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Mostly Saxon Christmas Markets

november - december 2024
Finally, the Christmas Market trip, but in a different part of Germany. Saxony, the home of German Christmas traditions, and Thuringia. Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig

    28. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ 🌧 43 °F

    We visited the Forum for Contemporary History, which was mainly a museum about the formation of the DDR, resistance against the government, how the government sought to order society and the economy, and how it eventually lost control. Exhibits touch briefly on the NSDAP era, and the years after Reunification. Have to watch what I post, re images, but there were a lot of interesting things here.

    Included and of note: a field stone left by a small farmer whose land was collectivized, a box of consumer goods from the West, the hiking gear worn by one of the first three East German girls to escape over the border of Hungary in 1989, and a cartoon by the LA Times equating Reunification with the return of the NSDAP.

    Highly recommend.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Leipzig Hauptbahnhof

    28. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ 🌧 43 °F

    Train station, I know, big deal. But it is a big deal, and here's why:

    The Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the largest train station in Europe. Seems strange it would be this one, but it is. In the late 1800s, Leipzig became a major railway junction for traffic through the Kingdom of Saxony. There were a handful of different companies running their trains out of a handful of terminals. It improved a bit as companies were consolidated, many coming under either the control of the Royal Saxon State Railways and the Prussian state railways (that's not a mistake-- the s and r aren't capitalized in the official name, German, you know...)

    Eventually, the government got involved. In this case, the local government in Leipzig, which decided there should be one passenger terminal and one only. The two companies would have to work it out. They did, and the result was this massive rail station, with two grand domed entrance halls, administration spaces, shopping and all that went with them. Oh, and platforms to board the trains, twenty-six in all. The station was completed in 1915 after nine years. The western half of the station was the Prussian side, the eastern the Saxon.

    There are also some interesting old trains on the east side of the train shed.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Last night in Leipzig

    28. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Wrapping things up here. Ten o'clock German time and I'm still up. The husband is not, he's snoring happily. Tomorrow, onto Erfurt.

    A few last shots of the main Christmas Market, including a short horn performance, more food (including Kasespaetzle and buckthorn punch).

    I'll be putting up a lot of pictures on facebook at some point, hopefully soon, for now, I'm tired, and have another long day tomorrow.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets
    2

    Erfurt

    29. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Today, we're off to Erfurt, where we'll spend the weekend. Erfurt is the capital of the state of Thuringia, which so happens to be the state in which my maternal grandfather lived. That's not why we chose to visit here though. Erfurt is another old city that came highly recommended by the smart volunteers on the Germany forum at trip advisor, as well as being interesting historically and aesthetically. Remember those half-timbered houses I liked so much in Franken? Well they're here, too. I was told it has an exceedingly pretty Altstadt, and it does. Of note is the Kramerbrücke, built in the 1100s, that to this day houses shops and homes on either side. When I get the time, I'll dump a lot more pictures on Facebook.

    Short history, feel free to skip if you're tired of me rambling, or you know all of this. Erfurt comes into the records in 742, when the English Benedictine, Saint Boniface established a diocese here. Another example of the English Christianizing the Germanic people, as we saw on our last trip to Austria and Bavaria. The city is on the Via Regina, that vital east-west trade route across Europe, which contributed to its wealth. Erfurt was a member of the Hanseatic League, which I tend to associate with northern and coastal Germany, but I imagine other inland trading cities/towns were in the League as well. During the Holy Roman Empire, Erfurt was under the power of the Electorate of Mainz (and yes, Mainz itself is clear across the country on the Rhine, but the HRE was that way), and had significant town rights. At some point in the early 1800s, it passed to Prussia, and then, as with most other places in Europe, it was overrun and taken by Napoleon.

    The University of Erfurt was founded in 1379, the oldest university in what today is modern day Germany. This is the university Martin Luther was attending when he decided to become a monk. He entered the Augustinian Cloister right here in town. Other intellectual luminaries associated with Erfurt: the mystic and philospher Meister Eckhart, and the sociologist Max Weber, best known by me as the author of “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” which I had to read in my historiography class back in college.

    Like Leipzig, there are intriguing (to me) musical associations here. Johann Pachelbel was the organist at the Predigerkirche from 1678-1690. Several members of the Bach family lived here, including the parents of JS Bach. The church were his parents married is still standing.

