Potsdam’s Sanssouci (“care free”) palace and park are very popular places for visitors in summer. However, a couple of days with severe thunderstorms and high winds in the past week forced the closure of the entire grounds, as announced earlier today on their website and as seen with signs on their locked gates. Downed branches and tree segments needed clearing. By mid-afternoon, some of the grounds opened to foot traffic, bicycles, and motor vehicles. It’s no surprise there were far fewer number of visitors observed on the grounds today.
In 1990, selected gardens and palaces in Potsdam including Sanssouci were inscribed by UNESCO as a single item onto their list of World Heritage Sites.
Locked gate on the grounds’ southern perimeter in morning hours.
Orangerieschloss: 1851 to 1860/1864, by Stüler and Persius.
Neue Kammern: 1748 by Knobelsdorff; first an orangery, then guest palace.
Hauptallee, facing west to Neues Palais.
From Hauptallee up to Sanssouci palace.
Weinbergterrasse (vineyard terrace), facing north to Sanssouci palace.
Weinbergterrasse (vineyard terrace), facing south to the Great Fountain.
On the terrace steps, up to the palace.
The final spots for Friedrich the Great (below) and his beloved dogs (above center).
Grave for Friedrich the Great (1712-1786) who ruled as Prussia’s monarch from 1740 until his death. Yes, those are spuds on the plaque; legend has him responsible as the first to getting potatoes into German hands and bellies.
The visual jewel that is the centre portion of Sanssouci Palace.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 27 June 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
The international UNESCO body recognized the importance of Berlin’s Museumsinsel or Museum Island by inscribing the site onto the list of World Heritage (WH) Sites in 1999.
The Berlin Museumsinsel is an island consisting of five museums built between 1824 and 1930: Alte Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Bode-Museum, Neues Museum, and Pergamonmuseum. These museums represent individual artistic and historical significance, the continuing development of what museums should mean to society, and the achievement of a grand central civic project.
To coincide with Germany’s annual World Heritage Day on the 1st Sunday in June, the entire Museum Island celebrates its 200th anniversary with a weekend festival. I’ve chosen to visit the Altes Museum (Old Museum) and the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery).
Altes Museum
Altes Museum: construction 1823-1830, to designs by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Berlin’s oldest museum now specializes in Greek and Roman antiquities.
Natural light through the cupola in the rotunda illuminates Roman statue-copies of deities from Greek mythology.
Hera (Juno), queen goddess.
Hygeia (Salus), goddess of health.
Nike (Victoria), goddess of victory.
Tyche (Fortuna), goddess of chance.
Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love.
Demeter (Ceres), goddess of agriculture.
Artemis (Diana). goddess of wild animals and the hunt; however, she’s missing a bow and arrows.
Alte Nationalgalerie
Alte Nationalgalerie, constructed 1866-1876 from designs by F. Stüler & J. Strack; now houses paintings and sculptures mostly from the 19th-century, including important works by C.D. Friedrich and K.F. Schinkel.
“Gothic Cathedral on the water”, by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, 1813.
“Castle by the water,” by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, 1820.
“Rock arch”, by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1818).
“Deep in the forest by moonlight”, Caspar David Friedrich, c. 1830.
“Greifswald Harbour”, Caspar David Friedrich, 1818-1820.
“Moonrise over the sea”, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1822.
“Woman at a Window”, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1822.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 1 June 2025. I did not receive any request or compensation for the content here. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
In 2021, UNESCO recognized the cultural and historical significance of the great popularity of spa culture and spa towns in Europe from the 18th-century to the early 20th-century. Today, we have The Great Spa Towns of Europe, as 11 towns across 7 nations were inscribed as a single transnational World Heritage Site. Baden-Baden is one of the 11 towns, and is only 30 minutes from Karlsruhe by train.
Baden-Baden is 1 of the 11 “Great Spa Towns of Europe”.
Steinbrunnen (stone fountain), 1871; in the Lichtentaler Allee green-space.
