Gelnhausen - Kaiserpfalz Palace

 A number of cities lay claim to be the geographic center of the European Union.   Of course the Union is constantly changing boundaries as new countries are added.  This one probably has a somewhat biased perspective in that it was done by the National Geographic Foundation of Germany.

Gelnhausen was founded by Staufer Emperor Friedrich I. Barbarossa. The Kaiserpfalz is one of the best preserved palaces of the Staufer Dynasty.

The half timbered houses stand out because of their color and meticulous maintenance.  This city is also known for the Witches Tower. The tower (not displayed here) was preserved in its original condition.   It was impressive as the walls were 2 and a half meters thick and 24 meters tall.  The front door is 4 meters above ground level and is accessed via a wooden staircase from the passing wall walk.

The restaurant "Zum Löwen"  and the plaque on this restaurant says it is "one of the oldest restaurants in Germany, first mentioned in 1506 (by Dr. Johannes Faustus). Owned by the same family since 1639."

"Zum Löwen" means "to the lion", and Dr. Johannes Faustus was a German alchemist, magician and author who lived from about 1480 to about 1540. Not much is known about his life, but there is evidence that he was in Gelnhausen in 1506 as a performer of magic tricks and horoscopes. After his death he became the protagonist of numerous folk tales, puppet shows and finally serious works of literature such as Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

And of course there have been several operas based on the Faust legend or on Goethe's Faust, including the marvelous "dramatic legend" called The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

Church Historical Sites in Herefordshire and Preston, England

 We had three days in England to fulfill an assignment given by the Area Presidency.  In the process of completing our assigned duties, we managed to see and briefly visit several important church historical sites.
Travelling from Birmingham to Preston we stopped at Gadfield Elm.  Gadfield Elm was the first chapel in England and was use before anything built in America. It was originally built in 1836 by a religious group known as the United Brethren.  Through the efforts of Wilford Woodruff, most of the members of this group were baptized into the Church in 1840.

The United Brethren, led by a man named Thomas Knighton, had separated themselves from the Methodists and were seeking further light and knowledge about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Wilford Woodruff recorded that "on the 21st day of March I baptized Elder Thomas Kington.  He was superintendent of both preachers and members of the United Brethren. "The first thirty days after my arrival in Herefordshire, I had baptized forty-five preachers and one hundred and sixty members of the United Brethren, who put into my hands one chapel and forty-five houses, which were licensed according to law to preach in."

After the conversion of the United Brethren, the Gadfield Elm Chapel, deeded to the Church of Jesus Christ by John Benbow and Thomas Knighton, was used for several conferences of the Church, at which Brigham Young, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke at least once.  The Gadfield Elm Chapel became the center of activity for the Church in the area. With the call of the Saints to gather in America, the chapel was subsequently sold to help fund ocean passage of the converts.  It was deeded back to the Church in 2004.

On July 22, 1837, the first seven missionaries arrived in Preston's Market Square (namely Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, Joseph Fielding, Isaac Russell, John Goodson and John Snider).  The Elders preached beneath this obelisk on a number of occasions where "both rich and poor...flocked from all parts to 'hear what these dippers had to say."  (The elders were 

referred to as dippers given the mode of baptism by immersion).

We then proceeded down to a beautiful park.  In this park are three LDS plaques - the largest of which commemorates the first baptisms in England.  The Ribble River flows along the perimeter of the park.  It is here that a number of baptisms took place.  Heber C. Kimball is quoted as saying, "The circumstances of baptizing in the open air being a somewhat novel, a concourse of between seven and nine thousand persons assembled on 

the banks of the river to witness the ceremony."  The bridge on which we are standing is called the old Tram Bridge and is actually only 45 years old.  The original wooden bridge was torn down in the 1960's and a new one was constructed in exactly the same style but this time in concrete.  It was a beautiful day, rather rare for that time of the year.  The first two candidates for baptism were so eager they had a foot race to the water's edge to see who would be the first British baptism.  George D.  Watt was the lucky winner.

This farm house was owned by John Benbow, a rather well-to-do land holder who occupied the house from 1832 to1840.  Wilford Woodruff gave his first gospel sermon here on March 5,  1840.  We visited the property and the pond where Bro. Benbow and 31 others were baptized in the space of 5 days.  In the short time Elder Wilford Woodruff was there, he baptized 301 people in Herefordshire.

The Rhine and Main in Flood January 2011

Flooding like this has not been seen for many years.  This wreaked havoc on their transportation system as
rivers are the primary means of distribution of goods in Germany.  The river was so  high the barges could
not go under the bridges. Road links made normal access to some places  much more challenging.

