres long) that gathers its water in the Habichtswald and runs via river Bauna into the river Fulda. On its way it passes the nice restaurant Herbsthäuschen and the former mine Schlüsselstollen. Walking along the river through its valley is nice because of the basalt rocks around, the little waterfalls and several bridges you have to pass. It doesn’t have a long gorge but it is worth a visit and can be included in longer hikes.

March 1, 2020March 1, 2020

Museum Friedland

Friedland is a place that plays an important role in German history – a place in southern Lower Saxony that is deeply connected to migration. It all started after World War II when the Grenzdurchgangslager was opened and people from the lost former eastern parts of Germany as well as prisoners of war arrived here. They started their new lives in this place, were registered, provided with food and housed until they could travel onward. Still more than twenty years after the war people arrived from camps and prisons in the east. Even after that, the Grenzdurchgangslager remained open and welcomed Germans migrating back from Soviet Russia and asylum seekers.

March 1, 2020March 1, 2020

Heimkehrerdenkmal

When you’re travelling south of Göttingen, Germany, you will see a memorial on top of a hill. It is the Friedland-Gedächtnisstätte or Heimkehrerdenkmal located at Friedland. The memorial consists of four huge blocks of concrete pointing north, south, east and west. It is 28 meters high and has been placed there in 1967 because of the Grenzdurchgangslager near the hill – Friedland was the place where after World War II the persons arrived that were living in the lost eastern regions of the country and the prisoners of war. The foundation stone was laid by Konrad Adenauer – the first chancellor of Germany – in 1966.

February 29, 2020March 2, 2020

Hallenbad Süd

The Hallenbad Süd is an indoor swimming pool at the city quarter Brückenhof of Kassel, Germany. It is existing since 1971 but it was completely refurbished in 2010 and is a very modern facility. You will find two pools – one for children and a 25 metres sports pool. Within Kassel, the Hallenbad Süd is rather remote but it is worth getting here. Only day tickets are offered and cost 3,50 Euro – the same you would pay for 1,5 hours in the Auebad (if you get a discount by getting a customer loyalty card).

February 29, 2020February 29, 2020

Hauptfriedhof

The Hauptfriedhof (main cemetery) of Kassel, Germany is located in the northern part of the city and dates back to the year 1843. You will find many old graves and monuments there – but still today people are buried here (graves are typically removed after 20 years). Well known people buried here are Philipp Scheidemann (an important social democrat from Kassel, the family Henschel (important industrials), Ludwig Emil Grimm (a younger brother of the Brothers Grimm) and composer Louis Spohr.

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020

MT Melsungen

Melsungen is a small city southeast of Kassel, Germany. It is known for its half-timbered houses, big companies and the MT Melsungen, a handball team playing in the Handball-Bundesliga (HBL). The team played sometime in Rotenburg an der Fulda and has now its home in the Rothenbach-Halle at Kassel. Handball was never a team sport I was watching and therefore I had to learn some rules of it in advance.

February 23, 2020February 23, 2020

Ancient harbour

Bad Karlshafen, Germany, is the most northern city of the federal state of Hesse. The ‘Bad‘ in its name shows that it is a spa city and people get there to cure their illnesses. It was founded by Charles I, landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1699 as a city for the Huguenots who fled from France because they were persecuted due to their Protestant Christian belief. You can find a museum for these people next to the harbour. By that time it was called Sieburg – it received the name Carlshaven in 1717 to honour its creator.

February 23, 2020February 24, 2020

Drei-Länder-Eck

When you walk on top of the mountains south of Bad Karlshafen, Germany, you might see a sign saying ‘Drei-Länder-Eck‘. But it isn’t the place where three countries or three federal states meet – it is just the border between North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse. Since 1837 the border between Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia was in the middle of river Weser and in 1971 the border was changed and now the ‘Drei-Länder-Eck‘ is on the other side of the river Weser not far away from the Weser-Skywalk. It is a bit confusing – but in fact, the place marked as ‘Drei-Länder-Eck‘ was never the point where the borders met; at this place, formerly only a sign pointing to the different federal states of Germany was standing.