Tag: soldier

Nothing to rival the Beatles

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famous

This soldier of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870/71 was a minor celebrity in his town when they looked for a model for the war memorial which was erected in 1890.  He was a miller by profession and considered the most beautiful man around.  Not long afterwards he emigrated to the US, apparently smuggling valuables in the nappies of his numerous children. If that is true I don’t know but he came to wealth in the US and his family not only grew to riches but also in numbers.  To this day the town of Weinheim hosts descendants of this beautiful man about once a year when they come and want to see what their great-great-great-grandfather looked like.

I’ve featured him before here.

And here is a slightly fuzzy close up of him – jugde for yourself if he conforms with your idea of beauty.

famous 2

For One Word Sunday: Famous. More photos of famous people can be found here.

Wars are never won

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St. Laurentius

This war memorial – commemorating the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 – stands in front of the St Laurentius Church in Weinheim.  As in many towns all over Germany, memorials went up to celebrate this particular war and Kaiser Wilhelm I.  A German historian talked of this as the epidemic of monuments brought forth by Germany’s boastful besottedness with national ideals (file:///C:/Users/nukman/AppData/Local/Temp/12240-21601-1-PB.pdf) and I am not at all fond of these glorifications of war.

There is a humorous side note to this particular one.  Johann Wilhelm Goos, a miller in town, was considered to be the epitome of manhood and chosen to be the model for the charging soldier.  He later emigrated to America with his family, where he became wealthy.  To this day, descendants of Johann Goos come to Weinheim and want to see what their ancestor looked like.

This is a more comprehensive look of the church overlooking the market square.

St. Laurentius

For A Photo a Week Challenge: Light the Night.   More lit up nights can be found here.