The Alter Markt square in Stralsund is brilliantly illuminated in late-day sun with St. Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church) and the Rathaus (City Hall) framing the scene at right. The greenish building at centre-left is the heritage-protected mid-18th century building Commandantenhus. Stralsund’s Old Town has been inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.
I made the image above on 31 May 2024 with an iPhone15; the image is corrected for geometric distortion. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-wIH.
Five kilometres east from Greifswald is Eldena, where the ruins of a monastery sparked within Caspar David Friedrich (CDF) a motif and theme lasting decades.
I returned to Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie in 2017, and I had an emotional response to the sight in-person of CDF’s “Abtei im Eichwald” (Abbey in the Oakwood). And in that moment, I added CDF as a subject of historical and artistic interest.
I’m in northeast Germany almost 7 years later, standing in front of the very same ruins of a 13th-century monastery that’s ignited interest among different people around the world over centuries of time.
“Wanderer from Greifswald” info display for the 250th anniversary of CDF’s birth.
“Eldena monastery ruins in the Giant Mountains”, CDF, 1830-1834. Painting housed at Pomeranian State Museum, Greifswald.
“Eldena monastery ruins near Greifswald,” CDF, 1824-25. Painting housed at Alte Nationalgalerie, SMB Berlin.
“Abbey in the Oakwood,” CDF, 1810. Painting housed at Alte Nationalgalerie, SMB Berlin.
An evening open-air live performance of “Romeo & Juliet” at this venue would be phenomenal.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 7 Jun 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
With a population of about 60-thousand, about 20% are students in the university city of Greifswald. It is also the birthplace of Caspar David Friedrich (CDF), and on this 250th anniversary of his birth, I’m in town to explore some of his traces.
Next to the city’s cemetery Neuer Friedhof is a view east across pastures and meadows towards the city’s three main churches (1x).
2x digital magnification.
At 4x digital magnification, the view apart from natural growth and modern development appears similar to that in CDF’s painting shown below. A tree branch from the upper frame points down to St. Marien (St. Mary’s).The two churches at centre are Dom St. Nikolai (St. Nicholas Cathedral) and St. Jacobi (St. James).
“Wiesen bei Greifswald” (meadows near Greifswald) by CDF, 1821-1822. Original in Hamburger Kunsthalle; above is reproduction on display at the CDF-Zentrum. The exact location where CDF made his painting remains unknown, but it can’t be far off.
CDF Memorial
2009 sculpture by artist Claus-Martin Görtz; inaugurated in 2010, and located just east of St. Nicholas Cathedral.
CDF Zentrum (birth house)
The location where CDF was born is now a city museum, a centre for all things CDF.
“An dieser Stelle stand das Geburtshaus des Malers Caspar David Friedrich: geb. 5 Sep. 1774, gest. 7 Mai 1840.” / At this location was the house where painter CDF was born. The word “Kind” in German is pronounced with a short-i with the meaning “child”.
Entry for CDF as part of a big family tree.
Dom St. Nikolai
This church first appears in documents in 1263 CE. Two days after his birth, the parents of CDF brought the baby here to St. Nicholas Cathedral for baptism.
Towards the front altar.
Towards the pipe-organ, as musicians gather below for the afternoon Konzertprobe (rehearsal) for tonight’s performance at the city’s annual Bachwoche (Bach week) festival.
Marktplatz (market square)
Northeast corner of Marktplatz, facing west-southwest (2024).
“Greifswalder Marktplatz,” by CDF, around 1818; various members of his family appear in the foreground. Photo yesterday (5 Jun 2024) at Pommersches Landesmuseum.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 5 and 6 Jun 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
Remaining in the northeast state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the university city of Greifswald is also the birthplace of Caspar David Friedrich (CDF), notable early 19th-century painter who is a centrepiece for the German Romanticism art movement. 2024 marks the 250th year of his birth, which means all sorts of special exhibitions all year throughout the country, especially in Greifswald.
Arriving in Greifswald for mid-afternoon check-in means time is short, and I head straight to the Pommersches Landesmuseum (Pomeranian State Museum) for their current CDF exhibition.
Pommersches Landesmuseum (Pomeranian State Museum)
CDF: Lifelines, 28 Apr – 4 Aug 2024. Another two CDF exhibitions will follow until early 2025.
“Winterlandschaft” (winter landscape), 1811.
“Neubrandenburg” (new Brandenburg), 1816.
“Flachlandschaft am Greifswalder Bodden” (flatlands at Greifswald bay), 1834.
“Ruine Eldena im Riesengebirge” (Eldena Ruins in the Giant Mountains), 1830-1834.
CDF self-portrait, 1805-1809.
“Schnell eilte ich die Straßen durch, auf grüne Fluhr zu kommen, wo freier die Luft uns reiner umgiebt, und fröhlich der Mensch sich fühlet.” / “I quickly hurried through the streets to get to the green fields, where the air is pure and free, and the people feel happy.” CDF.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 5 Jun 2024. I received neither sponsor nor support from any organization. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
I turn my attention to the southeast corner of Rügen island, towards Prora and Binz.
There’s a very long curved building complex in Prora. The ruling National Socialists (NS) had in the 1930s planned to construct a 4.7-km (2.9-mi) long seaside resort between the towns of Sassnitz and Binz. The resort at Prora was meant for 20-thousand workers through the propaganda program “Kraft durch Freude” (KdF, Strength through joy). The KdF on the leisure side was merely another tool to ensure blind, unwavering, complete loyalty to the NS cause. With foundation stone laid in 1936, construction began in 1937, but stopped in 1939 with the outbreak of continental war. After 1945, East Germany used the partly completed complex as army barracks and military used, turning the area into an exclusion zone. Today, private investments have completely transformed some of the blocks to tourism as holiday apartments.
The Documentation Centre in Prora does a great job in describing the complex, the intended functions, and its ongoing fate; as well as the NS KdF program in the context of transforming the German nation into a “hammer” on the rest of Europe. All panels are only in German, but PDFs in English are available from accompanying QR-codes.
I would have liked another few hours in Binz; morning light would be spectacular from the white-sand beaches. While its “centrepiece” Kurhaus spa hotel and other buildings are nice architectural works, the town has a “stank of the rich“, which I find unappealing. It may be why I’m also not very excited to visit Sylt, although I probably should some day.
Prora, DokuZentrum
“Vacation: an exhibition on KdF’s seaside spa project in Prora.”
Former administration/entrance hall.
Some of the south blocks entirely rebuilt with private investments for modern standards of holiday apartments.
Layout of resort complex “K.d.F. Seebad Rügen”, 1938. North is to the right. The cursive is reprinted in block letters in the following image.
With respect to the preceding image.
Situation in 1945; north to the right.
DDR/East German map of the region. Situated 5 km northwest from Binz, Prora and its train station were hidden as “military secret,” operated by the DDR’s Nationalvolksarmee (NVA, People’s National Army).
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 4 Jun 2024. I received neither sponsor nor support from any organization. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
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