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Bamberg

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Arrived in Bamberg after driving through a bit of a storm… deep water on the streets, some hail, small trees down – quite the mess. It’s always interesting seeing how other places deal with what in Brisbane is summer afternoon on a Tuesday. Seriously, this wee storm hit the news. You can tell their drains and systems are not set up for it at all, whereas when I was growing up, summer afternoon thunderstorms were a dime a dozen and at least a few a week. Roads are nasty when they don’t have sufficient storm surge drains.

Anyway, it all made for a pretty sunset, and if it hadn’t been raining still and if we had noticed the sky turning bright red sooner, we would have tried to bop around to the Rat Haus for a photo of it in the cool colours. Knew it would be gone by the time we got there though… so the shot below is not my photo!

Wandering through the old town towards the famous Bamberg Altes Rathaus, we saw many cool wood and stone buildings typical of these small German towns. They’re so picturesque and quaint, it’s lovely to just walk through and admire the buildings.

The Altes Rathaus or town hall was first mentioned in records in 1387. It is also known to have been rebuilt in 1461 and 1467 to its current state; during those construction stages, it fortunately kept its Gothic style.

Johann Jakob Michael Küchel redesigned the Altes Rathaus in a more Baroque and Rococo between 1744 and 1756. The Altes Rathaus is the most iconic symbol of Bamberg built into the middle of the River Regnitz, between the Upper and Lower Bridges.

The facade paintings were originally created by Johann Anwander in 1755 but they have been restored many times. In the Post WWII era, the paintings were particularly faint and dirty, and a painter named Anton Greiner was commissioned to repaint them between 1959 and 1962. Both sides of the Rathaus are completely decorated with allegorical scenes and trompe l’oeil architectural details.

If you look below the Rathaus, you can see some churning water which local kayakers have set up into a slalom course. There must have been a dozen of them in the water on the gentle rapids while we were there.

Facade of the Goldschmiede area – shops full of jewellers.

Brauhaus row.

Wandeirng up towards the Cathedral Dom.

It was a fair bit steeper than you led us to believe, Google Maps…

Sadly, the Cathedral is usually closed on Sunday mornings (presumably for services), and today it wasn’t opening at all, but this did weirdly lead to a free entracne to the nearby Bamberg History Museum.

The Old Court House houses the Bamberg City Museum.

Saints Henry and Kunigunde, Unknown artist/s, c.1370, sandstone.

Crucifixion, Unknown Southern German copied from Christoph Schwartz, (Munich, 1545-1592). Oil on wood.

LEFT: Death of the Virgin, Unknown Franconian artist, late 15thC, oil on wood.
RIGHT: Death of the Virgin, Unknown Southern German artist, 16thC, oil on wood.

Reading Mary with Child, crowned by Angels. Unknown Dutch artist, early 16thC, oil on wood.

Death of the Virgin (again!), Workshop of Hans Pleydenwurff, (Bamberg 1420-1472), c.1460, oil on wood.

Bamberg Clare Altar, form the Workshop of the Master of Bamberg Clare, c.14500/1500, oil on wood.

Hortolona, the mother of Saint Clare in prayer, Unknown Nuremberg artist, c.1360, tempera on oak.

Saint Clare Raises the Dead, Unknown Nuremberg artist, c.1360, tempura on oak.

Jesus and John the Baptist as Children, Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1535. Oil on wood.

The Ploughshares Legend, Unknown Franconian artist, City of Bamberg, c.1550-1600, oil on wood.

The Penny Miracle, Unknown Franconian artist, Bamberg Municipality, c.1550-1600. Oil on wood.

Saint Catherine, Unknown South German artist, Late 15thC, tempera on wood.

The Adoration of the Magi, Unknonw artist, copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1600, oil on wood.

Portrait of the Mayor of Cologne, Peter von Heimbach, artist: Bathrolomäus Bruyd (Wesel of Cologne, 1493-1555), c.1545, tempera on wood.

Young Bacchus, Unknown Roman artist, 17th-18thC, oil on canvas.

Young Bacchus, circle of Nicolas Poussin (Les Andelys, Normandy 1594-1665), 17thC,m oil on canvas.

Latona with her children Apollo and Diana, Anton Raphael Mengs (Aussig/Bohemia 1728-1779), 18thC, oil on canvas.

Winter Landscape, Circleof Joos de Mompher II (Antwerp 1564-1635), late 16thC/early 17thC. Oil on wood.

The Bread Eater / The Arrow Carver
Peter Breugehel the Younger, (Brussels 1564-1638, Antwerp), c.1620. Oil on wood.

