Stop #1 was Ettal. Although it was raining, we walked through the gates of the Benedictine Monastery of Ettal.
Ettal Abbey was founded in 1330, by Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian in fulfillment of an oath, on a site of strategic importance on the primary trade route between Italy and Augsburg. The foundation legend is that Ludwig's horse genuflected three times on the site of the original church building, where a statuette of the Virgin Mary now stands, a gift from Ludwig to his new foundation. This statue soon became an object of pilgrimage. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Funding came from the sale of indulgences.
Stop #2 was nearby Oberammergau, site of the Passion Play, first performed in 1634 and is the result of a vow made by the inhabitants of the village that if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague then sweeping the region they would perform a passion play every ten years.
The play involves over 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all residents of the village.
The city has many beautifully decorated buildings.
We shopped at Heidl’s Gift Shop....
And purchased Schneider Kuckucken Cuckoo clocks. One that Annette and Fred chose is pictured right. We were told that the Black Forest clocks would take about six weeks before they would arrive in Minnesota.
Siggy took us to lunch at the Wolf Hotel (right) where they served delicious German food.
I ordered the traditional German pork, potato dumplings and red cabbage. Annette chose liver soup. Mike had his mug of beer and a humongous salad,
Back outside we noticed the hanging sign depicting a wolf.
Stop #3 of our German expedition was Mad King Ludwig’s Linderhof Palace. In this photo,
Mike is on the right making his way up steps.
Linderhof It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one of which he lived to see completion. Although Linderhof is much smaller than Versailles, it is evident that the palace of the French Sun-King Louis XIV (who was an idol for Ludwig) was its inspiration. The staircase, for example, is a reproduction of the famous Ambassador's staircase in Versailles, which would be copied in full in Herrenchiemsee.
We returned to the hotel that night for a GCT party in the keller. Mike seemed satisfied with the arrangements. Siggy would be our last guide since the next week would be all self-guided touring. He bid us farewell. We packed our bags for the departure to Munich in the morning.
July 12, Wednesday
9:30 am departure for our seven “breakaway” days in Germany. GCT allowed us to take the same flight home from Munich, but a week later. Nice arrangement. On the trip to Munich we drove past Germany’s highest mountain peak all covered with snow. Once in Munich we picked up our prearranged Opel rental car and drove to our prearranged B&B called Pension Beck.
The exterior of the building was very much a fancy neo-classical style. The interior was more like a boarding house. The rooms were large but rest rooms were up the hall. Rooms were clean and the included breakfasts were good. The place had a charm of its own. We had to walk up stairs (82 steps to reach the fourth floor), but overall we were pleased, especially with the cost and extremely convenient location.
We were walking distance from the Marienplatz. Parking was a problem. Since there were no spots many cars just parked on the sidewalks (and were regularly ticketed). I drove around the block until a spot opened up. The space was 2 inches longer than my car. After performing a miracle, I never moved
the car until we checked out of our hotel days later,
Since we had arrived early enough, the four of us took a brief walking tour around the neighborhood. The nearby St. Lucas Lutheran Church was being restored.
For dinner we walked over to the famous Hofbrauhaus, where the German music made us feel like we were back in New Ulm. Beer, sausage and kraut were great.
July 13, Thursday
After breakfast in the B&B cozy room for such things, the four of us took a walking tour with “Mike’s Tours.” The cost was DM 20 or about $10 US. It started at the train depot so we boarded a tram on our street (Tram 17). Wonderful way to get around Munich.
When we reached the Haupthbanhof, “Mike” was already there and had assembled a group of teens and teachers for a group tour. Hr started us off with the Fountain of Neptune and Triton before moving on to the Palace of Justice. It was constructed in 1890-1897 in neo-baroque style at the west side of the
Karlsplatz (Stachus) and is dominated by a glass dome (67 meters).
Next stop was the Führerbau (Führer Building) designed by architect Paul Ludwig Troost. The Führerbau housed Hitler's office and offices for his closest staff while in Munich. The building was only lightly damaged during the World War II bombings. The Führerbau now houses a music school.
On this map of central Munich, you can trace our beginning from the left at the Haupthbanhof and and where we walked to the fountain in front of the Palace of Justice before continuing on.
Konigsplatz with the Doric Propylaen (1846-62). Hitler's bodyguard unit " Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" paraded through the Königsplatz, in front of the Propyläen.
Königsplatz from period sources. This served the Nazi as a “martial” setting for parades and demonstrations.
