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Exploring Thüringen – Walk to the castle Burgk

In August 2022, we explore Thüringen (Thuringia) on our way from Berlin to Switzerland.

Now, we stay overnight at Saalburg to see the upper part of the river Saale.

 

Approaching Saalburg

As we approach Saalburg, we see signs pointing at “SMS” all over. We drive along tents and tents. What is this?

It is the Saalburg festival called “SonneMondSterne” (hence SMS). It took place from August 11th to August 13th.  40’000 guests attended it. They camped along the Bleichloch Lake. Incredible! I include the article of the local newspaper “East Thuringia” (Ostthüringerzeitung). 

We arrive on the 14th of August, and the area is still full of tents.

 

Our hotel at Saalburg

We settle at the hotel Kranich at Saalburg that declares to be a four-star place. The cooks ARE worth the stars – the meals they prepare are delicious. And the view from the restaurant terrace is worth the stars as well. 

The rooms are beautifully renovated, but… look at our view from the window: There is the bridge that crosses the Saale with lorries, already early in the morning.

Not exactly the view of the lake that we had expected based on the promises given, not quite four stars. In addition, the hotel manager’s mood was not exactly four stars either. What a pity for the excellent cooks and the friendly service personnel.

Nevertheless, we will stay here for two nights to explore the area around Saalburg.

 

Walk to Hanging Gangway along the Kobersfelsen closed – rockslide 

We drive to the bridge “Eisbrücke” and park our car. From the bridge, we see the castle Burgk reflect in the river Saale.

Our Müller guidebook proposes to walk to the Hängesteig (hanging gangway) along the Kobersfelsen, which is a steep rock on the river Saale. 

(Source:  Heidi Schmitt 2020)

The access is near the Eisbrücke (6). However, we find the path closed. A rockslide has destroyed the gangway. 

This is the kind of rocks that has slipped off here. We are in the Thuringian Slate Mountains (Thüringer Schiefergebirge). 

We decide to walk to the castle Burgk instead.

 

Walking to the castle Burgk

We approach the castle Burgk on the left-hand side of the Saale.

Next to the castle, we can see the view tower that we plan to climb.

We cross the dam (11 and 12). A steep path takes us up along the rocks to the castle Burgk and the village (9 and 10).

 

Burgk – an impressive castle

The castle Burgk was mentioned first in 1365. It changed hands several times. It belonged to the noblemen Reuss until 1945. The kitchen chimney is famous – the largest in Germany – and so is the Silbermann organ (by the German Silbermann organ builder, the brother of “our” Silbermann). However, today is another Monday – the castle is closed. 

We cross the bridge without paying… in former times a person had to pay one Pfenning, a horse and a cow each 4 Pfenning, young animals one Pfenning and a wheelbarrow costed 3 Pfenning. Interesting price differentiation. 

The castle was amplified and reconstructed several times to become the hunting and summer residence of the family Reuss in the 18th century, as the panel in the castle tells us. 

A meeting of the Franks is planned end of August.

 

Climbing the view tower (Saaleturm)

We go uphill along houses with well-kept gardens.

A Trabbi stands in front of a garage that might no longer be in use.

This must be a pre-war cigarette dispenser. It seems to be still in use.

The view tower promises a view of the sea of Thuringia, which is the nickname of the upper Saale that has been dammed up several times.

From the tower platform we can see the Burgkhammer dam and the castle Burgk. 

The dammed Saale above the Burgkhammer is meandering. 

Dry fields and soft hills to the north…

… and to the east.

 

Walking back along the right-hand side of the Saale

Along the steep slope on the right-hand side of the Saale we walk back to the Eisbrücke, where our car is waiting. The Saale appears between the trees. 

The marked path leads along the steep slope.

The viewpoint (8) allows to take photos of the meandering Saale.

From between the trees, we look back to the castle Burgk.

We reach the meadow orchard (Streuobstwiese, 7). 

A panel explains the economic and ecological value that meadow orchards have had for centuries.

Soon, the Eisbrücke appears behind the trees.

We drive back to Saalburg, with a stop at the Bleilochsperre that dams the Saale with this impressive wall.

On the upper side of the dam, there is this peaceful lake that extends to Saalburg-Ebersdorf.

This was a wonderful Monday morning! 

 

Map overview

 

Sources: 

  • Heidi Schmitt, “Thüringen Reiseführer”, Michael Müller Verlag 2020
  • Dina Stahn, “Bädeker Reiseführer Thüringen”
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Exploring Thüringen – Neustadt an der Orla

In August 2022, we explore Thüringen (Thuringia) on our way from Berlin back to Switzerland. 

Our first stop – for a coffee –  is Neustadt an der Orla. This is, where people meet, the painting on this wall says: “… hier trifft man sich”.

 

Meeting people at Neustadt an der Orla turns out to be not that easy: Road blocked!

Getting to Neustadt seems easy: Leave highway A9, take road B281, leave B281 at the exit to Neustadt and follow the signs to the city centre. Well, in reality, it is not that easy. We leave B281 at the exit to Neustadt and end up in front of a driving ban; the access to the city centre is blocked. No further information.