The Gift / The Punished Licker
Peter Breugehel the Younger, (Brussels 1564-1638, Antwerp), c.1620. Oil on wood.

So, Still Life artworks confuse me. I can see and appreciate the skill involved in rendering the tableau so perfectly, but I just don’t understand why they became so popular… particularly in the Low Countries in the 17thC. Still life paintings depict carefully selected and arranged inanimate objects (that bit I can get – it’s kinda like a small product creative advertising shoot!), such as fruit, flowers, kitchen utensils, goods at the market, hunting spoils, weapons or musical instruments. But they are also supposed to be creating a an illusion of reality that can convey a deeper meaning, such as the transience and fragility of life… umm, yeah! All these flowers, and food items are gonna rot eventually, so they’re all temporary. I don’t know, apparently some of them contain allegories, proverbs, ríddles or humorous tales, but who knows?

Still Life, copy after Jan Davidsz De Heem (Utrecht 1606-1684, Antwerp), c.1638.
Oil on canvas… needs more lobster.

The Anatomy of Dr. Tulp, Willy Fries (Zurich, 1881-1865) copied after a Rembrandt. Oil on canvas.

Children at the Window, Johann Nikolaus Treu (Bamberg 1734-1786(, c.1760. Oil on canvas.

Death of Mary, unknown artist, c.1500, relief from the Carmalite Church and thought to be part of a winged altar. Workmanship is of a high quality and thought to be connected with the workshop of Dürer and his teacher, Michael Wolgemut. Linden wood.

St Katharine, c.1500. Bamberg, carved and painted Linden wood.

The next few objects were interesting, but I couldn’t find any information on them at all.

Hallways of the Old Court House which houses the museum.

GIRAFFE WINGS – Christoph Ehrlich (1782- 1830) cherry veneer, ebony, ivory, in oil. C.1828. The trained organ builder Christoph Ehrlich set up an instrument factory for pianos and guitars in Bamberg and offered the special shape of this giraffe grand piano: tall instead of long, it fit into small Biedermeier rooms.

STANDARD OF THE VELOCIPED CLUB, Bamberg, 1893, silk, bouillon threads, brass.
On June 17, 1882, the new cycling fashion found expression in Bamberg when 20 men founded the Velociped Club. It is one of the early German cycling clubs. Races were held on the cycling track, which required great skill on the fast but dangerous high-wheelers. The cyclist greeting “All Heil” that was common at the time was printed on the flag.

St George fighting the Dragon, wood, papier-mache, modelling clay, glass, pearls. C. 1852.

Most of the objects in these galleries were very modern and were related to the recent history of Bamberg; as a medieval enthusiast, they were not my primary area of interest.

Granatschmuck – Garnet jewellery: gold, garnet, silver, c. 1850.

Two Bridal Crowns, Franconia. Copper wire, brass sheet ‘tinsel’, cardboard, glass beads, linen, silk, cotton. Late 19thC/early 20thC. Bridal crowns or holiday crowns were worn by young unmarried women in procession on important holidays until their wedding. Common in Franconian Switzerland and the Mistelgau region to the north.

The Nues Residence, which contains a large collection of Asian ceramics and porcelain that we didn’t want to spend $$$$ to go see.

Through this building is the entrance to the Rosengarten.

The Rose Garden is in the inner courtyard of the New Residence and offers a great view over Bamberg. The garden itself is formal in nature and is mostly roses… not sure what else you can say about that. It was quite busy while we were there, and sadly lacking in benches where visitors could loiter.

Having skipped breakfast and having wandered 5.4kms around the rather small old town and museum, we decided it was time to hunt for some brunch… alas, by 13:00, fruhstuck options were all gone, and we ended up at a Bavarian Brauhaus. Angus chose the Jagerschnitzel and I opted for what I thought was going to be something lighter: a couple of bratwurst sausages. Delicious – we are now losing track of our rating system for mushroom sauce served with schnitzels!

Little bit of souvenir shopping – looking for the tackiest things ever, of course – before heading back to the hotel to get some work done.

Which mean coming back past the RatHaus – looks totally different in the afternoon light, and I couldn’t see the aura around the sun with the naked eye at all. Something something atmospheric weirdness.

Augustusburg Schloss

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We had a stop on our transit today at Augustusburg Schloss, which is a castle/hunting lodge on an elevation outside the town of Augustusberg in Lower Saxony. It was built between 1567 and 1572 in the Ore Mountains near the city of Chemnitz.


