Bored and lonesome the Flat Ls decided to go on a search for the Prince of thier dreams.
If he wasn't going to come to them then, heck yes, they were going to search for him instead.
And so a new adventure began.
And where else to look than in a REAL castle, in a real old town, full with history and also full with family :)
The Flat Ls went nowhere else but to my home town; Eisenach.
[Wikipedia: Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and theHainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.]
Actually my parents live in Mihla, a small town 15 minutes away from Eiseach, but my Omi lives in Eisenach and this is as close to home as it gets for me.
Several now legendary events took place on the Wartburg in the following decades, best known is the "Singers' Contest on the Wartburg" (Sängerkrieg, which is part of the Tannhäuser legend).
After the Thuringian War of Succession (1247–1264) Eisenach became subject to the Wettin dynasty of Meißen. Later several mini states were established in what is now Thuringia, and Eisenach became a principality on its own in 1521. In 1809 Eisenach became part of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
Eisenach was the place where Martin Luther lived as a child, although he was not born there, and later for his receiving protection by Frederick the Wise after having been pursued for his religious views. It was while he was staying at Wartburg Castle that he translated the New Testament into German.
The town is famous as the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach as well.]
Equipped with their trusty steed "Little Blue" (aka aunty Julia's little Ford car) they made it out into the big-wide world to find their prince.
Na-course, always buckled up!
First place to look for a prince is the Prinzen Teich "Prince Lake", but NO LUCK here.
The second place would be his CASTLE, the Wartburg.
{Wikipedia info: The castle was founded in 1068 by the count of Schauenburg, Ludwig der Springer. Together with its larger sister castleNeuenberg in the town of Freyburg, the castle secures the extreme borders of his traditional territories.[2] According to tradition, the castle (Burg) got its name when its founder first laid eyes on the hill upon which the castle now sits; enchanted by the site, he is supposed to have exclaimed, "Warte, Berg -- du sollst mir eine Burg werden!" ("Wait, mountain -- you shall become a castle for me!").[3] It is a German play on words for mountain (Berg) and fortress (Burg). In addition, Ludwig der Springer is said to have had clay from his lands transported to the top of the hill, which was not quite within his lands, so he might swear that the castle was built on his ground. In fact, the name probably comes from Warte, a kind of watch tower as stated in the above source.
The Wartburg remained the seat of the Thuringian landgraves until 1440, and as a place of courtly culture it became around 1207 the venue of the Sängerkrieg, the Minstrels' Contest [4] in which such Minnesänger as Walther von der Vogelweide,[5] Wolfram von Eschenbach,[6] Albrecht von Halberstadt (the translator of Ovid) and many others took part. The contest was later to be treated with poetic licence in Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser.
At the age of four, St. Elisabeth of Hungary was sent by her mother to the Wartburg to be raised to become consort ofLudwig IV of Thuringia. From 1211 to 1228, she lived there and was renowned for her charitable work. Three years after moving to Marburg upon the death of her husband, she died at the age of 24 and was canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.[7]
From May 1521 until March 1522, Martin Luther stayed at the castle, after he had been taken there for his safety at the request of Frederick the Wise following his excommunication by Pope Leo X and his refusal to recant at the Diet of Worms. It was during this period that Luther, under the name of Junker Jörg (the Knight George), translated the New Testament into German, the first translation into a modern language in over a millennium.
On 18 October 1817, the first Wartburg festival took place. About 450 students, members of the newly founded GermanBurschenschaften ("fraternities"), came together at the castle to celebrate the German victory over Napoleon two years before, condemn conservatism and call for German unity. Speakers at the event included Heinrich Hermann Riemann, a veteran of the Lützow Free Corps, the philosophy student Ludwig Rödiger, and Hans Ferdinand Massmann.
With the permission of the absent chaplain Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the Code Napoléon and other books were burned 'in effigy': instead of the costly volumes, scraps of parchment with the titles of conservative books (including August von Kotzebue's History of the German Empires) were placed on the bonfire. Karl Ludwig Sand, who would assassinate Kotzebue two years later, was among the participants.
This event and the similar gathering at Wartburg during the Revolutions of 1848 are considered seminal moments in the movement for German unification.
The AMAZING aunty Julia, who made this new chapter of the Flat Ls possible.
This is where Germans put her kids if they get a time out ;)
The donkey station.
Kids can ride up the hill to the castle on a donkey.
I don't know how many times I have done that when I was a little Nadja.
Personally, the Wartburg was and is very special to me.
My Omi (grandma) would take me there so many times that I could recite the guides speech in my sleep.
I knew all about Luidwig der Springer and how he chose the place for his castle, about Saint Elizabeth and the Rosenwunder, about Luther and his so-told run in with the devil and the Singerkrieg, the dragon tales and so on and so on.
I knew it all and LOVED it ... and still do.