We drive back to the bypass road B281. We see only ONE entry to B281, which turns out to lead eastwards and away from Neustadt (instead of westwards and towards Neustadt). We return on secondary roads, and end up in front of the road block once more.

The lady at the gasoline station tells us, where the second access to the B281 is – we should look for signs to “Saalfed” that is located to the west of Neustadt (Neustadt, she says, is not indicated here). We drive back to B281, find the sign pointing to Saalfeld, enter B281, drive westwards and soon, we reach the “secret” second entry to Neustadt. Sounds confusing? It WAS confusing.

Finally, we are in the city Neustadt “where people meet”. 

 

The former Augustinian monastery

The former Augustinian monastery has been destroyed in the Thirty Years War, only the church is left. 

Later, a castle was built here. It is now a school. The church is used for cultural events.

 

Well maintained city centre with half-timbered houses

The well kept medieval city centre has maintained many half timbered houses…

… and the newer houses built in between are a good match.

The city was famous for its carousel industry. The carpenter Adolf Heyn founded a carousel company in 1870.

I found this beautiful carousel horse in a shop window.

 

The market place

The late gothic city hall with the charming oriel dominates the market place.

 

Fleischbänke – “meat benches”

Also at the market place, the gate named “Fleischbänke” (literally  “meat benches”)…

… leads to the medieval courtyard of 1475. Only here, on the meat benches, it was allowed to sell meet, which allowed to monitor hygiene. 

Of the 17 meat benches, 9 remain. They have been restored in 2002.

 

Saint John’s Church at the Church Square

Saint John’s Church is of late gothic style at the Church Square.

Inside is the altar that Lucas Cranach the Elder created for this church in 1511. 

To see the altar, you have to get the key at  the City History Museum (Museum für Stadtgeschichte) during opening hours. Well, today is Monday, and the church is closed. No way to see the altar. We comfort ourselves with the portrait of Lucas Cranach on a house wall.

In addition, we read about the altar in Monumente of the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz: The altar is dedicated to John the Baptist. He stands in the middle, flanked by Simon and Judas Thaddäus. To the left, John baptizes Jesus. To the right, John had been decapitated. The altar was installed in 1513. Martin Luther protected it from being destroyed by the protestants: Icons are allowed to decorate churches, he said, but it is not allowed to worship them. 

 

The historic inn “Goldener Löwe” (Golden Lion)

The historic inn “Goldener Löwe” has been known since 1599. Goethe stayed here overnight, and in addition the Russian Empress Maria Fjodorowna and the Russian Princess Alexandra, as the plate on the hotel announces.

At the Goldener Löwen, we have a coffee and an ice cream. Afterwards, we continue our way to Saalburg.

 

Overview of our Thuringia/Thüringen tour

Neustadt an der Orla was our first stop coming from Berlin to explore Thuringia.

 

Ahead of us are the upper river Saale with the cascades and the cities along the Via Regia, such as Weimar, Erfurt and Eisenach.

 

Sources:

 

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At Berlin – The Heidelberger Platz

At Berlin in August 2022, I continued visiting spots that I so far have known only from the metro or S-Bahn stations. I have already talked about the Rüdesheimer Platz. Today, I will explore the Heidelberger Platz.

 

Beautiful medieval Heidelberg presented at the metro station of U3

Heidelberg has one of the most beautiful medieval city centres of Germany, with the castle ruin above it. The station “Heidelberger Platz” of metro U3 presents photos of Heidelberg and its romantic castle ruin, such as this one. 

 

The castle of Heidelberg, elegant Renaissance, was the residence of the Electors of the Palatinate (Kurfürsten von der Pfalz). On the photo, we see the ruins of the belfry, flanked by the buildings of the Electors Friedrich and Ottheinrich above the medieval city centre with the Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Spirit Church). The castle was destroyed by the French in the late 17th century. The medieval city centre of Heidelberg is intact, as it was spared from the bombings in the Second World War. 

Let us leave the metro station and see, what the Heidelberger Platz looks like.

 

The Heidelberg Platz “above the ground”: My first impression – it is just a busy traffic junction

My first impression of the Heidelberger Platz: What an ugly and busy traffic junction. The metro below the ground is intersected by the suburban train (S-Bahn) and the city highway A100, as seen from the multilane street called Mecklenburgische Strasse. A huge and sober Aldi shopping centre rounds up the picture to the left. 

Just the red brick building of the S-Bahn station adds some charm.

This is not a place to rest. Not at all, what the beautiful metro station with the photos of Heidelberg made me expect. Three e-scooters are waiting for those who want to escape from here.

 

A second look: Some nice and cute details

A second look reveals some nice and cute details.

Still related with the traffic junction, I notice the car wash called “COSY-WASCH” which mixes up English (cosy) and something like German (Wasch). May be, potential clients from Berlin would not understand “cosy wash”; only “wasch” makes it clear to them that they can wash (waschen) their car here. And what is “cosy” about this place? It my be convenient to wash the car at this traffic junction, but cosy? 