It was built by Prince Elector, Augustus (how unusual that a man would name a castle after himself!), as not only a prestigious palace for his hunting trips, but also to cement his sovereignty of Central Germany. There were several other castles on this hill; first in the 12thC and later in the 14thC, but the later was destroyed by fire and lightning, and it was an obvious site for Prince Elector Augustus’ new palace.

The castle has famous lime trees… famous for what, you might ask? We have no idea! lol There is scant little information in this entire place in English – it seems to be a destination for school groups (you’ll see what I mean later, on that), and it’s a site used by the local town for weddings, functions, and things like car exhibitions and motorbike rallies.

Much of it looks very modern and recently renovated (and I gotta say, some of the painting on the murals and trompe l’oeil work isn’t all that sophisticated.

Panorama of the courtyard…

Fantastical display of arms – though I couldn’t find any information on what families were represented here.

Entrance to the castle museum… first things first, let’s get you up the four flights of steps that no one mentioned and you didn’t see anything about when you searched about how noompty friendly the castle is. *rolls eyes*

As befits a hunting lodge, there are loads of antlers everywhere – not so many as your average Scottish castle, but still plenty of them present. However, on closer inspection, you can see that the antlers are real but the heads they’re mounted on are all facsimiles. Turns out most of these are very old, and the poorly stuffed heads hadn’t aged that well.

Collection of firearms – mostly percussion shotguns, muskets, and flintlock rifles from 19thC and early 20thC. :/

Again, mostly percussion shotguns, muskets, and flintlock rifles from 19thC and early 20thC.

Powder bottles, early 19thC.

More antlers mounted on what looks like plastic heads. WEIRD!

Armbrust – Crossbow, German, c.1573 used for hunting smaller animals and large bird species.

Chest bench, Cassapanca, Italy, 16thC. Carved walnut.

Armchair, Spanish, 17thC. Carved walnut and embossed leather.

Chair, Spain, 17thC, carved walnut and embossed leather.

Chair, Italian, 17thC. Walnut with relief carving.

Chair, German, 16thC. Carved walnuts.

Trunk, Italian, c.1560. Carved walnut.

Balester, German, c.1550. marked HSB.

Pastoral cutlery.
German, 1538. Pastoral knife and sheath.

Percussion shotguns, powder horns, flintlock pistols and rifles… from 1677-1800.

Recreated costumes c.1600. Lower Saxony, Germany.

LEFT: Jug, Steinzeug, Annaberg. RIGHT: Birnkrug, Steinzeug, Annaberg, both c.1621.

Plate – Majolica, Italian, 17thC.

Credenza, Italian, 16thC. Mahogany relief carved.

Sideboard with drawers, Germany/Württemberg, 1647. Used for plate and tableware storage; the small chair is firmly attached to the sideboard and likely used by a table servant.

Modern frescos…

And then things got even stranger – as I said, it seems likely that this castle museum is used as a local excursion site for school children, as it morphed very quickly and without warning from firearms and hunting to a natural history museum space stuffed full (pun intended) of taxidermied local animals!

I love me a good stuffed animal as much as the next person – sadly, no a single overstuffed platypus in sight as all of these were local creatures and species. Scroll to the end for the *best* stuffed thing in this collection.

*where BEST usually means the most bizarre or odd stuffed creature; in this case the weird arse owl above… I think his name could be DUO!

Back in the main room, the trompe l’oeil work is a bit so so.

Small chapel space. They hold weddings and other functions here.

And of course, no decent medieval castle (for kids) would be complete without a dungeon space. Not a lot of information on most of these displays – but you can use your imagination and see how they were put to use.

Catherine’s Wheel.

Chastity belt, pear, scold’s bridles.

Scold’s bridle and a ‘schandgeige’ or ‘shameful violin’… no idea what that is; not sure I want to Google it. Ok, Googled it, not as bad as it could have been… the device was used around the neck to restrain the hands as well to stop people fighting or bickering.

A Doppelgeige – similar the the restraining device above, only it could be used to restrain two people at the same time.

Does she weigh more than a duck?

Stocks.

Yep.

The diagrams on the top right, remind me of a demonstration I saw at an SCA A&S lecture on medieval torture that Mynjon did years ago… people left because they found it offended their delicate sensibilities! lol. Good times.

Augustusburg Schloss wasn’t out of our way more than 2kms off the highway and then back to it, so I was kinda glad we hadn’t made a special trip to see it. As castles go, it ranks somewhere above Bli Bli Castle and lower than Magical Kingdom.