Nearby was Karolinenplatz. In the photo to the right you can see Konigsplatz where we just came from in the background. The obelisk was erected in 1833 and honors the more than 30,000 Bavarian soldiers who gave their lives in Napoleon’s 1812 campaign against Russia.
Then we observed the Eternal Flame Monument to the victims of the Nazi terror regime. It is a twenty foot high stone column supporting a bronze cage containing a gas fueled eternal flame. There is controversy regarding its suitability.
A highlight of our tour was the Frauenkirche. The Frauenkirche was constructed from red brick in the late Gothic style within only 20 years. The building is designed very plainly, without rich Gothic ornaments. Construction began in 1468 and the two towers were completed in 1488. They are mismatched stylistically with the rest of the building. But this way they have become a distinctive landmark of Munich.
At the center of the city is the Marienplatz —a large open square named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column in its centre —with the Old and the New Town Hall. Its tower contains the Rathaus Glockenspiel. This was once the arena for executions and royal weddings.
Here was the famous Glockenspiel with its life size figures depicting the wedding of Duke William V and Renata of Lorraine.
Another important landmark of Munich was Peterskirche, the oldest church in the city.
On the lower left of map below you can see its location relative to Frauenkirche and the Neues Rathaus we had just visited.
The church had photos on display that showed the destruction from heavy bombings during WWII.
We visited St. Michael’s Jesuit Church next. This is the largest Renaissance church north of the Alps. The style of the building had an enormous influence on Southern German early baroque architecture. The church was built by William V, Duke of Bavaria between 1583 and 1597 as a Catholic spiritual center for the Counter Reformation.
The crypt contained the tomb of King Ludwig the Mad.
Photo stop by a fountain on Karlsplatz.
We returned to our Pension, but then decided to go back to the Altstadt for dinner. Our choice was the Augustiner on Neuhauser Strasse. This 19th-century establishment is the flagship beer restaurant of one of Munich's oldest breweries. Beer and meals for two persons came out to DM 40.2 or about $20. We appreciated this historic restaurant and the very German atmosphere. The reputation of Augustiner beer is so good that the brewery does not engage in any advertising campaigns.
July 14, Friday
Our agenda for the day was Dachau. See map. We took the underground out to the city, a distance of about ten miles. Very easy to reach there by train.
Dachau concentration camp was the first Nazi Concentration Camp opened in Germany, located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau. The main gate at Dachau where prisoners walked through marked with the sentence "Arbeit macht frei".
This program paved the way for the Holocaust in several important ways. First, it had the effect of legitimizing government-sponsored killing. In keeping with the Nazi emphasis on racial purity, eugenics, national health and euthanasia was presented as a so-called necessary program for eliminating those who carried effective genetic materials which might endanger the quality of the "Aryan" stock. Second, it was the beginning stage in the corruption of the German medical profession.
Himler was photographed at Dachau in 1936 (right).
Owing to continual new transportations from the front, the camp was constantly overcrowded and the hygiene conditions were beneath human dignity. Starting from the end of 1944 up to the day of liberation, 15,000 people died, about half of all victims in KZ Dachau. Five hundred Soviet POWs were executed by firing squad. Dead corpses in train (right).
We visited the crematorium at Dachau. It was explained to us that this particular one was used only for prisoners who had died, not for extermination.
The American liberators found approximately 32,000 prisoners -- crammed 1,600 to each of 20 barracks, which had been designed to house 250 people each.
International memorial (1997)
We returned to Munich via the subway and exited at the Isator stop. We refreshed ourselves and prepared for a Bavarian Show in the Fest-Hall of the Hofbrauhaus which started at 8:30 pm. Entrance fee amounted to about $10US, and was well worth it.
We entered the celebrity Hall, built in 1897. The atmosphere was festive. Our seats were up by the stage where we sat at a table with friendly Russian visitors (smokers).
The international crowd included many Japanese, who had no trouble getting into the mix. The evening provided a great close to our stay in Munich.
July 15, Saturday
We checked out of our B&B early in the morning and carried our luggage down four flights of stairs to the hedged-in Opel.
The drive to Berchtesgaden in the Bavaria Alps was 120 miles via the autobahn. See map (right).
Our accommodations at the Watzmann in Berchtesgaden were nice and cost only DM 148 or about $74 for two people.
The pension was originally part of a brewery built 300 years ago. We checked in and ate lunch in a room that looked very Bavarian.
