Having wealth is one thing. Doing something with it is what counts. I came across this statue and what I first thought was a kind of court jester happens to be a likeness of Philipp I. was the landgrave of Hesse, powerful and wealthy. When … Continue reading What You Do with It
Today it’s an arts and cultural centre used for music events and plays and the like but the building used to be the Wiesbaden abbattoir.
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This monument of Grand Duke Ludewig of Hesse and by Rhine stands in the central square of Darmstadt. The plinth, the column and the 5 metre tall Ludewig measure a total of just under 40 metres. The Darmstadt people love the tall structure and only call it “Langer Lui” (or “Tall Ludwig”).
Not odd as such but odd because I could’ve sworn the one word today would be “tall”. So I leave this post as an example of the oddity of my brain.
Not a high mountain but definitely not a hill as it is well over the 1000 foot mark, provided that is really the magical threshold which turns a (mole)hill into a mountain. It is called Melibokus and it is the highest mountain of the Odenwald on the side where it drops off to the Upper Rhine Valley in Central Germany. The climb from the town of Zwingenberg at its foot to its peak of 517 metres plus the elevation of the lookout tower and a US Army radio mast is quite steep and although no alpine feat also not for those faint of heart and sore of foot.
I chose this photo for the Friendly Friday Challenge where Amanda has asked for Mountain tops
because I passed the location today and used the camera of my new phone for the first time. The photos are definitely a lot better than what my previous phone could do but I already know that I won’t take pictures with it often. I use my phone for a lot but it just doesn’t feel right for my hands and fingers when I take snaps.
Anyway, here is a long shot from close to the autobahn looking towards the Melibokus. I even managed to include my shadow – not by design.
The central place in Darmstadt is the Luisenplatz with this 33 metre tall column supporting a bronze statue of Ludwig I, first Grand Duke of Hesse, erected in the middle of the 19th century. The people of Darmstadt call it Langer Lui, meaning Long Ludwig, on account of its size (or length).
Today it is surrounded by buildings erected after the second world war as the centre of Darmstadt was almost completely destroyed in one night in 1944. In the firestorm created by allied bombers approximately 11 ,000 to 12,500 of the inhabitants burned to death, and 66,000 to 70,000 were left homeless. The palace behind the column was erased and in its place is now a shopping mall.
Ludwig from the bottom and almost at eye level from a neighbouring multi-storey car park.
Linked to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: things that are long.
A schoolyard in Hesse, slightly faded. For Monday Murals.
Looking out from the Odenwald in Hesse over the upper Rhine valley. The wind turbines are all on the other side of the Rhine in the State of Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate) where politics were much more conducive to develop renewable power alternatives.
For OneWordSunday:
pictures imperfect blog 