After this short stop, it was back on the road and we ended up driving straight into an unexpected thunderstorm doing 130kph+ on the autobahn! Everyone responded really well, I was super surprised. All lanes slowed down to 40-60kmph, people put their hazard lights on to make their vehicles more visible and were basically super sensible given visibility dropped to probably less than about 30m really quickly. Angus was driving and he handled the sudden super-shitty conditions really well.

Dresden

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In February of 1945, just before the end of WWII, Dresden was carpet bombed into oblivion. Allied bombers (772 of them) dropped over 3,900 tonnes of high explosive and incendiary devices over the city destroying some 6.5sqkms of the town’s centre. It was became a contentious campaign, as the Allies claimed they were bombing railway, manufacturing and communication infrastructure, but the bulk of the explosives were dropped over the culturally significant Old Town which was primarily inhabited by civilians. At the time, the Nazis claimed it was a war crime and said that between 200,000 and 500,000 people were killed… historians have been able to establish that perhaps as many as 25,000 people, (still way too many!), were killed during the Dresden bombings.

Looking around Dresden today – there’s hardly a sign of it anywhere, bar a few singed sandstone blocks on the Frauenkirche. It’s easy to forget that you are walking around a town where people were literally picking up the pieces of their neighbours after an horrific air attack.

The long summer days are waking us up really early – we seem to be out and about quite a bit before any people are about for the day…

The Frauenkirche. Last time I was here, it wasn’t quite so well lit up… November will do that to Europe.

Angus was stunned inside – his commentary was much around the, ‘So there are people around now who know how to build things and make them look like this? So why do new buildings all look so shit?’
I responded that a lot of these craftsmen were still around and plying their trades in Europe; building and restoring old buildings of which there is a plentiful supply… but there’s no a lot of call for it back home in Australia – and large civil projects always get tendered out, and often go to the cheapest/most cost effective proposal. Sadly, this often results in functional but boring or even ugly.

It is a very beautiful, albeit small, church… even if it is largely brand new.

Just around the corner from the Frauenkirche is the Füstenzug, or the Procession of Princes. It is a large mural depicting a mouthed procession of the past rulers of Saxony. It was originally designed and painted in the 1870s to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Saxony’s ruling family, and is made from 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles. It’s just over 100m long and was completed around 1907… it’s kinda unique and depicts dukes and kings from the 1100s to the 1900s.

The Trinity Cathedral, not open for some reason – I don’t believe we got to see inside this cathedral in 2018 either.

A covered walkway connecting the Zwinger Palace complex to the Cathedral.

Across the road is the Semperoper – the Dresden State Opera House which also houses the State Ballet. Originally built in the late 1860s, then burned down, and rebuilt again in the late 1870s. It was completely destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in WWII, and was rebuilt in the 1980s.

One of the many entrances to the Zwinger Palace. The Zwinger Palace was originally built in the Baroque styles in the 1700s to be a pleasure palace, festival centre, orangerie/gardens, and residence for the royal court at Dresden. The buildings were mostly destroyed during the carpet bombing raids in 1945, though thankfully the art collection had been evacuated previously. Reconstruction efforts on this building began almost as soon as the war was over, with some parts restored (with some support by the Soviet military administration) and opened back to the public by 1951. It was almost fully restored to it’s pre-war state by 1963.

These days it is a museum complex, housing the Gemäldergalie Alte Meister (Old Masters’ Galleries), a Porcelain Collection and a Mathematics and Scientific Instruments Gallery.

Walking through the gorgeous stone arches, I couldn’t wait to be greeted by the beautiful formal gardens the Zwinger isn know for… only to be disappointed by this complete and utter clusterfuck:

Holy snapping construction mess of messes! What an eyesore… and to add insult to serious injury, hardly any of it was accessible, so that meant makeshift stairs to move through the complex if we wanted to see anything. So fucked, but what do you do? 🙁

Obviously I limped along and made it into the galleries! Last time stymied by winter closures, I wasn’t going to miss it again. Good thing that too – it is quite an impressive collection with lots of important and well known artists repressented.

Ercole de’ Roberti – The Arrest of Christ on the Way to Golgotha, c.1482/86. Oil on poplar panel.

Marinus van Reymerswale – The Money Changer and His Wife, c.1541. Oil on panel.

Adam and Eve under the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, c.1550. Oil on panel. Artist not known.

Johannes Vermeer – Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, c.1657-1659. Oil on canvas.

Roelant Savery – Before the Deluge, c.1620. Oil on oak panel.