We drove our rented Opel over to the bunker site at Obersalzberg. This is where Hitler had built an underground air raid complex. By 1935-36 all local residents of Obersalzberg were either bought out or evicted, and three security zones were installed that encompassed the entire area. Hitler’s plush apartments no longer stand (RAF), but one may walk through the extensive passageways of the linked bunkers.
We took a bus from Obersalzberg to the Eagle’s Nest on Kehlsdein Summit (upper left on map). The Kehlsteinhaus was commissioned by Martin Bormann, with construction proceeding over a 13-month period so it could be completed in 1938 for Hitler on his 50th birthday.
It is situated on a ridge, reached by a 4.0 mile long and 13 ft wide road that cost to about 150 million euros adjusted in line with inflation. It includes five tunnels.
The last 407 ft up to the Kehlsteinhaus are reached by an elevator bored straight down through the mountain and linked via a tunnel through the granite below that 407 ft long. The inside of the large elevator car is surfaced with polished brass, Venetian mirrors and green leather (the elevator is still used daily).
1945 photo of entrance tunnel to elevator going up to the Kehlsteinhaus, visible at top.
When we were there it was a well attended tourist site.
After returning to Berchtesgaden Annette and Fred walked over to the Franziskanerkirche adjacent to the Pension Watzmann.
July 16, Sunday
Obviously this was Sunday because the nearby church bells were vigorously employed. I looked out through my window and saw neatly dressed parishioners entering the church.
Early the next morning we headed to Salzburg, Austria, Parking lots on Sundays had no charges,
which freed up street parking. Therefore I parked conveniently on Rudolfskistrasse along the river and we entered the Altstadt through the Gstattnetor.
Our first visited site was the birthplace of Mozart (1756). He lived on the 3rd floor until 1773, until he was seventeen and already famous. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at 17 he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position
To the east was the College Church built for the university (1694-1707) where we had spent considerable time on my college study tour years before. This time we concentrated on the Franciscan Church (1223) just in front of the College Church. It has a Romanesque nave, a Gothic apse with a
Baroque altar.
The Dom or Salzburg Cathedral merited even more attention. Earlier the church had suffered much destruction . The present cathedral was fundamentally changed from the original and completed in 1628, remarkably in less than 15 years.
The building can accommodate more than 10,000. Mozart was baptized here and the baptismal font is just inside the door.
The Fortress of Hohensalzburg above us seemed to dominate the city below.
To the south was the impressive St. Peter’s Churchyard, which reminded us of the Sound of Music scenes.
Irma and Mike in the Sound of Music setting.
We went back to the Cathedral to spend time viewing the interior. We were fortunate because the interior was not only magnificent, but our visit was enhanced by a visiting choir made up of young people.
Residenzbrunnen was a huge baroque-style fountain located in the center of the huge square. Just in front of the Residence could be seen what might be interpreted as a metaphor for the dimension of the archbishops' power in local politics.
After browsing through gift shops, including one that sold empty colored egg shells, we walked
back to our parked rental car. Our next stop would be to Augsburg via Munich and Dachau.
The 200 mile trip took little time because we used the zipper autobahn.
We lodged that night at the Hotel-Pension Jacoberhof (DM 105), a turreted city mansion, centrally located on Jacoberhofstrass.
The Fuggerei was conveniently located across the street. The X by the Lutheran Church is where our pension was located. It had been in the family for more than 75 years.
It was raining but we walked down Jacoberhofstrass looking for a diner. We settled on what looked like a college restaurant. Inside was a life-size plastic model of Bertolt Brecht so I took a video of Mike with Brecht looking over his shoulder.
Fred got up early in the morning to survey the immediate area. He looked over the Old City Gate we had passed upon arrival. It faced the Church of St. Jacob next to our Pension. The church was “Evangelical Lutheran” and the doors were left open for visitors. Their web site exhibited what appeared as definitely Lutheran doctrine. The church is the yellowish one in the foreground.
Across the street from our Pension was the Fuggerei (founded 1519), a town within a town, founded by the Fugger family to provide homes for the poor people of Augsburg. Historians tend to make much of
the family’s wealth and influence in selecting the Holy Roman Emperor.
By 1523, 52 houses had been built, and in the coming years the area expanded with various streets, small squares and a church. The gates were locked at night (10 pm), so the Fuggerei was, in its own right, very similar to a small independent medieval town. It is still inhabited today, affording it the status of being the oldest social housing project in the world.