This is looking across the Rhine.  It looks like a lake.  It forced us of our normal routes onto some very
picturesque country side.  Damage to some river side towns was extensive.

We stopped along the side of the highway on  the way to Rudesheim.  This is the Rhine River

Ben and Andrea were with us earlier when we traveled on this road to Rudesheim

We took a cruise previously from this site.  No boats or barges were allowed on the river.  

Heavy rains and short spell of warm weather caused some towns to be flooded along the Rhine

Dinkelsbuhl - Saved by a child

 Dinkelsbuhl is a medieval walled city with the flavor and character of Rothenberg.  It escaped the destruction that befell so many other cities in Germany.  Therefore it retains the appealing features of previous generations.  Germany was always a divided country and various forces including the Swedes, French and Romans plundered or invaded at will.  In addition their own infighting on religious or secular grounds also served to give reason for razing whole cities.

The name is derived from the German word for "child", and is called such because of the legend that a child saved the town from massacre by the Swedish troops during the surrender.  The legend tells  that when a Swedish army besieged the town, a teenage girl took the children  begging the general for mercy.  The Swedish general had recently lost his young son to illness, and a boy who approached him so closely resembled his own son that he decided to spare the city.

In the picture to the right I am holding a  map of the town with the prominent buildings identified.  This one is of a corn house, a storage facility of significant dimensions, obviously a sign to the importance of their winter stores.

The town was full of steep pitched roofs with ornate designs.  Around every corner their were relics of bygone times; wells, statues and towers.

The church is a masterpiece of the gothic style in the late 15th century.  The rather unadorned exterior belies the grandeur of the splendid interior.


I would rank this city right up with the best of any walled cities visited to date.  It was certainly worth the visit. All the car traffic in the old town took away from its otherwise historic image.

Erfurt at Christmas

 Our aim for this Christmas season was to seek out what was reported to be some of the best Christmas markets in southern Germany.  We had plans to take in three cities in one day.  It was a rather ambitious endeavor given that the three cities chosen were more than two hours from Frankfurt.  Their reputation warranted the extra time and effort required.  We started with Erfurt which is noted for two reputable universities.  Marin Luther acquired both his Bachelors and Masters degree here.  It has one of the largest market squares dominated by two churches--one catholic and the other protestant.  These prominent  edifices are perched atop a hill and reaching them involves a broad concrete staircase.  From the vantage point in front of the two churches, one can see the cityscape and more particularly the square alive with colours of the Christmas season.  In addition to the normal booths marketing various and sundry knick knacks, there were a number of craftsmen who obviously were taking advantage of the throngs of people frequenting the square at this time of year.  We too could not resist and purchased a three level Christmas Carousel as a keepsake of our two Christmases in Germany.                                                              

Erfurt is the capital of Thuringia, was formerly part of East Germany and is the city closest to the geographical center of Germany so it has something in common with our little town of Vanderhoof in the center of British Columbia.  The city itself was first mentioned in 742 and has an intact medieval city center.  The churches date back to the 13th century and Erfurt claims to have the oldest still standing Jewish synogogue  in Europe. Another remarkable site is the bridge which crosses the Gera River and has 32 buildings on it.  It is hard to tell you are on a bridge, except where access
points between the building allow one to the see the river below. On one end of the bridge is an old church on the other a monastery.  Quite a picturesque scene. The appeal of this city aside from the market and bridge was the splendid examples of architecture, the design work of the building facades and the energy so readily felt in this university town.

On the day we were there, fire men were removing snow from the down town roof tops to prevent the accumulation from sliding and injuring passersbys below. Their boom trucks and colorful apparel drew lots of spectators.  Taking in the market is unquestionably part of the Christmas tradition in Germany.  Every town boasts its Christmas market.

We went on to Weimer another 20 minutes down the road and took in their market as well.  We plan on heading back to Weimer as it holds much appeal for other reasons.

Another picture of Erfurt 

Marvelous woodwork in choir stalls

The interior of the cathedral- Stunning!

Mainz- City of Emperors

Mainz Cathedral of St. Martin (Mainzer Dom) over 1,000 years old

Mainz is able to capture the appeal of almost any visitor.  It has a rich, even fabled history from Roman times  through to the turbulent period of the ruling religious aristocracy of the Catholic Church to the Third Reich and the Jewish persecution. Geographically it sits at the confluence of the Main and the Rhine a strategically critical center for transportation, trade, commerce, defense and wine production.  Over the centuries it was the seat of government and the coronation place of seven emperors.