Across the COSY-WASCH is the red brick building of the suburban S-Bahn train station, where a barber has installed his barbershop. He calls it “Barber’s House” making use of the logo of the Berlin suburban train, the letter S, white letter in a green circle. 

What an inviting barbershop!

In the middle of the Heidelberger Platz, people rest in a small park. Huge trees reduce the noise of the traffic junction. After several weeks without rain, the meadow is yellowish-brown.  

The restaurant at the corner is called – well not “Heidelberger” – but “Heidelbeere” (German for blueberry). That sounds almost like “Heidelberg” – almost.

At lunch time, I have a typical meal of North Germany here: Young herring with potatoes, salad and curd (Matjeshering).

Next door, this bear is carrying books, using its paws and its head. The bear’s dress has a somewhat scientific look.

The bear presents the books in front of the Springer Nature building, a German-British academic publishing company that in Germany has its main seat at Heidelberg, and obviously at Berlin, one of its affiliates resides at the Heidelberger Platz. What a coincidence.

A second look at the Heidelberger Platz reveals some nice and cute details, indeed.

 

Vale un peccato – it is worth a sin – or perhaps better: it is worth a peccadillo

After having visited the busy traffic junction Heidelberger Platz and after having noticed some nice and cute details, I walk along Assmannshauserstrasse, just  for a few meters, and enjoy a delicious Italian meal at the restaurant “vale un peccato”.

I eat delicious spaghetti with mussels and get involved in a deep discussion with another pensioner who in his business life was a professor for political sciences at Berlin. His insights into the current evolvement of history are interesting – I value his differentiating thoughts. 

 

Sources:

 

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Berlin – the Berlin City Cleaning Service twinkles with one eye

Again, at Berlin in August 2022, I enjoy their eye twinkling. One example is the BSR, the Berlin City Cleaning Service (Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe). They are orange, and they do twinkle with at least one eye.  

This garbage collection truck is called “Rollmüllpschen”. The City Cleaning Service BSR has created this word. 

Rollmüllpschen? “Müll” stands for garbage, “müllpschen” sounds a bit like “rülpsen” (“to burp”). Perhaps the truck burps, when “rolling up” garbage, – perhaps, I am not sure. Anyway, “Rollmüllpschen” sounds somewhat friendly with the diminutive “schen” at the end.

Later, I come across “Abfuhr mit Happy End”. This is a German play of words. “Abfuhr” means “garbage collection”, but it can also indicate that a lover has refused his/her partner creating an unhappy end. However, this refuse disposal of BSR creates a happy end by leaving the street clean, after having collected the garbage.

Garbage collections usually come every week. “Wannse’n wir uns wieder? Na, jede Woche.” = “When do we see one another again? Well, every week”. However, “Wannsee’n wir uns” is a phonetic transcription; the correct spelling would be “Wann sehen wir uns….”. “Wannsee’n wir uns” alludes to the Wannsee of Berlin, a Berlinese transcription thought up by one of the BSR employees. 

When exploring eye twinklings last year, I came across the “Räumschiff” alluding to a Raumschiff (=space shuttle).”Räumen” means clearing, hence this is a “clearing shuttle”. Another German play of words.

In addition, the BSR runs vacuum cleaners for the streets, and, very appropriately, this one announces “Ich bin die mit dem Putzfimmel”, which translates to “I am the one with the mania for cleaning”.

Another hobby of the Berlin Garbage Service BSR are the wastebins. This “Kippendiener” or “fag servant” is very full and waits to be emptied. 

All waste bins in Berlin have a humorous label inviting passers-by to throw their rubbish away carefully.

Curious, I google for the Berliner Stadtreinigungsservice BSR and land on their orange home site https://www.bsr.de/ , where they lay out their services and fees. In addition, they have some shops. The BSR shop https://www.bsr.de/bsr-shop-19869.php sells waste disposal products and their Second Hand Shop Nochmall sells things you would throw away (nochmal = once more, with “mall” alluding to a shopping mall (https://www.nochmall.de/ ). They even sell the Keinachtsbaum https://keinachtsbaum.de/unser-shop/ (“kein Weihnachstbaum” abbreviated to “Keinachtsbaum” =“not a Christmas tree”).

Such a clever Website full of humour is provided by the City Cleaning Service BSR! And you come across their orange humour everywhere in the city. This is also Berlin.

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To Berlin – on the tracks of the Nebra sky disc

In August 2022, we travel to Berlin, with stops at Riedlingen, Ulm, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Nebra. Now, we are at Nebra and learn about the Nebra sky disk.

 

The oldest known representation of the sky: The Nebra sky disk was found by bandit archaeologists

This is the Mittelberg in Sachsen-Anhalt, 252m high, near the village Nebra, where bandit archaeologists found the Nebra sky disk in 1999.

They found the disk near the white lookout tower. I took the photo in front of the museum Arche Nebra that points to the Mittelberg.

The location of the find has been marked with this sky mirror.

The Nebra sky disk is the oldest known depiction of the cosmos, created around 3000-4000 years ago. It is made out of bronze with a decoration in gold.

At the same place, the bandits found two swords made out of bronze, hatchets, chisels and bracelets, as displayed in the window of the Arche Nebra museum below the Mittelberg.  