Marten van Valkenborch – The Tower of Babel, 1595. Oil on oak panel.

El Greco – The Healing of the Blind Man, c.1570. Mixed media on poplar panel.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo – Saint Roderic, c.1650/55. Oil on canvas.

Peter Paul Rubens – The Drunken Hercules being Led by a Satyr Couple, c.1613/14. Oil on oak wood.

Silenus, 3rdC AD, copy of a lost statue from the 3rdC BC. Carrara marble.

Victor Wolfvoet – The Head of Medusa, c.1648. Oil on canvas.

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn – Saskia with a Red Flower, 1641. Oil on oak panel.

Johannes Vermeer – The Procuress, 1636. Oil on canvass.

Jan van Eyck – Triptych with Madonna and Child, Saint Catherine, and Archangel Micheal with Donor. 1437. Oil on oak panel… this was the last thing I expected to see here today (hadn’t looked up the museum prior to arriving), and it is a sublime piece. Barely A3 in size, it is exquisitely executed.

The small tromp l’oeil backs of the wings of the tiny altarpiece…

The only other display in the room with the tiny Van Eyck altarpiece were five enormous tapestries that came from the workshops of Peter van Edingen van Aalst and Bernard van Orley – Brussels (1490-1542). Tapestries were made from wool, silk and metal thread, and while the photos don’t do them any justice, these tapestries still have much shine to them, unlike many other works from this age where the metal threads have largely tarnished and look very grey. Stunning!

LEFT: Attic, c.460-450 BC, Villa Guilia Painter.
CENTRE: Attic, c.440-430 BC, Painter of the Louvre Centauromachy.
RIGHT: Lucanian, c.380-370 BC, Creusa Painter.

Detail:

Dionysian Scene, Apulian, c.380-370 BC, Near the Ilioupersis Painter.

No description unfortunately on this artifact – It looks to be a candle holder or oil lamp.

RIGHT: Amphora, Theseus and the Minataur, Attic, c.500 BC, Bompas Group.

Titian – Portrait of Lavinia, c.1565. Oil on canvas.

Piero di Cosimo – The Holy Family, c.1500. Oil on poplar panel.

And around the corner an unexpected…. Sandro Botticelli, Episodes from the Life of Saint Zenobia’s, c.1500. Tempura on poplar panel.

Andrea Mantegna – The Holy Family, c.1495/1500. Tempura on canvas.

Fra Angelico – The Annunciation, c.1435. Tempura on poplar panel.

Pintoricchio – Portrait of a Boy, c. 1480/82. Tempura on poplar panel. Unlike everyone else in here, he’s looking at us…

Raffael – The Sistine Madonna, c.1512/13. Oil on canvas…. This is one of the most famous works of the Renaissance!

Giovanni Batistta Moroni – Lady in a Red Dress, c.1560. Oil on canvas.

Titan – Sleeping Venus, c.1508/10. Oil on canvas… another very famous Renaissance artwork. This one as one of the first large scale fully nude representation of a woman in Italy. In ancient mythology, Venus was a goddess of love and beauty – her calm while sleeping and the harmony of her body are reflected in the idyllic countryside. The painting may have been started by Giorgione who died of plague in 1510, it was most certainly completed by Titan who likely added his characteristic drapery and landscape.

Pietro Antonio Graf Rotari – Replaceable Faces, c. 1707. Oil on Canvas…. I initially thought these might be studio studies that were later framed, but an info plaque pointed out that they were designed to be a collection of small portraits that could be rearranged to suit the owners preferences. There were 24 identically sized panels in all.

Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto – The Old Market in Dresden from Schlossgasse, c.1750/51. Oil on canvas.

Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto – The Zwinger Courtyard in Dresden, c.1751/51. Oil on canvas. Yeah right!? Have you looked out there at the construction clusterfuck?

Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto – The Ruins of the former Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) in Dresden, c.1765. Oil on canvas.

Jean Étienne Liotard – The Chocolate Girl, c.1744. Pastel on Parchment… This painting is significantly different from others in the pastel collection – it is of a simple serving girl, a low status individual, who is yet depicted in a full figure profile.

Albrecht Dürer – Bernhard von Ressen, c.1821. Oil on oak panel.

Lucas Cranach the Younger – Adam (left), Eve (right), c.1537. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Younger – The Crucifixion of Christ, c.1546. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Elder – The Presentation of Christ to the People, c.1515/20. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Elder – Portraits of Henry XI of Saxony and Duchess Catherine of Mecklenburg!