But sadly the prince was not to be found in his chambers and so the Flat Ls had to keep on searching and wandered into town.
First stop, Nikiolaikirche "Nikolai church".
Wikipedia info: The Nikolai church, located on the Karlsplatz, is dedicated to St Nicholas and adjoins the former city gate , the Nikolaitor, which is the only one remaining of the original five gates. The church served as the parish for the Benedictine convent located in the area. This triple-naved basilica was built in 1180 and is considered the last example of the Romanesque architecture in Thuringia.
Nothing here either so they went on to ask for help.
"Hello Mr. Martin Luther; have you seen our prince?"
"No my Ladies, sadly I have not but go and look at the Georgenkirche and the Stadtschloss. Maybe there you will find what your heart desires."
[Wikipedia info: Located on Karlsplatz, the monument to Martin Luther was designed by Adolf von Donndorf and was dedicated on May 4, 1895 on the 374th anniversary of Luther's arrival at Wartburg Castle. The more-than-life-size statue of Martin Luther on a pedestal also has reliefs depicting several events in his life leading up to and including his stay in Eisenach as well as the title of one of his most famous hymns, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."]
Arriving at the Karlsplatz they looked and looked but still their prince, riding around on his nobel steed, was nowhere to be found.
[Wikipedia info: Karlsplatz: adjoins the Nikolaikirche (Church of St. Nicholas) and the Nikolaitor ( St. Nicholas Gate), the only surviving city gate in the town.
Marktplatz: the market square with the Georgenkirche (the Church of St. George), the town hall, the Baroque city castle, as well as a number of highly decorative administration buildings and merchants' houses. It also features the gilded market fountain designed by Hans Leonardt in 1549, of St George, the patron saint of Eisenach.
Jakobsplan: named after a chapel destroyed by fire in the Middle Ages. Jakobsplan comprises a monument to St George in the centre of the square, part of the old town walls (including one of the look-out towers, and the Goethe Garden
Frauenplan: a small courtyard-type square that takes its name from the "Church of Our Lady". The church was demolished for local defence strategies in 1306. Today Frauenplan is the location of the Bachhaus and the Bach Monument in front of it.]
Nothing at the Luther house ....
[Wikipedia info: The Lutherhaus is one of the oldest and most picturesque half-timbered buildings remaining in Eisenach. Martin Luther is said to have lived here as a pupil during his school days in Eisenach from 1498-1501. Currently, this house is a museum featuring multimedia exhibits relating to the period. The museum is split into five parts where one can see an illustration of Luther's life and times as well as his teachings.]
nor the Bachhaus ...
[Wikipedia info: The Bachhaus was the first museum worldwide to be dedicated to the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1906. It was established through the Neue Bachgesellschaft. The house is over 600 years old and stands near the place of the house where Bach was born on March 21, 1685. Today, the museum holds several artifacts and a variety of 18th and 19th century music instruments]
"Hello Mr. Johan Sebastian Bach, have you seen our prince dear Sir?"
"I am afraid not my young Ladies but if I see him I will let him know at once that two beautiful, american princesses are looking for him."
"Wy thank you my Lord and may we add that you are looking extremely shiny today."
"How kind of you to say. Now go on and find your prince my Ladies. Gods speed."
The Ls had to stop by my Omi's house and say "Hallo Omi, wie geht es Dir?"
Weisst Du wo der Prinz ist?. "Hi Omi, how are you? Do you know where the prince is?"
"Of course I do! I know where BOTH princes are!"
"Both?"
"Yes!!! BOTH!"
There is prince Bruno, a very handsome but somewhat hairy one.
(Bruno is a Spanish street dog, rescued by a german organization, who now resides with my Omi to keep her company during the day. My aunt calls him ALF and I have to FULLY agree with her!)
And then there is prince Nils, a young, blond and blue eyed prince ... just the kind you are looking for.
So they marched on and near my mom's house they found him, hiding in his mom's arms.
Nils is 5 and as handsome and cute as a prince gets ;)
They hung out, played and just had a good'old royal BLAST!
The Ls have met Dani and Nils before in real life and it's rather cool to see them with these good people again.
And so ends another chapter of "The AMAZING Adventures Of The Flat Ls".
This chapter was sponsored by a VERY special, kind, wonderful and LOVING aunty, who went to all these very special places for us so we could post them here on our little spot in the blogger world.
I have the BEST sister in the whole, wide world and my Ls are so lucky to have her as an aunty!
She spoils them with attention and love, not to mention the many gifts and skype play dates.
She rocks the aunty world big time and our wish and hope is that she falls madly in love with a super nice (and rich) guy here in the BA when she comes to visit in a few weeks and then can stay with us forever!
;)
DANKE Jule!!!! Du bist echt die BESTE!!!
Wir haben Dich so sehr lieb!!!!