    I'm going to cut this short, giving more detail (sorry) when we actually do the sightseeing, after one last bit of information. Topf and Sons, the company that provided the crematoria to the Nazis, was located in Erfurt. You can visit the site of their headquarters, and we're going back and forth on that. We'll see.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Erfurter Dom

    29. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    The Cathedral of Saint Mary stands on the site of two former churches, including one established by Saint Boniface in 742. In the mid Twelfth Century it was rebuilt as a Romanesque basilica. The church's current form was reached in the Fourteenth Century, went another renovation was undertaken in Gothic style.

    The church is home to the oldest free standing cast work in Germany, a candelabra called the Erfurter Wolfram and the Maria Gloriosa, which was the world's largest free swinging bell when it was made in 1497. Today, it's the world's largest surviving free swinging Medieval bell, and is still in use. No chance to see the bell, and we might have seen the other thing. We definitely saw the relics of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (though they call her Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia), and Saint Boniface.

    Two significant historical events occurred in the cathedral. The first, on July 26, 1184, is known as the Erfurt Latrine Disaster. Yes-- latrine disaster. King (later Emperor) Henry VI met with vassals and other area lords to try and broker an end to a feud between Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia, and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz. At some point during the meeting, the floor collapsed, sending nearly everyone in the room into the latrine beneath the church. Sixty people died, though Louis and Henry both survived.

    On April 3, 1507 Martin Luther was ordained in the cathedral.

    Today, the church is still Catholic, though Erfurt and the surrounding area by and large went Lutheran during the reformation.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets
    21

    Sankt Severi

    29. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Right next door to the Cathedral of Saint Mary, is Saint Severus. The original structure dates from the Eighth Century, a monastery was founded there. In 836, the bones of Saint Severus of Ravenna were brought to the church.

    The Romanesque church was largely redone in Gothic style in the 1300s. After a fire in the city in 1472, the church was rebuilt yet again. It barely survived secularization and the reign of Napoleon, who offered it for sale so that it could be destroyed. Go figure. Bombing during World War II almost destroyed it again, and since the end of the war, it has undergone several more renovations.

    The relics of Saint Severus in an elaborate sarcophagus are the most significant item in the church. Also of interest, the Virgin Mary altar which features Mary and several other female saints    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Erfurt Christmas Market by day

    29. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    Was a bit crowded, even at mid-day, but not as chaotic as the main market in Leipzig. Lots of interesting things to eat, it looks like. We had our first Thuringer Rostbratwurst. It was good, different from the ones our German butcher makes, but they come from Baden Wurttemberg so I'm thinking these are the real deal. Gluhwein as well, but it didn't come in a real cup so we'll have to get more.

    There are a handful of other markets, but one looks totally bougie/hipster. We'll see tonight, or Sunday night. Or both.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets
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    Eisenach

    30. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 32 °F

    Capital of Thuringia in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, and the castle overlooking the city, the Wartburg, has played an important role in German history. Ruled by the Ludowingians and the Wettins in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period, as their fortunes changed, so too did the town.

    Eisenach played a pivotal role in the Reformation. Luther attended school here (1498-1501) in preparation for university. He came back when under Imperial ban (more about this later). The town accepted the tenets of the Reformation in 1528, after being damaged in the Peasants' War in 1525.

    Other important historical ties: it was the birthplace of JS Bach (1685), and home at one point or another to Pachelbel, JC Bach, and Telemann. The yellow house in one of the pictures is the house in which Bach was born.B

    From the 1860s until 1938, Eisenach had a large and thriving Jewish community, and it was here that the Nazis founded the Institute for the Study and Elimination of Jewish Influence on German Church Life, run by the Reich Church. BMW had a factor here during the war, producing aircraft engines with both forced and free labor. After the war, the plant was socialized and renamed EMW, producing the Wartburg, sold as a luxury vehicle in the DDR.

    Eisenach was one of the western-most cities in the DDR, which interfered with development and investment. The city suffered population loss, and overall deterioration of housing stock. The government demolished large swathes of historic homes to build Soviet-style apartment blocks to correct the problem. There are still a lot of very big, very impressive Jugendstil mansions, despite this. It's a very pretty town.