Lucas Cranach the Younger – Samson and Delilah, c.1537. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Younger – Solomon’s Idolatry, c.1537. Oil on lime wood panel.

There is a substantial number of galleries devoted to the art form or still life painting – but personally I just don’t get it. Yes, I understand why artists devoted themselves to perfecting still lifes during this period, but they don’t really move me at all.

Cornelius de Heem – A Lobster, Fruit and Flowers, c.1660-70. Oil on canvas… included because I liked his lobster.

Frans Floris – Portrait of Two Children, c.1563. Oil on canvas… rude to leave the happy pupper off the title.

Peter Paul Rubens – Satyr and a Girl with a Basket of Fruit, c.1620. Oil on panel.

Martin Schongauer – A Censer, c.1500. Engraving. This object is considered one of the first still lifes made in printmaking. It is not known if it depicted an existing censer or was a design for a goldsmiths work.

The Altes Meisters gallery was certainly full of important and famous pieces. It is well worth the price of admission. After this we went looking for the Zwinger Nymphanbad sculpture garden and fountain… traversing the deconstructed courtyard again.

The Nymphanbad:

Around the corner from that pretty little courtyard is the Museum of Mathematical and Scientific Instruments.

Paulus Schuster – Table Clock, Nuremberg, c.1582. Has large dials with hour indicators and an astrolabe on one side and an annual calendar on the other. The small dial shows the day of the week, quarter hour and minute. It also has an alarm mechanism. The silver figures of Neptune alternatively move their heads every minute for 15 seconds, and the rooster on top crows on the house while two men strike bells!

Caspar III Buschmann – Monstrance Clock, Augsburg, c.1625. Ebony from India.

Unknown artist – Table clock, Augsburg, c.1590. Gild casing contains the timekeeping mechanism which shows hours and has a striking mechanism which chimes on the hour and quarter hours. It also has an alarm function.

LEFT: Unknown Artist: Horizontal Table Clock, French, c. 1590. Timekeeping and striking mechanisms are one atop the other, typical of French clocks of this period. German clocks tended to be side by side.
RIGHT: Unknown Artist: Horizontal Table Clock, French, c.1600. The vertical mechanisms are easily visible through the crystal cylinder.

LEFT: Giovanni Buttista Mascarone – Cruciform Watch, Milan, c.1600
RIGHT: Martin Zoller – Pendant Watch, Augsburg, c.1630

Automaton Eagle with Crown, Augsburg, c.1635.

Hans Schlottheim – Crayfish Automaton, Augsburg, c.1589. This crayfish can move its pincers, feelers, legs and tail. Originally there were a pair of crayfish which would creep forwards and the other backwards. Operated by two clockwork gear wheels.

Isaac Huberecht – Skull Form Pendant Watch, Strasbourg, c.1660.

Johann Willebrand – Horizontal Sundail, Augsburg, c.1720.

Leonhard Miller – Diptych Sundail, Nuremberg, c.1630, Ivory/

Johann Wicteul Hayer – Nocturnal, Frankfurt, c. 1707. The nocturnal was used for telling the time at night. After setting the date, the user looked thorough the hole in the centre towards the pole start. The pointer was then rotated until it was inline with the last tow starts in the Big Dipper constellation. The time could then be determined from the pins on the device.

Zeus Enthroned Pendulum Wall Clock, Paris, 18thC.

Peter Johannes Klein – Geographical Table Clock, c.1738. One side has a clock face indicating hours and minutes, the other has a 24 hr face that also functions as the equator of the globe.

Ludwig Teubner, Dresden, c. 1896. Model of the “5-Minute Clock”… since 1841 there has been a clock above the stage in the Semperoper house which has rectangular fields with the hours marked. Minutes are shown in Arabic numbers on the right. The clock moves every five minutes.

Abraham Louis Breguet – “Montre Á Tact” Pocket watch with Chatelaine, Paris, c.1810. This watch allows the time to be known in the dark, by feeling the hour mark on the edge of the case.

Unfortunately the next cabinets were not market at all other than a vague heading: OPTICS

Blaine Pascal – Mechanical Calculator, France, c.1650. World’s oldest surviving mechanical calculators.

TELESCOPES:

SURVEYING DEVICES:

ELECTROSTATIC & GENERATION DEVICES:

Friction Electric Generator – Fuchs, Leipzig, c. 1817.

HISTORICAL GLOBES GALLERY:

Terrestrial & Celestial Globes – Matthäus Seutter, Augsburg, c.1710.

Terrestrial & Celestial Cones – Christlieb Benedict Funk, Leipzig, c.1780.