Mainz visually commands attention.  The grandeur of the city beckons one to explore its history and unravel the mystery behind the aura of  importance this place seems to emanate.  St, Martins Cathedral dominates the central square.  It was the seat of the Archbishop of Mainz- the Episcopal See.  It was consecrated in 911 AD and over the centuries has undergone extensive renovations to conform to the architectural standards of the time.  Wars, natural aging, shifting river beds and fires all forced various structural modifications.  Even today it is in the midst of the major interior and exterior refurbishing.  Like many of the major cathedrals of Germany, it sheer size and grandeur bespeak its importance.

Mainz has a collection of generational  remains in the form of architecture, artifacts, relics and written history to capture one's imagination and cater to the appeal of diverse interests.  It is this diversity that makes this city intriguing.  It is a city to be visited numerous times to begin to appreciate its rich historical heritage:

Christ Church 1898–1903, bombed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1948

• Roman-Germanic central museum  It is home to Roman, Medieval, and earlier artifacts.
• Antique Maritime Museum It houses the remains of five Roman boats from the late 4th century, discovered in the 1980s.
• Roman remains, including Jupiter's column, Drusus' mausoleum, the ruins of the theatre and the aqueduct.
• The Iron Tower (Eisenturm, tower at the former iron market), a tower from the 13th century.
• The Wood Tower (Holzturm, tower at the former wood market), a tower from the 14th century.
• The Gutenberg Museum – exhibits an original Gutenberg Bible amongst many other printed books from the 15th century and later.
• The Mainz Old Town – what's left of it, the quarter south of the cathedral survived World War II.
• The Electoral Palace (Kurfürstliches Schloss), residence of the prince-elector .
• Marktbrunnen, one of the largest Renaissance fountains in Germany.
• Domus Universitatis (1615), for centuries the tallest edifice in Mainz.
• The Church of St. Stephan, with post-war windows by Marc Chagall.
• Citadel.
• Rococo churches of St. Augustin (the Augustinerkirche, Mainz) and St. Peter (the Petruskirche, Mainz).
• Church of St. Ignatius (1763).
• The Botanischer Garten der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, a botanical garden maintained by the university
• Landesmuseum Mainz, state museum with archaeology and art.

The Städel Museum in Frankfurt

Sandro Botticelli (1444/45-1510), Idealized Female Portrait

Saturday November 6th 2010 was  cold and rainy  in Frankfurt.  No day trip was planned so we decided to visit the train station (Bahnhof) as it appeared to be more than just a train terminus.  This railway complex houses a virtual shopping mall with a focus on gastronomic appeal.  After some time spent there and with a little encouraging Arendje agreed to visit another museum on the other side of the Maine River.   At first we thought it was closed as the Städel Museum is undergoing extensive renovations.  After the 65 million dollar face lift it promises to be one's of Germany's premier museums.  The Städel's  Museum which opened in 1817 has an extensive collection of art and sculpture built up by donations and bequests from the citizens of Frankfurt.  This city has always enjoyed an economically advantageous position as a banking and transport center.  Additionally, Frankfurt boasts a sophisticated  and highly literate population with liberal leanings. 
The present exhibit spans seven centuries of art from the 1300s  to the present day and follows a strictly chronological  presentation.  The result is a timeline illustrating the history of European paintings.  This unique approach provides a window into the transition of art forms  through the centuries

One of its more noted paintings”, Botticelli’s Idealised Portrait of a Lady represents the linear grace of early renaissance paintings.

The Städel  has a beautiful Renoir (After the Luncheon).  This is a prime example of his work.

The Städel has a practice of buying select pieces, rather than amassing a comprehensive collection of an artist’s work.   The Stadel is said to have begun collecting French  impressionist works before French Museums did.  In 1912, the museum made the daring purchase of Van Gogh’s portrait which is considered a transitional work that “marks the turning point from the art of the 19th century to the modern period”.  The Städel director, Georg Swarzenski’s purchase of French impressionist art in the first decade of the 20th century was controversial because some critics had yet to be convinced of the value of this nouveau art.  Many referred to his provocative purchases as a French “invasion”.

The most famous painting in all of Germany, Johann H. W. Tischbein’s portrait of the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, can be seen most anywhere in Germany.  This idealised but life-size portrait of Goethe, painted in Rome in 1787, has been reproduced countless times,  Goethe represents the epitome of literary genius in Germany and his name is synonymous with  romantic ideals.

No one in German museum circles thinks the Tischbein represents good art — the artist gave Goethe two left feet and distorted proportions — but it is the symbol of Germany. Along with the Städel’s famed Botticelli, it is one of its must-see “destination” paintings.