Staatliche Kunsthalle (State Art Gallery), completed in 1909. The present exhibition has the tagline: “What would the bottom of the ocean tell us tomorrow, if emptied of water today?”
Kurhaus (Spa House), completed in 1824.
Front entrance.
Trinkhalle (Pump House), side entrance.
Trinkhalle, colonnade.
Trinkhalle, 1842.
Stiftskirche Liebfrauen (Collegiate Church of Our Lady).
Left to right, respectively: Stiftskirche Liebfrauen (pink); Altes Dampfbad (Old Steam Baths, yellow); Friedrichsbad (Frederic’s Baths, beige-green).
Festquelle: water still flows through the tap from the hot springs. People used to collect water for home use; no longer encouraged because of high arsenic content (yikes).
At the far end of Rotenbachsee Park is a statue of Russian author Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, whose 1866 novel “The Gambler” is set in Baden-Baden. The 2004 statue is by artist Leonid Baranov.
Dostoevsky casts his gaze down towards Baden-Baden. He was not shy about gambling (and losing) in the city‘s casinos.
“The Great Spa Towns of Europe”, as a transnational serial nomination: 11 towns, 7 nations.
I made all photos above with an iPhone15 on 24 Jul 2024. I received no support from an external organization. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
In 1993, UNESCO recognized the cultural and historical significance of the 12th-century Maulbronn monastery complex with inscription as World Heritage Site.
Monastery church, first began c. 1147.
Late 14th-century Madonna made of oak.
Cross, secondary altar.
Back of the cross: “1473” (first row).
Main altar space.
Madonna, c. 1300 CE, by Kölner Werkstätte.
Choir, c. 1450.
Ceiling above the main altar.
Former dining hall for monks, c. 1225 CE.
Former dining hall for monks, c. 1225 CE.
Keystone/capstone (Schlußstein) from the cloister (Kreuzgang), northeast wing, c. 1300 CE. At centre is a 1-Euro coin for comparison.
Keystone/capstone (Schlußstein) from the cloister (Kreuzgang), east wing, c. 1300 CE. At centre is a 1-Euro coin for comparison.
In 1993, UNESCO inscribed the 12th-century Maulbronn monastery onto the list of World Heritage Sites.
From Karlsruhe or Stuttgart, it’s a little tricky to reach Maulbronn with public transport. With my base moved to Karlsruhe, it’s first an RE or S4 train to Bretten, before hopping onto VPE bus 700 to stop “Alte Post” in Maulbronn. Finally, there’s about 600 metres remaining on foot to the ticket office on the monastery grounds.
I made all photos above with an iPhone15 on 23 Jul 2024. I received no support from an external organization. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
In Bavaria’s Upper Franconia, the city of Bamberg is described as “a central European town with a medieval plan and with a number of surviving secular and ecclesiastical buildings from the medieval and baroque periods.” For its architectural, cultural, and historical character, UNESCO inscribed the city’s Old Town as World Heritage Site in 1993.
This is my 2nd time in Bamberg, after my 1st visit 14 years ago on this very same month.
From Geyerswörthbrücke: Old Town Hall, perched on top of the Regnitz.
World Heritage Centre: modest visitor centre with displays about the city’s heritage landmarks and the road to inscription.
Bamberger Dom (Bamberg Cathedral).
Bamberger Reiter (Bamberg Rider).
Dionysius, and beheaded.
Neuer Residenz (New Residence).
Rose garden inside New Residence; the 2 steeples from St. Michael’s appear at left.
“Gruß aus Bayern” (Greetings from Bavaria).
Michelsberg, Kloster Michelsberg.
View from Michelsberg towards the New Residence and the Cathedral.
Outdoors terrace café at Michelsberg, with a cold Rauchbier (smoked beer) on tap.
Back to the “beginning”: the old town hall, with late-afternoon illumination on the west side.
This west side of Old Town Hall is lit up in the afternoon.
Stadtwappen (city’s coat of arms), between clockface and balcony.
Maximiliansplatz.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 10 Jun 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
Fotoeins Fotografie 