World Time Clock – Andreas Gärtner, Dresden, c. 1690. The large gilt face of this world time clock has a small face for each of the 360° longitude. Each of these faces bears the name of a place, city, island etc. Over the small faces the hour hand is pointing downwards and rotates when the main clock does.

Geocentric Armillary Spheres – Charles Francois Delamarche, Paris, c.1800.

Heraldic Celestial Globe – Earhart Weigel, Jena, c.1690. Weigel replaced the constellations with the heraldry of the coats of arms of various European Princes and important cities and estates. Chased copper, embossed reliefs then painted.

Gregorian Reflecting Telescope – Johann Gottlob Rudolph, Miltitz,, c.1748.

”Topsy Turvy World” Automaton – Hans Schlottheim, Augsburg, c.1590.

Odometer – Christoph Trechsler the Elder, Dresden, c.1584.
Brass gilt odometer was used in a carriage and worked in a similar way to a modern car odometer.

Theodolite – Victor Starzt, Brussels, c.1633.

Mining Compass, German, c.1561

Back outside it was a beautiful day. We had had enough Musuem’ing (and enough of the stairs in and around the courtyard) so decided to go hunt for lunch instead of doing the Porcelain Galleries (this decision may or may not have been influences by the very small exposure to the Baroque porcelain obsession yesterday at Charlottenburg Palace!).

Great day all up – walked far too many steps and stairs (I’m so going to pay for this with my stupid knee tomorrow), but well worth the time in the galleries.

Currywurst!

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Herta Heuwer is attributed with the invention of Currywurst when she obtained some ketchup, Worcestshire and curry powder from British soldiers just after WWII… it’s a staple on menus all over Berlin, so I found a recipe in German cookbook and translated it. Yale and I might have to try this out when I get home:

A spicy Currywurst Sauce that can be used for all types of dishes

2 large red or yellow onions chopped very finely
2 × 400 gm can of tomatoes with juice
250 ml ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon paprika powder
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon oil

Warm oil over medium heat
Add the onions to pan and cook over medium heat until soft, 8 to 10 minutes
Add curry powder, paprika powder, chili powder and continue to cook while stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes
Add tomatoes and juice to pan, crush thoroughly and stir through
Stirring add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper to taste
Bring to boil and lower to simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened. 20-25 minutes.
Puree mixture in blender and strain through a sieve.
The recipe makes at least 500 ml of sauce.
Grill some sausages, slice and cover with warm sauce.
Add to the sauce covered sausage you can add some additional Paprika powder, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Curry Powder, Mustard, or finely chopped onion, to taste.

Serve with Fritten, or on a bun*

Guten Appetit!

* Quite a lot of places seem to serve their Currywurst with Asian fried shallots on top – Icelandic hotdog style!

Ich habe in Berlin auch ein Pferd gefickt!

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Berlin! Some pics grabbed while out and about in Berlin – we stayed right near Alexanderplatz (at the Park Inn by Raddison), so were in and out of the square quite a bit.

Doesn’t matter what time of day it is, there is no way you can get photos around here without people in them. I tried.

The famous world clock – I really like this thing. Angus didn’t care for it much at all.

East Side Gallery – some of the artworks haven’t changed which is kinda cool. Especially nice to see the political images not being grafitti’d. When I was here last, I remember writing my name near He-Man’s loincloth, but that image seems to be gone now. 🙂

This image I remember quite well. It seems to have gotten larger and been touched up, but the style of it is memorable.

The Siegessäule Monument… or Victory Column is one of the most important national monuments in Germany and considered a ‘must see’ in Berlin (apparently… didn’t see it last time I was here as we came to the Palace via subway!). It was built in 1864 on the Konisplaz to commemoration the wars of Unification. It was moved to its current location in 1938 to be near monuments dedicated to Bismarck, Moltke and Roon – because it sounds like glorifying those sorts of people was what Nazis were into! The Victory at the top of the Column is also known as ‘The Golden Else’… not sure if Else is supposed to be a name or the English meaning of ‘else’. It’s a mystery.

On our way out of Berlin, we had an hour or so to visit Charlottenburg Palace… I have been here before, and wrote quite a bit about that visit and the history of the place. So I’m not going into that all over again, but there was an entire section of the palace that was closed last time that we managed to go into, so here’s a massive photo dump:

Started out as a nice day. Didn’t stay that way.