It has been built by Holzer Kobler Architekturen.

 

The detective story – how the Nebra sky disk returned to Sachsen-Anhalt

According to the law of Sachsen-Anhalt, archaeological finds belong to the state. Nevertheless, the bandits sold their finds to a dealer at Cologne. Until 2001, it changed owners several times. As it soon became known that the disk was the property of Sachsen-Anhalt, it was worthless for the legitimate art market. 

In January 2002, an agent tried to sell the disk to the state archaeologist of Sachsen-Anhalt. The state archaeologist pretended to be interested. In February 2002, he met the agent at the hotel Hilton of Basel pretending to verify the authenticity of the find and buy it. The Swiss Police confiscated the disk. The finder, the receivers and the agent were sentenced.  

In April 2002, the Nebra sky disk was exhibited in the Prehistoric State Museum of Halle.

 

Interpreting the Nebra sky disk

What I can understand on the disk are the crescent moon next to the Pleiades shown as a cluster of seven spots. The big golden circle is indicated as representing either the full moon or the sun.

The Pleiades and the crescent moon mark the moments for seeding and harvesting, also at that time. 

The two peripheral arrows added later indicate the summer and winter solstice dates.

 

Approaching the Nebra sky disk

The sky disk made Nebra famous. Though the original disk is in the Prehistoric State Museum at Halle, the village Nebra and its suburb Kleinwangen have set up an infrastructure to attract and inform interested tourists at the place where it all happened.

The Hotel Waldschlösschen at Kleinwangen receives guests and…

… makes it clear: Here we are close to the findspot of the Nebra sky disk, close to the Mittelberg.

Just behind the hotel, the path to the Mittelberg starts – with this souvenir dispenser. 

It has faded a bit. I am not sure, whether it has been used a lot. We did not try. 

500m above the hotel, the museum called Arche Nebra invites to explore the Nebra sky disk. 

I was here in the evening and looked at the crescent moon above the Arche.

The coming morning, we climbed the Mittelberg, where the findspot of the disk is, as indicated by the mirror.

The tower nearby is split to illustrate the solstice dates marked on the sky disk.

We climb the tower and enjoy the view.

From the tower platform, we can see the local museum Arche Nebra in the south. It points uphill to the location, where the disk was found.

We walk back down again. It is a beautiful round tour. We visit the museum Arche Nebra to learn more about the disk. However, we decide to postpone seeing the original disk at Halle; the State Museum has just sent the original to Holland.

We say good-bye to the animals at the back garden of the friendly hotel Waldschlösschen with its emus (look at their offspring)…

… and the dwarf goats that climb around with agility.

What a charming backyard.

 

The sun observatory Goseck – a good complement to the Nebra sky disk

Some 20km away, we stop near the sun observatory of Goseck. It is 7000 years old.

The palisades appear behind a field of sun flowers.

In 1991, archaeologists discovered the ring ditch (Kreisgrabenanlage) from the air. They investigated it and reconstructed it with 1758 tree trunks.

We access the ring ditch.

The diameter is 70m. The panel shows, how the winter and summer solstice dates as well as the spring festival of May 1st can be observed…

… based on the “holes” in the palisades, just as on the Nebra sky disk.

Enough prehistory. Now, we head north. 

 

To Berlin with a wet stop in the Wörlitz park

On our way to Berlin, we make a short stop at the Wörlitz park. As we leave the car, it pours with rain. Immediately, we are wet through. We have a quick look…

… and postpone exploring this park for better weather. 

We arrive at Berlin. The city is dry. The Grunewald is burning behind the AVUS. The AVUS highway to Charlottenburg is closed. Ahead of us are dry and warm summer days in my mother town.

 

Sources: Panels in the Arche Nebra museum and at Goseck.

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To Berlin -stop over at Rothenburg ob der Tauber

In August 2022, we travel to Berlin, with stops at Riedlingen, Ulm, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Nebra. On our way from Ulm to Nebra, we have our lunch break at Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

 

A hundred years ago, my grand-father was at Rothenburg ob der Tauber

My wish was to find the place that my grand-father Hermann Radzyk painted about a hundred years ago. 

I found the place: It is the Siebersturm (city gate) and the Plönlein ( a slightly slanting half-timbered house). Rothenburg tourism says, this is probably the most photographed landmark of Rothenburg.

 

A short stroll through the medieval streets of Rothenburg

Rothenburg, located on a rock above the river Tauber, was a flourishig free city that lost its importance after the War of 30 Years (1618-1648). It preserved its old city image until today. It is a tourist hot spot.

The wall with the gates surround the city. We walk outside the wall (I believe this is the Klingentor) to have a picnic under a shady tree.

We continue to the Burggarten with the wonderful view of the Tauber valley and… 

… we enter the city through the Burgtor.

We stroll through the Herrngasse with the half-timbered houses.

The teddy from the Teddyland Shop greets us.

We feel hot, The temperatures are at about 35 degrees and the sun burns. We eat an ice cream in the shade. Just too hot to walk in the streets now. I would like to return and explore the treasures of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, when temperatures are cooler.