The rent was and is still less than a euro per year, as well as three daily prayers for the current owners of the Fuggerei. The conditions to live there remain the same as they were 480 years ago: one must have lived at least two years in Augsburg, be of the Catholic faith and have become indigent without debt. The community has its own church, St. Marks (right).
We now made use of our car and drove over to Dom St. Maria Cathedral (9th to 14th century. The excavated basement of an earlier church was part of the church square. We concentrated on the Dom.
Another view of the Cathedral.
Noteworthy are romanesque and gothic frescoes, lovely painted vaults, and four panel paintings by Holbein the Elder. The windows of the prophets Jonas, Daniel, Hosea and Moses are examples of the oldest representative stained glass in Germany.
The building west of the Dom Mariä Heimsuchung is the Fronhof , the former bishop's palace. Of the Episcopal Palace only the tower or Turmbau (1507) remains. In the predecessor of the current 1743 building, the Confessio Augustana was proclaimed in 1530. This is where the Augsburg Confession was presented by Philipp Melanchthon on June 25, 1530.
Luther had read and approved this document which Melanchthon had prepared based on the teachings of Luther and other Wittenberg theologians. Emperor Charles V rejected what he had hoped would be a conciliatory statement and the conflict with the Lutherans continued until the Peace of Augsburg (1555). Then the Lutherans were finally recognized denomination. The settlement was based on whose region, his religion.
Our next stop was the Evangelical Lutheran Kirche of St. Ulrich and Afra on Ulrichsplatz. Ulrich and Afra are the patron saints of the city of Augsburg. Ulrich was a local prince-bishop whose army saved the empire by turning back the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955; Afra was a Roman virgin martyr.
The Peace of Augsburg was signed here in 1555, recognizing both Catholicism and Protestantism as valid denominations. In the early 1700s, the monastic preaching hall on the north side of the basilica was renovated as the Lutheran Church of St. Ulrich, leaving the other section Catholic and dedicated to Afra. The Lutheran church is to the right.
And here is the Catholic side.
Next stop was at the Rathaus or City Hall. During the devastating British bombing of Augsburg in World War II, the explosive and incendiary bombs, completely burned the exterior of the building. The Rathaus was rebuilt after the war, the exterior according to its historic appearance
Our drive to Ulm was only 150 miles and on the autobahn that did not take long. We had reservations at the Ulmer Spatz for DM 150. The hotel was a stucco building located on a corner -- very near the Protestant Cathedral. Fred dropped Annette off at the Hotel and parked over by the Rathaus (right).
Naturally the first sight seeing on the agenda was exploring the Evangelical Cathedral or “the Minster,”the largest German cathedral after Cologne. It was built 1377-1520, with further work 1844-1890. In a referendum in 1530/31, the citizens of Ulm converted to Lutheranism. Without the pews, the nave of the church could hold nearly 20,000 people -- considerably more than the entire population of New Ulm, Minnesota. With the pews it can accommodate 11,000 at one service. Actually, this Lutheran church is really not a cathedral and has no bishop, but because of its size it is called a cathedral. It is the tallest church in the world. However, if the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is ever finished, it will them be the tallest church.
There are statues of saints and key church figures, like Luther and Gustavus Adolphus, placed on pedestals by enormous pillars .
The choir stalls have intricately carved wooden figures and ornamentations.
Main altar by Martin Schaffner (1521)
Our Walking Tour of Ulm
We crossed over the bridge (upper right) to the other side of the Donau River.
We encountered a marker that indicated there was a sister city of New Ulm in USA.
After touring the park-like area we sat down on a bench and observed the Old Town across the river. We walked back to the other side and strolled along the old fortified wall.
Here we relaxed and took pictures. And then headed to the Fishermen’s Quarter.
From Ulm we drove to Strasbourg, France, and toureed the historic Old Town, before returning to
Munich and our flight home.
Footnote:
During the Reformation, Ulm became Protestant (1530). With the establishment of new trade routes following the discovery of the New World (16th century) and the outbreak (and consequences) of the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), the city began to decline gradually. Around 1700, it was alternately invaded several times by French and Bavarian soldiers. In the wars following the French Revolution, the city was alternately occupied by French and Austrian forces, with the former ones destroying the city fortifications. During the campaign of 1805, Napoleon managed to trap the invading Austrian army of General Mack and forced it to surrender in the Battle of Ulm.
In 1810, Ulm was incorporated into the Kingdom of Württemberg and lost its districts on the other bank of the Danube that became Neu-Ulm (New Ulm), when they remained with Bavaria. http://www.ulm.de/
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