Mecklenberg Apartment rooms:

The Old Gallery:

Sophie’s Mirror Chamber:

I can’t believe I took this exact same picture (on the right) of the Pegasus in the ceiling without even meaning to…

Audience chambers:

The one original ceiling that survived WWII:

I also took this exact same photo on the left last time too!

And of course a bunch of pics of the Porcelain Cabinet which is still as much of an assault on the senses as it was last visit.

The Royal Chapel:

Last visit in 2018, we only managed to see the portion of the Palace as above. Today, we were able to go upstairs and see many more galleries and rooms.

Three portraits of imaginary and actual ancestress of the Hohenzollernss:

Funeral Helm (Death Helmet) of the Great Elector, Later called the “Helm of the Empire”.
Unknown armourer, Berlin 1688. Copper, hammered, fire gilt.

Medallions showing portraits of Duke Albert of Prussia and his consort, Anna Maria of Brunswick.
Jakob Binck, c.1555, silver, partially gilt.

Anna of Prussia, Electress of Brandenburg. Daniel Rose, c.1610. Oil on canvas.

Elector John Sigismund in Electorial Vestements. Unknown artist, c.1612, oil on canvas.

Elector Albrect Achilles, art of the Altar of the Order of the Swan, c.1484. Unknown artist. Oil on canvas.

LEFT: Crown of the Queen, unknown goldsmith, Berlin, c.1700. Gold, hammered, chased and enamel.
CENTRE: Imperial Seal, Samuel Stall, c.1700. Iron, silver and gilt.
RIGHT: Imperial Orb, Unknown goldsmith, Berlin, c.1700. Gold, enameled, diamonds, rubies, garnets.

Crown wooden storage box, c.1700. Timber and painted.

Imperial Scepter. Unknown goldsmith.
Berlin, c.1700, gold, silver, partially enamele, diamonds, rubies, garnets.

Brandenburg Electoral Sword. Simone do Giovanni Ghini, c.1469, reworked in 1539.
Silver, engraved, gilt, enamel; partly steel, partially gilted.

Then, there was examples of the nearly 8 tonnes of silverware that Frederick I accumulated in the 1730s. So much of it and so little description of any of it. Mostly elaborate food service objects and table centrepieces – while wandering through all these cabinets of silverware, all I could think about is the poor schmucks whose jobs it would have been to, 1) keep track of it all to make sure none of it went wandering, 2) manage the team of underlings who were no doubt responsible for polishing it so it didn’t tarnish and 3) deciding which pieces were going to be used on the table each time the family sat for a meal! It’s bad enough deciding what to cook for dinner let alone laying an elaborate table every bloody meal.

So much shiny silverware! And yet, this represents only a fraction of what there was at one point – Frederick the Great and his predecessors used their fantastical table settings as a disturbingly opulent display of wealth and of course power. But they also kinda treated it like portable wealth – and twice melted down most of the royal silver to fund wars: The Second Silesian War (1744-1745) and the the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). Each time the wars went and peace returned, he would commission replacement gold and silver table services!

I think these tall columns decked with angels connected with wreaths were probably centrepieces – and front he look of them, likely used at Christmas time with fresh cut greenery. No information on a lot of these pieces though.

Snuff Boxes collected by Frederick The Great: In the 18thC Frederick II collected richly ornamented snuffboxes with trims of precious gemstones, and made of solid stone, or precious metals. The accounts of the King how he commissioned over 200 snuff boxes, and always kept them close on hand on tables, in boxes or in cabinets at royal palaces. Made variously from red jasper, agate, gold, silver, diamonds, enamel, glass, gauche, watercolour, ivory, and other semi-precious stones and materials.

Centrepiece in the shape of an ornamental beaker, is part of the vast store of silverware presented to Prince Wilhelm and Augusta Victoria (1858-1921) by Prussian towns and provinces on their wedding in 1881. This beaker is far more Renaissance in style than Baroque.

The beautiful view from the upstairs salon down across the gardens.

We did manage to take a short walk around the gardens before the weather rolled in.

And, I promised to take Angus for lunch at Samowar – the Russian restaurant that is right near Charlottenburg Palace which is listed as one of Berlin’s best dining establishments. Though I mostly remember it for its kooky ambiance and their layered Russian honey cake. 😉

My memory of the Russian tea-room ambiance didn’t disappoint!

And neither did the meal. I wasn’t particularly hungry so opted for a creamy mushroom soup for lunch, while Angus had the wild boar sausages served with sauerkraut and pierogi, and of course we had to have an obligatory slice of Russian honey cake – which Angus is now very disappointed about, as it is much better than what we can get at home in Brisbane! *glass shatters forever*