 

 

Good-bye Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We return to our car. We want to get to Nebra today. A ride of three and a half hours is ahead of us.

 

Sources:

Website of Rothenburg ob der Tauber Tourismus https://www.rothenburg-tourismus.de/ and https://www.rothenburg-tourismus.de/entdecken/top10-sehenswuerdigkeiten/das-ploenlein/ 

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To Berlin – staying overnight at Ulm

In August 2022, we travel to Berlin, with stops at Riedlingen, Ulm, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Nebra.

 

Friendly hotel Zehntstadl at Gögglingen near Ulm

We stay overnight at Ulm, or more precisely at the suburb Gögglingen. We have booked our room in the hotel Am Zehntstadl. It is a quiet place with a friendly manager and welcoming staff. This cute shoe wiper (Schareisen or Schooryse) illustrates the ambiance perfectly.

We have a wonderful dinner at the Pizzeria Romantica. The cook is from  Sardinia. He DOES know, how to prepare delicious antipasti.

 

Walking along the Danube

After dinner, we walk along the Danube (Donau),…

… enjoy the evening…

… and wonder, whether the starlings are already getting ready to fly south.

 

Quick stop at Ulm

In the morning, we have a quick look at Ulm. 

Ulm is located on the Danube, where the creek Blau, split into two arms, joins the Danube.

We park our car in the Fischerviertel and cross the two arms of the creek Blau. The ducks cool down here.

The weeping willow hangs over the Blau.

We stroll through the  streets of Ulm. Saint Christopher welcomes us travellers. 

Ulm has been known since 854. It was a royal palace that was later fortified. The first bridge across the Danube was built in 1174.

Located at the junction of trade and pilgrim routes, it became  a free imperial city in 1184. The city flourished until about 1500.  

In 1397, the “Grosser Schwörbrief” (Great Oath Letter) defined the duties of the mayor, the guilds and the patricians. The Schwörhaus (Oath House) was erected as the place, where the oath was to be renewed every year.

The power of Ulm culminated around 1500; it owned large territories north and south of the Danube and was a the political leader of Swabia. It was a trading spot, e.g. for iron, textiles, salt, wood and wine. In addition it was a major center of arts.

The decline started in the 16th century and in 1770, the city went bankrupt. It had to sell some of its territory. In 1802, Ulm and its territory was integrated in Bavaria and in 1810, Ulm, with its territories north of the Danube, became part of Württemberg. Ulm was now a border city between two kingdoms, Bayern and Württemberg. Ulm was deprived of its main economic basis south of the Danube: For instance, the dockyards, the wood trading centers and factories, the landing places for the rafts or major agricultural areas for Ulm were all in the territories south of the Danube.

In the middle of the 19th century, Ulm recovered. After having been attached to the railway system, industrialization evolved. For instance Leube rediscovered production of cement, forgotten since late antiquity and founded the first cement factory in Germany. 

Starting in 1944, bombings destroyed 80% of the old city centre. It was rebuilt mostly in the style of the 1950’s and 1960’s. In 1967 the university of Ulm was founded. 

 

The Minster with the highest belfry worldwide

Construction of the Minster started in 1377 and ended in the 19th century, when the city recovered. In 1890, the belfry was completed; it is the highest belfry worldwide.

I could not find out who the figure is above the solar clock. 

The gothic Minster was mostly spared from the bombings of the Second World War. 

The freso on the quire arch is from 1471 and shows The Last Judgement. I can see the four evangelists on the gothic vaults.

Above the baptismal font of 1474, we notice the pelican that feeds his offspring with its own blood; it is a symbol for Christ. 

 

The City Hall

Construction of the City Hall started in the 14th century. Its appearance today is mainly early Renaissance. The bombings mostly spared the façades with its paintings from the16th century.

The astronomical clock is from 1520. It is said to be one of the most complex astronomical clocks of Southern Germany. It shows the current zodiac, and it has additional clock hands for the sun and the moon. 

This window at the eastern façade is from the early 15th century and shows Charlemagne.

 

The Kornhaus

The Kornhaus was a granary, built at the end of the 16th century. The paintings pretend bricks. The bombings did not destroy the façades.

Today the Kornhaus is used for exhibitions and concerts.

 

The sparrow of Ulm

At Ulm, we come across sparrows again and again. For instance, at the Hafengasse, it invites to go shopping. It carries a branch in its bill.

The people from Ulm venerate the sparrow, beause it taught them, how to lay the beams on to the cart that they needed to build their minster: not crosswise, but lengthwise. That is why, a sparrow with a branch in its bill decorates the roof of the Minster. Also the children’s and youth choir of Ulm is called “Ulmer Spatzen” (sparrows of Ulm); it has gained many awards.

 

Good-bye Ulm

We leave the city centre at the Metzgerturm.

An artist has installed some white cables to decorate the Metzgerturm.

We walk along the Danube. Boats are on the Blau, where it joins the Danube.

We return to the parking house and continue our way north to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and to Nebra.

Sources: Wikipedia entries for Ulm, its minster, its city hall with the astronomical clock and the Kornhaus.

