This weekend I have been with my 7 year old nephew to my sister in Mannheim, Germany. It was his first time and it went very well. Friday afternoon we had a good workout at the Felsenmeer near Reichenbach.The phraseFelsenmeer ('sea of rock') is the German word for astone run. In a Felsenmeer, frost and ice have quickly broken up the top layer of the rock, covering the underlying rock formation with jagged, angular bolders. The depth of the layer of bolders can vary depending on vegetation, climate, and rock type, and can be as much as twelve feet deep. Basalt and sedimentary rocks often produce larger, more numerous Felsenmeer's than other types of rock.
The Saturday we went to Heidelberg and took the cable cart up the mountain near the the old Castle.The castle is a mix of styles fromGothic toRenaissance. Prince Elector Ruprecht III (1398–1410) erected the first representative building in the inner courtyard as a regal residence. The building was divided into a ground floor made of stone and framework upper levels. Another regal building is located opposite to the Ruprecht Building: The Fountain Hall. Prince Elector Philipp (1476–1508) is said to have arranged the transfer of the hall's columns from a decayed palace ofCharlemagne to Heidelberg.
In the 16th and 17th century the Prince Electors added two representative palace buildings and turned the fortress into a castle. The two dominant buildings at the eastern and northern side of the courtyard were erected during the rule of Ottheinrich (1556–1559) and Friedrich IV (1583–1610). Under Friedrich V (1613–1619), the main building of the westside was erected, the so called "English Building".
The castle and its garden were destroyed several times (during the 30 Years' War and the Palatine war of succession). When Prince Elector Karl Theodor who resided in Schwetzingen tried to restore the castle, lightning struck the Castle in 1764 and finished all attempts to rebuild the castle. Later on, the castle was misused as a quarry - castle stones helped to build new houses in Heidelberg. This was stopped in 1800 by Count Charles de Graimberg who made any effort he could to preserve the Heidelberg Castle. In spite of its Gothic interior, it was not before 1934, that the King's Hall was added.
Today, the hall is used for festivities, e.g. dinner banquets, balls and theatre performances. During the Heidelberg Castle Festival in the summer, the courtyard is the site of open air musicals, operas, theatre performances and classical concerts performed by the Heidelberg Philharmonics.
The castle is surrounded by a park where the famous poetJohann von Goethe once walked. TheHeidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway runs from Heidelberg's Kornmakt to the summit of the Königstuhl via the castle.
No comments:
Post a Comment