Tag: Windeck
Breathless, yeah!
Weinheim, my home town, has given itself the monniker “The Two Castle Town”.
This is the Wachenburg, the younger one of the two, about 100 years old, built by student fraternities.
This is the Windeck, the older one, about 1000 years old, built to strengthen the influence of the abbey of Lorsch.
There are paths leading up to either, the choices are roads and paved paths as well as small, narrow footpaths through the woods. The latter are steeper but more fun to walk.
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Windows used for PR
An advertisement for the town known as “Two castle town”. On the left is the relatively new Wachenburg, on the right the castle ruin Windeck.
Is new always better?
This tower has been standing in its place for over 700 hundred years. During this time repairs were occasionally needed, e.g. it got a new roof at one stage, the old, blue-black shimmering slate replaced by red brick tiles – but it nevertheless kept its name: Blauer Hut or Blue Hat. This summer the bodywork needed a repair. Now I am no expert and possibly the mortar between the sandstone bricks didn’t hold anymore and short of demolishing the whole tower and rebuilding it they slapped some material on the outside. It’s new alright and in years to come it might look weathered again, at the moment I just think the new lighter and smooter wall looks ugly.
While I am at it look at the castle ruin to the right in the photo. The summer photo was taken two years ago. The trees were growing close to the castle walls and only the tower and the top parts of the walls could be seen. The winter photo is from a couple of weeks ago. It’s not just the bare branches but the trees around the castle ruin have all but disappeared; this was apparently done for safety reasons, the trees in question being old and in danger of toppling over during the next strong winds. To me the Windeck (Windy Corner) still looks kind of naked but I am starting to appreciate that the new look shows the buildings structure and beauty much better than before
Hence the answer to the question in the title is – not always, but sometimes.
A Photo a Week: Something New.
I’m coming home again and again
When I see these two castles in the distance, I know I’m coming home. No matter what the weather, no matter what time of the year, or even what year it is. I lived in different parts of the world for more than 30 years but these two castles always spelt home for me.
Weinheim is known as the Two Castle Town. so much so that we even have a cookie cutter with their silhouettes.
The Ragtag Daily Prompt: Homecoming.
Two-castle-city
My hometown Weinheim is known by the epithet Zwei-Burgen-Stadt. The appearance of the two castles in the distance, one ancient and one fairly modern, with the adjoining and quarry was always a sign to me that I would be home soon.
Wachenburg to the left and Windeck to the right seen from the banks of the channelled arms of the Weschnitz, a small river flowing into the River Rhine about 30km to the east.
The Windeck is around 1000-years-old. It was built as a fortress to safeguard the assets of the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch.
The Wachenburg is only around a 100-years-old and was built and is still owned by a student corps.
The expansion of the quarry was finally stopped when a citizens’ group went to court and forced the closure of the enterprise. The twist in the tale is that around 1900 the whole hill (consisting of a relatively valuable form of porphyry) was sold to a community about 10km to the south in exchange of agricultural fields and hence, our town was more interested in preserving the hill with the Wachenburg on it than the quarry company who had plans to erase the whole hill. But sanity prevailed and since the operations have shut down nature is reclaiming the quarry with several species of animals rediscovered that had disappeared from the area (a large species of owl amongst them).
We are so proud of our two castles that we even sell a cookie cutter in the shape of the silhouette.
For One Word Sunday: home. Have a look what other bloggers consider their home.
Two castles
My whereabouts – after being away for 3 decades I am back home.
Linked to Friendly Friday: Whereabouts.
Windows with a view –
but no panes of glass.
Linked to Monday Windows. For more windows, with or without views, click here.