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To Berlin – stop over at Riedlingen

In August 2022, we travel to Berlin, with stops at Riedlingen, Ulm, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Nebra.

Our first stop over is at Riedlingen on the Donau, located at the southern border of the Schwäbische Alb. It is a pretty place on the river Donau. 

It is hot and people cool down in the still young river Danube.

The small city is proud of their half timbered houses.

Riedlingen is part of the German route of half timbered houses (Deutsche Fachwerkstrasse).

It is a popular stop on the Donau cycling route.

This is Saint George’s Church, located above the village.

The market square tells us that this small city, known to exist since 835, was a market place on the medieval Donau route. In 1680, it became part of Vorderösterreich and in 1805, it was integrated in Württemberg.

Amidst many cyclists on their tour along the Danube, we find a table in the shade and have an ice cream.

Refreshed we continue our way north.  

Our next stop will be at Ulm, where we plan to stay overnight.

Sources: Wiki entry about Riedlingen and home  site of the city.

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Berlin – the Bäke from Kleinmachnow to the Havel (Glienicke) (cted)

In June 2022, I was at Berlin again, for five weeks. Berlin is my mother town. I explored some corners off the beaten tracks. So far, we have looked at the Rüdesheimer Platz and at the Fichtenberg at Steglitz. Furthermore, we have followed the tracks of the Bäke at Steglitz.  

Now we will continue to follow the Bäke from Kleinmachnow’s Bäkemühle (mill) to Glienicke near Potsdam.

 

Review: The marks of the Bäke from the source, along the Teltow Channel and up to the Havel near Potsdam (Glienicke Brücke)

The Bäke starts at the Fichtenberg, appears in the Bäkepark, “enters” the Teltow Channel that took over the former valley of the Bäke, reappears at Kleinmachnow (Bäketal, Bäkemühle), appears again at Kohlhasenbrück (the two Bäkewiesen) and at Klein-Glienicke (Pattengraben). 

With a cousin of mine, I will now follow the Bäke from the Bäke mill at Kleinmachnow to the Pattengraben at Klein-Glienicke.

 

The Bäke reappearing at Kleinmachnow

The Bäke mill (Bäkemühle) has been documented since 1695. The building of today is from 1862. It belonged to the noble family von Hake, as the three hooks (hook = Haken) in the coat of arms indicate. The ruins of the von Hake castle is just north of the mill, and so is the church with the tombs of the von Hake family (in the church of the von Hake family, the Dorfkirche Kleinmachnow, my parents married on 4th of March 1941). 

The mill was a restaurant until 2013. In 2017, two medical doctors, father and daughter, took over the mill and had it renovated. It is now a doctor’s practice. 

The Bäketal is a beautiful nature reserve north of the street called Bäkedamm.  

We enter the park near the mill. We reach the bridge that once belonged to the park of the von Hake family; the bridge has recently been restored.

The forest opens to this meadow. On the map, it is called “Festwiese” or “party meadow”.

Near the  church of the von Hake family, we enter the forest again and come across boggy places that show…  

… what the wetlands of the Bäke once might have looked like. Difficult to access, indeed.

Just below the sluice, the Kleinmachnow Bäke arm “enters” the Teltow Channel.

The sluice of Kleinmachnow (Kleinmachnower Schleuse) was built to overcome the height difference of 2.70 meters between the Havel near Potsdam and the Spree at Köpenick (Bernstengel, p. 35).

 

Strolling along the Teltow Channel that has taken over the Bäke again

On a small foot path, we walk along the Teltow Channel. The Bäke has again been taken over by the Teltow Channel. Far ahead of us we can see a bridge. 

I propose to walk up to that bridge and then cross the channel. The closer we come, the noisier the bridge is – “swish – swish – swish”. My cousin laughs: “I do not believe that we can cross this bridge on foot, let us take a photo of the boat that carries the name of my daughter!” I check google maps on my smartphone, and now I understand: This is the highway A115. I usually cross this highway bridge by car, entering Berlin from the south – swish – swish – swish. You are right, my cousin, we cannot cross the channel here!

We continue on our small footpath. Two ugly pillars appear on both sides of the Teltow Channel. Bernstengel, p. 33, tells me that this was the so-called cemetery train (Friedhofsbahn) from Wannsee to Stahnsdorf (south of Kleinmachnow). The train was removed, when the wall separating Berlin from the GDR was built.  Just two pillars are left – this is one of them.

We carry on walking on our small footpath and pass under a bridge with trees on it (look at the photo on the link). It is the old highway A115. Later, I learn from Bernstengel, p. 31, that we could have crossed the channel here, as the bridge is solid. We did not know then and continued on our small footpath south of the Teltow Channel.

Why the old highway A115? Matters were complicated here: The channel formed the border between Berlin (West) and Brandenburg (GDR): A patch of (West) Berlin was south of the channel and a patch of Brandenburg (GDR) was north of the channel. The former highway A115 crossed this patch of West Berlin south of the channel and entered Brandenburg again north of the channel. To avoid crossing West Berlin and re-entering the GDR, they moved the highway east, and they built the new customs facilities Dreilinden to check the transit traffic through the GDR. 