    After reunification, Eisenach saw an increase in tourism, mainly due to the Wartburg being named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

    Personal connection: Eisenach is the city listed on my grandfather's papers as the place of departure when he entered the US. His place of birth on his naturalization papers is actually listed as Berteroda, which is a small suburb/ village right outside of the city. Didn't manage to get out there, but if we ever come back, we will.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets
    1

    Georgenkirche and Luther

    30. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 36 °F

    The Georgenkirche was built by Ludwig III, of the Ludovigian Dynasty when they ruled the area. The church is associated with several important historical people and events, beginning with Elizabeth of Thuringia (aka Saint Elizabeth of Hungary) who married here in 1222.

    Martin Luther sang in the choir here as a student. He returned later, including to preach in the church before his mysterious kidnapping on May 2, 1521, after his refusal to return to the discipline of the Catholic Church.

    JS Bach was also baptized here.

    There's a carved crucifixion piece from the Voss Workshop of Nürnberg, which is you read our Bavarian trip, you would have heard of him already. Also, behind the altar are the tombstones of some of the members of the Ludovigian family. When the Communists took over, they were supposed to be removed and destroyed, but were taken into safekeeping.

    We stopped by the Lutherhaus, but didn't visit, just stopped into the guesthouse. We had a long day ahead of us at Wartburg Castle, beginning with a walk uphill to reach it.    Læs mere

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  • RejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets
    5

    Wartburg

    30. november 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 37 °F

    So here's the big history, and some introductory pictures... I took so many. I do have to say, while the Medieval Christmas market was nice, I wish we had come on a regular day and saw the castle without the extras and the crowds. Also unfortunately, we found a great view from a distance to take a side shot, but the sun was behind the castle so the pictures are meh.

    We didn't come here for family history, we came for the Wartburg. It's a huge place. Like the Hohenfestung in Salzburg and the Kaiserburg in Nuremberg that we visited on our last trip, the Wartburg just overwhelms you and dominates the area. So that's worth a visit, not to mention that it was originally begun in 1067 (just one year after William the Conqueror invaded England-- be still my Medieval loving heart!), and parts of it have survived since then. Like all of these structures, it's burned down, been besieged, fired on and et cetera, but it's still here.

    The castle has been an important court site of the Wettin family (like the Wittelsbachs down in Bavaria and those darn Hohenzollerns we're going to hear a lot about the Wettins on this trip). It played a supporting role in one of my favorite to teach episodes of Medieval history- the Investiture Controversy between HRE Heinrich IV and Pope Gregory VII, again-- heart palpitations...

    Under the Ludowingian dynasty, the court was considered one of the most cultured in the German Reich. Two of the most influential poets/ Minnesängers were part of Hermann I's retinue: Wolfram von Eschenbach (who wrote parts of Parzival in the castle) and Walter von der Vogelweide. It was also the site of the perhaps fictional Sängerkrieg, or Minstrels' War (1206 or 1207), which was the inspiration for Wagner's Tannhäuser, which I listened to in preparation for the visit. You see how far I go for everyone? Opera!

    There were other notable figures linked to the castle. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was raised here, then married to the Ludwig IV.

    The castle passed to the Electors of Saxony, and it's with them we get our next big historical adventure: the residence of Junker Jorg. Frederick the Wise, the Elector of Saxony and great patron of education and the Catholic Church, “kidnapped”, then hid Martin Luther on his way back from the Diet of Worms. Luther lived in the castle for close to a year, during which he translated the New Testament from Greek into German. In order to do this, he took a handful of the many different dialects and standardized them so that his translation would be accessible to more people. Okay, more of the few people who could actually read.

    A lot of other things happened, of course. Wars, that Napoleon guy, and a prominent part in the Revolution of 1848 and the road to German unification. The Wartburg is so significant to German history, even the Communists recognized its place, and put significant resources in to reconstruction in the 1950s, and again in the '60s.

    A few last notes. Another noted visitor was Johann Wolfgang Göthe. He spent a few weeks at the castle making drawings. The castle once housed an extensive treasury of arms, armor, relics, artworks, and the sorts of blingy things one finds in a treasury. When the Red Army withdrew after WWII, most of the treasure “withdrew” with them, never to be seen again. A few items were returning in the 1960s, and the government of Germany has been trying to get the rest back from the new management.

    Good luck with that.

    So all of this history-- a total Medieval overload-- a hike up the hills to get to the place, and add to all that, a Medieval Christmas market. I was in historian hog heaven.    Læs mere

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