Bruchsal, Germany - 19th September 2012
By: fam-united
I arrived in Bruchsal a few days ago. I met a rather sad host here, because she has such problems with her shoulder. She told me to tell you, that she will do her best to get photos taken with me as soon as possible. But she also asked me to tell you, that it might take some time until she writes the updates.
I hope to write soon again
Bye, HömpfMömpf
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Posted Sep 19, 2012, 1:49 pm
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Bruchsal, Germany - 6th October 2012
By: fam-united
Bruchsal has about 42 000 inhabitants, if you also count those in the five suburbs, which are Heidelsheim, Helmsheim, Untergrombach, Obergrombach and Büchenau. It was first mentioned in 796 A.D., but there had been an older settlement. 80 % of Bruchsal had been destroyed during World War II. on 1rst of March 1945. So you hardly find really old places.
Schloss Bruchsal is one of the most beautiful Baroque palaces in Germany and the only episcopal Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. The foundation stone was laid in 1722 by Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn, Prince Bishop of Speyer, who made the palace the centre of his absolutist dominion.
After being almost completely destroyed in the final days of World War II, the main tract was painstakingly reconstructed according to the original design and work was completed in 1975, including the magnificent dome, Marble Hall and Prince's Hall. The staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann is considered to be an architectural tour-de-force and has been described as the "finest staircase in the world".
Here we are in the palace garden. There is a nice pond with ducks.
There are many statues in the palace garden. Four of them show the four seasons. This one is autumn.
There are also the four elements fire, water, air and earth. This one is air.
We had a great view back to the palace and then walked closer to it again and took a photo of me and a halberd.
I've seen the backside of the building without and with fountain. On the left and the right side you can walk through a gate to the front part. Before we walked through the gate on the left, we passed a sundial, which is fixed to the wall of one of the palace buildings. I hope you can see it on the photo.
When we came through the gate we could see the county court building. It is the one with the little tower.
This is the gate called Damianstor. It is the entrance to the palace area.
Here is the county court of Bruchsal. In front of the county court you find the Amalienbrunnen, a fountain with snails.
Then we turned around a took a look back to the mainbuilding.
We crossed the street again and had a got a last photo taken with the county court and the main building, standing at almost the same place while taking the photos.
Then we walked to the other gate next to the mainbuilding. Before we walked through it, we took a photo of the view back to the county court, the gate Damianstor and if you take a closer look, you also can spot the tower of the prison between Damianstor and the tree.
Here you see the tower of the church St. Damian and Hugo, which sadly isn't baroque anymore.
Then we walked into the palace garden again, took a photo of the terrace and some nice flowers and at last a photo with leaves and chestnuts.
Here you see the tower of the old part of Bruchsal's hospital. In the building you find different doctors. The hospital is in a newer part.
Just turning on your heels you can see the interesting building of Bruchsal's prison. The prison, constructed ca. 1848, is nicknamed the Cafe with Eight Corners or "Cafe Achteck". Today it is a high security institution and predominantly houses individuals convicted of violent crimes and convicted terrorists, such as members of the Red Army Faction.
The Belvedere on the edge of the "Stadtgarten" was built by Leonhard Stahl in 1756 as a hunting lodge for Prince Bishop Franz Christoph von Hutten. The location was chosen so that the lodge would command an unspoiled view of the palace, town and Rhine rift valley beyond.
Especially worthy of note are the two towers, each of which has a viewing platform topped with a Chinese-style baldachin – an example of the fashion for chinoiserie prevalent at that time. Today, the Belvedere is used as a venue for concerts and theatre productions.
At top of the Andreasstaffel, high stairs, you have a great view over Bruchsal. The houses below belong to the oldest part of Bruchsal. You also can see the tower of the ancient castle and of two churches (from left).
The flat roofs belong to the older peoples house. In the far you can see the church St. Peter, a really nice baroque church.
All the houses with flat roofs and the white house on the left below this grey building with little tower belong to the older peoples house. The grey building is a private catholic grammar school.
We also walked a bit down the Andreasstaffel and had a few to the top from there. You see that small house. It is called Wingerthäusle. You can read about it in one of the photos.
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Posted Nov 29, 2012, 9:16 pm
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Ulm, Germany - 1st November 2012
By: fam-united
My host's son started to study in Ulm and so he needs a room, where he can sleep. Because it was so difficult to find a place, my host decided to drive to Ulm and stay there for two nights to help him. She had the car, so it was easier to drive from house to house.
We had a nice, but most of the time foggy view to the Ulm Minster - cathedral.
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. Ulm was founded around 850, is rich in history and traditions as a former Free Imperial City (German: freie Reichsstadt). Today, it is an economic centre due to its varied industries, and it is the seat of a university (University of Ulm, founded in 1967).
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Posted Jan 14, 2013, 6:16 pm
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Ulm, Germany - 1st November 2012
By: fam-united
Then we visited the catholic church Saint George. I really liked the colours and paintings.
We walked through Herrenkellergasse. At the corner to Rabengasse we found these nice old houses and had a nice view to the steeple of the Minster.
Internationally, Ulm is primarily known for having the church with the tallest steeple in the world (161.53 m (529.95 ft) high and 768 steps)., the Gothic minster (Ulm Minster, German: Ulmer Münster) built 1377-1891.
The Rathaus (Town Hall) was built in 1370, featuring some brilliantly-coloured murals dating from the mid-16th century. On the gable is an astronomical clock dating from 1520. Restored after serious damage in 1944.
The old Fischerviertel (fishermen's quarter) on the River Blau, with half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, and picturesque footbridges is fascinating. An interesting sight here is the Schiefes Haus(crooked house), a 16th-century house today used as a hotel.
According to legend, construction of the spire of the Ulm Munster was halted while only halfway completed when a wagon carrying a large wooden beam - loaded sideways - arrived at the narrow city gate. After contemplating how best to proceed, the mayor of Ulm gave the order to tear down part of the city wall, but before the order was carried our, a sparrow-like bird was observed maneuvering a long twig into its nest - lengthwise! Following the lead of the sparrow, the beam was turned, the wagon passed through the narrow gate, work was resumed, the cathedral was completed, and the legend of the Ulmer Spätze was born.
At last we walked down to the river Danube and enjoyed the sunset.
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Posted Jan 16, 2013, 8:13 am
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Ulm, Germany - 2nd November 2012
By: fam-united
This is the last view out of our room, short before we drove home again. This morning we have a nice view to the Ulm Minster.
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Posted Jan 28, 2013, 7:05 pm
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Bruchsal, Germany - 3rd December 2012
By: fam-united
It's just one month since my last update, but we had a really terrible weather and my host was very busy. Today we watched the snow falling to the ground. If it will stay there for a while?
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Posted Jan 28, 2013, 7:23 pm
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Bruchsal, Germany - 14th December 2012
By: fam-united
In the evening we heard some loud noise outside. We saw it was a firework in a park and tried to take photos of it with us. It was quite difficult, so the photo is rather blurry. You can see the curtain in the door of my host's room.
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Posted Jan 28, 2013, 7:33 pm
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Bruchsal, Germany - 22nd December 2012
By: fam-united
Our host was way too busy during the last weeks. And we sat there and waited for things to happen. Today finally she decided, that Christmas without Christmas cookies isn't Christmas. So she sorted our the recipes of the cookies, she wanted to bake. At first we baked the Zigeunerschnitten, a sort of gingerbread. It is my host's favourite.
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Posted Jan 29, 2013, 8:38 pm
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