The old part of Michelstadt im Odenwald has beautiful half-timbered houses and medieval remnants. The part called Storchenwinkel, or Stork’s End, houses the town’s museum, a winery and a few public offices. Half-timbered used to mean dark wood and white-washed walls, and in this part of the country sandstone elements. The teal coloured wooden elements are new additions. Quite stylish ones, I think.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge: February Color Teal or Turquoise
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Trumpeting to ages past.
Sometimes perspective is forced upon you as was the case here. This herald angel stands on the parapet above a large gate inside the wider courtyard of the castle Fürstenau – the only way to look is up.
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A couple of weeks ago juxtaposed the new and old parts of Schloss Fürstenau in Steinbach. Here are some of the windows from the various buildings.
The clear cut classical lines of the new palais with the black and gilded lattice look perfect with the white walls offest by the grey frames (I have no idea what the colours originally were).
Dormer windows jutting out of the slate tiled roof and the wide bay window in sandstone.
My favourite windows are the skew ones in the old part which are on the outside of a staircase.
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The eldest parts of Schloss Fürstenau in Steinbach, part of Michelstadt im Odenwald, were built in the 14th century. It is still used residentially which is why the court yard is only open for a few hours each day. The newest part is the “new palais” on the left. The renovated white, grey and gold façade is quite the opposite of the more mellow, medieval parts.
A curious look – but what’s the connection to my past and my future?
This valley in the Odenwald has been a favourite spot for family outings for almost 150 years. The deer come to the fences to be fed, then and now.
The young deer at the top might very well be the grandgrandgrandgrand… son of the deer my granddad was feeding in the photo on the left, taken in around 1962. The photo on the right is of our son and grandson standing in more or less the same location earlier this year. I haven’t been to that place in the intervening 60 years.
Friendly Friday: Look back to the future
all from Michelstadt im Odenwald
With curtains, without curtains, with shutters, without shutters, with flower pots, without flower pots, bay windows, single windows, twin windows, with chicken, without chicken.
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The Ragtag Daily Prompt: Break
There are not many buildings left from the Carolingian area in Germany. The most famous is the Lorsch Abbey near Worms in the Rhine Valley, a UNESCO world heritage site. The basilica of Einhard, about 40km to the east, is less well-known. This is a model on the site.
Einhard, who was amongst many other functions at the court the biographer of Charlemagne, had the basilica built in the early part of the 9th century and endowed it with relics, probably in order to make it into a centre of pilgrimage. His plans did not come to fruition and the relics were removed to Seligenstadt in the North. Other clerical buildings of the time were renovated and modernised throughout the century whereas this basilica was left mostly in its original state.
Imagine approaching this building at a time when most buildings were hardly higher than a man!
The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Buildings of the Past
This old half-timbered house didn’t want to make the choice between flowers or diamonds.
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Triangles, squares and diamonds
pictures imperfect blog 