Panels explain the wall separating Berlin (West) from Brandenburg (GDR). We are on the so called Wall Route.

In the small patch of Berlin south of the Teltow Channel, we enter Albrechts Teerofen. In GDR times, only one small road allowed to access this place from West Berlin. 

At Albrechts Teerofen, there were ovens that produced tar from the pine trees rich in resin. In 1680, the place was mentioned under the name “tar production Kohlhasenbrück”. In 1767, the owner of the oven was called Albrecht (Bernsteigel, p. 31 and wiki entry for Albrechts Teerofen). Today it is a small settlement with a few houses. Here, the camping site for children and young people is called “Bäkewiese” – the Bäke creek turns up again.

The Owl Estate (Landgut Eule) was built by the Prussian kings. The guards of the royal hunting area “Parforce Heide” stayed here. 

The Parforce Heide has its name from the parforce (medieval) hunting that was performed by the Prussian kings and by nobility: Dogs chased the animals, until they were tired and could be shot by the hunters. 

Just near Kohlhasenbrück, we come across the first railway line Berlin – Potsdam, inaugurated in 1838, the so-called “Stammbahn”. This railway has been out of service since 1945. Nature has taken over.

Still south of the Teltow Channel, we enter Kohlhasenbrück, a suburb that is part of Berlin. At the Bäkestrasse, we consider taking the bus. However, we decide to carry on walking. 

At Neue Kreisstrasse, we see signs pointing to the Bäkewiese. It is a natural park that cannot be accessed. I take a photo looking over the fence. 

The Nature Reserve (NSG) Bäkewiese has been set up in 1988 to preserve this piece of the former Bäke wetlands with their fauna and flora. Frogs and toads live here, cranes, various kinds of woodpeckers and cormorans as well, and in addition wild boars, foxes, and raccoons. The Bäke is now called “Kohlhasengraben”.

We cross the bridge and stop at a restaurant with a large balcony. The take away service is open today, and I have Bockwurst with potato salad. The Bockwurst reminds me of the 1960’s, when I was at Berlin for the first time.

From our table, we can see the nature reserve Bäkewiese across the Teltow Channel.

We next climb a mountain, Moritzberg, almost 95m high. This was a garbage dump set up in a former quarry in 1954. The garbage dump was closed in 1982 and secured (see blog of Antje). The woods are dense, and I cannot imagine, that I am walking on a garbage dump.

We head for Klein-Glienicke, where we will come across the Bäke again… and in addition we will experience a daunting surprise.

 

Klein-Glienicke: The Bäke Creek, now called Pattengraben, with the Swiss Houses

At Klein-Glienicke, an arm of the former Bäke flows between the Griebnitz Lake and the Böttcherberg (67m).  This tamed Bäke arm is called “Pattengraben”.

Above the Pattengraben, there are some Swiss Chalets. This one is undergoing renovation. 

Surrounded by green meadows, the next chalet seems to stand somewhere in the Bernese Oberland.

Ten Swiss Chalets were built between 1863 and 67 to echo the artificial rocks at the Böttcherberg above them; four of the chalets are left today.

 

Daunting memories of the wall separating West Berlin from the GDR at Klein-Glienicke

Entering Klein-Glienicke, we walk down this road which descends with green meadows and trees on both sides. A peaceful and quiet area. 

I notice this information plate and understand, it has not always been peaceful here. The road belonged to the GDR, the area left and right of it was part of West Berlin. This road was a small passage between two gloomy walls.

There is a box with maps under the information plate. The map shows the odd boundary line and the narrow passage. 

I have marked the narrow passage with a red oval. I look around me: This peaceful and quiet place once looked that daunting? I feel scared. 

 

The Glienicker Lake and the Hunting Castle Glienicke

West of Klein-Glienicke, we arrive at Glienicke. We pass this inviting gate with two griffins to enter the park of the Glienicke Palace. 

It was the summer residence of prince Carl of Prussia. The architect Schinkel remodelled the former estate in the year 1825, in neoclassic style. 

Modern Ikea hanging oddly on a bike meets the tradition and nobility of the palace.

The beautiful park along the Havel has been designed by Peter Joseph Lenné.   

It is a beautiful park with tall trees and many eye catching corners.

We leave the park and walk over to the Glienicker Brücke. It was closed for 40 years, as the border between GDR and West Berlin was in the middle of this bridge. I tell my cousin about my impressions from 1966, when my mum took me here (as described in my blog about our tour of seven lakes). 

It is here, where the Bäke and the Teltow Channel end; we have reached the river Havel. 

We take the bus back to the S-Bahn station Wannsee, leave the suburban train at Charlottenburg and have a lovely dinner at the Georgian restaurant Salhino at Waitzstrasse 1, just next door to where my mother was born in 1916, at Waitzstrasse 2.

 

Bäke, you old faithful – good-bye for now

Bäke, you old faithful, I do thank you for having opened my eyes for your former wetlands. And in addition you have opened my eyes for the history of the Teltow Channel and how important this channel was for the development of the south west districts of Berlin and its suburbs. 

