The Old Towns in Wismar and Stralsund have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2002. I highlight Stralsund’s 3 main churches and some of the town’s characteristic architecture.
St. Mary’s ChurchThat is some altar, with abundant vertical space above.
St. Nicholas Church.
The high altar, in St. Nick’s
Wall painting, crucifixionscene with Peter, Mary, John, Paul, Nicholas.
Alter Markt: “Backgothic” style.
Badenstraße.
St. Jakob (St. James)
Spare or austere decoration by comparison; use of its big spaces gives the name “Kulturkirche.”
On exhibition inside St. James’ is a partial retrospective on German-American photographer Leni Sinclair (b. 1940 in Königsberg).
Welterbe-Ausstellung, near Alter Markt. The larger than usual panel at right-centre is the World Heritage Site listing for the Hanseatic cities of Wismar and Stralsund.
On travel day 25, I’ve now visited in Germany 6 (new to me) UNESCO World Heritage Sites, bringing my total to 40 from 52.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 1 Jun 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
Stralsund has existed as a city with its first charter assigned in 1234 CE. The name of the settlement is taken from the narrow water channel, Strelasund, a sound separating the mainland (on which the town resides) and the neighbouring island of Rügen.
I arrive at the hotel in late-afternoon, and get myself out the door for a couple of hours as “visual appetizer” for tomorrow’s full day (under forecast sun). Prominent are the “big 3 churches” in the city’s Old Town whose area is designated UNESCO world heritage site.
Except for the building with Nicolai Cafe, every other structure seen in this southeast corner of Alter Markt Plaza is under local/regional monument protection.
Town Hall with Gothic facade at right; Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas) in background
Kulturkirche St. Jakobi (St. James).
St.-Marien-Kirche (St. Mary’s), from hotel room: not bad.
Afternoon light in the Old Town: west on Fährstrasse.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 31 May 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
Haithabu, Heiðabýr: “colony/settlement on the heath”.
Hedeby, or Haddeby.
Established in the early 9th-century CE, until its abandonment and destruction in the 11th-century, Vikings set up a village in the Schlei inlet inbound from the Baltic Sea, at an easy-to-ford location at the narrowest part of the Jutland peninsula over to the North Sea. At its height, the village was one of the largest Nordic towns during the Viking age. Later, Danish king Harald Bluetooth ordered in the 10th-century the construction of fortifications to protect the village, Northern European crossroads, and trade centre. The settlement also paved the way for the Christianization of Denmark.
The town and the surrounding Danevirke fortification received inscription as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.
ᚼᛁᚦᛅᛒᚢ “hitabu” (rune in Younger Furthark). Hey, how about that: the rune for “b” is the modern symbol for Bluetooth technology.
The Vikings got very good at making boats. They were “jetting” around the North and Baltic Seas.
Sailing around Cape Skagen vs. sailing to Haithabu and fording over to the Treene and Eider rivers to reduce valuable travel time between the Baltic Sea and North Sea.
Squeezed between Frisians, Danes, Slavs, and Franconian Saxons, the Vikings sure found a sweet spot on the peninsula.
Viking sites as UNESCO World Heritage Sites: L’Anse aux Meadows 🇨🇦 (lower left); Haithabu 🇩🇪 (lower right).
One of many finds: a Christ symbol.
One of many finds: a steer symbol for St. Luke.
Grave number 33. Needed the zoom to pick out the cross.
Grave number 147.
Grave number 25.
“A meeting of cultures” (and one of many finds): multi-sided non-cubic dice. Plus runes and Vikings, equals live-action early-medieval D&D to the death.
One of many finds: fine gold pieces.
For almost 1000 years, a part of a Viking ship lay buried in the Haddeby Noor (“lagoon”) near the Haithabu site.
About 1km south of the museum is the estimated location of the village and recreation of 7 example houses.
Recreated dock/jetty into the nearby Haddeby Noor (lagoon) to launch boats, and receive trade goods from the sea and faraway lands.
“Welterbe seit 2018.”
World Heritage Site since 2018.
The Viking Museum Haithabu is located about 30-minutes by bus south-southeast from the centre of Schleswig. Open daily from 9am to 5pm, the 11€ charge includes admission to both museum and the houses (about 1.5 km walk to the south). The museum also has a great café.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 30 May 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.
The brick buildings Chilehaus and Sprinkenhof are leading examples of the city‘s commercial quarter which along with the Warehouse District make up the inscription for UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Next to the Elbe river the Elbe Philharmonic Hall concert house, known locally as “Elphi” (ELL-fee), became an instant landmark upon opening in late-2016. The glass structure by Herzog & de Meuron sits on top of a former brick warehouse building.
Chilehaus and Sprinkenhof, at left and right, respectively (0.5x).
Chilehaus: “the ship’s bow”.
U4 station HafenCity-Universität: track-level.
U4 station Überseequartier, above track level.
Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall), from the river. The Herzog & de Meuron glass structure sits on top of a former brick warehouse.
I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 27 May 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.
(The Moselle is running high in Trier, but it’s not much compared to the flood damage in many low-lying parts of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland. Plus side, there are lots of visitors here this Pentecost holiday long-weekend.)
Built around 310 CE, the Aula Palatina (Palatinate Hall) functioned as the throne-space for Roman Emperor Constantine the Great: the building was a single-room palace basilica. The measurements are impressive not only to list, but also by sight: length 67 metres (220 feet), width 27 m (88 ft), height 33 m (108 ft). The building is the largest single-room Roman structure still in existence, and is the largest intact Roman structure outside of Rome. In 1986, the Aula Palatina was included with the set of historically important buildings in Trier inscribed as World Heritage Site. Today, the structure is in full use as Protestant church.
Interior, facing east towards the altar (0.5x).
Interior, near the altar facing west to the church organ (0.5x). This single-room building as 4th-century imperial throne palace.
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