Bäke, good-bye for now, I will return.

 

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Berlin: The Bäke creek from the Fichtenberg to the Havel

In June 2022, I was at Berlin again, for five weeks. Berlin is my mother town. I explored some corners off the beaten tracks. So far, we have looked at the Rüdesheimer Platz at Steglitz and at the Fichtenberg.

The Bäke is our next topic. The Bäke is a creek that has its source at the Fichtenberg. Bäke meant “Bach” or “creek”  in medieval Low German (see Wille, p. 45). 

Before the year 1900, the Bäke meandered forming wild, largely impassable wetlands, 250 meters wide. The natural reserve Bäketal at Kleinmachnow shows, what the Bäke wetlands once might have looked like. Impassable, indeed.

After having meandered for about 20km, the Bäke joined the river Havel near Potsdam. 

Around 1900, the Bäke wetlands the Teltow Channel was built and took over the bed of the Bäke. However, some marks of the Bäke are left.

 

Overview: The tracks of the Bäke from the source, along the Teltow Channel and up to the Havel near Potsdam

At the Fichtenberg, the Bäke has its source, under the ground (dotted red line). The Bäke shows up above the ground in the Bäke park (solid red line) and “disappears” in the Teltow Channel (again dotted line)The Bäke continues to live in the names of streets, bridges, parks, meadows and buildings, as indicated on the map.

The Teltow Channel was inaugurated in 1906. Ernst von Stubenrauch managed the construction. His objectives were to create a navigable water channel, to provide drainage for the rapidly growing settlements south of Berlin, to dry the wetlands to allow further settlement and to set the basis for further economic development of the Teltow district. By the way, the name “Teltow Channel” is based on the second name for the Bäke, which was “Telte”.

We will follow the tracks of the Bäke and investigate the area, now up to the Bäkestrasse/brücke, later from Kleinmachnow to the Havel near Potsdam.

 

The Bäke emerges at the Fichtenberg, I cannot find the source

The source of the Bäke is below the platform on the right hand side of the photo; however, I cannot find the source. 

Does the trough in the meadow indicate the former bed of the Bäke?

Looking downhill from the same spot, I can see this trough continue.

I do not know, whether the Bäke is under the meadow here or whether the start has completely dried out.

 

The Bäke underground

The Bäke is said to continue under the Zeunepromenade steeply leading down to Steglitz (I look uphill here).

This path is called after Johann August Zeune who founded his school for blind and visually impaired people in 1806.

In 1914, Betty Hirsch initiated education for people that turned blind in the war, together with Paul Zille, as the plate next to her and her dog explains.

The Bäke fed a pond surrounding the neoclassical Wrangel castle; the pond has disappeared (Seeger/Zimmermann, p. 89). 

 

Field marshal Wrangel set up his summer residence in the Wrangel castle in 1853. The Steglitz station of the new train from Potsdam to Berlin became busier and busier, and Wrangel asked it to be closed to stop all that noise. The station was reopened in 1869, when Wrangel stopped staying at his castle regularly (Seeger/Zimmermann, p. 89).  The annexe of the Wrangel Castle is now a small theatre (Schlosspark Theater) with an excellent reputation. 

Across the castle, the street is called “Am Bäkequell” or “at the source of the Bäke”. 

The Bäke is still under the ground here. It crosses the suburban train (S-Bahn) and continues under the Oberlinweg. 

Behind the suburban train, there once was a comfortable swimming pool of 900 square meters, with a restaurant, a park and a bowling alley. The owner Pantzier replaced the water supply from the then dirty Bäke by water from the Berlin channel system; he deemed hygiene to be important. The swimming pool has disappeared today; the last remaining buildings were pulled down in the 1960’s (Seeger/Zimmermann, p. 91f). 

 

The Bäke shows up in the Bäke Park

The Bäke Park is a green reserve.

Under the bridge of the Haydnstrasse, the Bäke appears from under the ground.

It is not a beautiful place, not at all worthy for the old faithful Bäke.

Strictly tamed, it flows in a narrow channel through the Bäkepark. This small creek once fed wetlands 250 meters wide?

At the end of the Bäke Park, the Bäke is “allowed” to spread out as a pond. 

As a matter of fact, this pond is a collecting tank to control the amount of water that the Bäke feeds into the Teltow Channel after heavy rainfall (Bernstengel, p. 60).

 

The Bäke taken over by the Teltow Channel

The Bäke Park and the open flow of the Bäke end at the Teltow Channel. The Teltow Channel, starting at Köpenick, seems to “swallow” the Bäke here.

Across is the Port of Steglitz. It is a “leftover” of the Bäke that made a wide turn to the west here; this eased the construction of the port. Around the port, there were a powerstation and storage place for coal. Now there is a museum about the production and distribution of electricity (Bernstengel, p. 58).

I follow the Teltow Channel, pass the Bäke Bridge and end my walk at Emil-Schulz-Brücke, as it starts to rain heavily.

I take the bus back home. 

Let us continue looking for marks of the Bäke at Kleinmachnow in the following blog.

 

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