On Tuesday morning we went to see the Ludwigsburg Schloss in Ludwigsburg. Ludwigsburg was the next suburb from Asperg towards the City of Stuttgart. There were some little copses and some farmland beside the road between the two suburbs as we made our way there. Many of the Strassen were cobblestoned in Ludwigsburg and the main road next to the Schloss had a boulevard feel being lined with trees which have turned yellow and orange as the season is Autumn here. The Ludwigsburg Schloss was the residence of the Herzogen (Dukes) of Württemburg who later ascended to the rank of König (King). Württemburg was one of the Reichen (Realms) in Southern Deutschland and was an independent country until the modern German Empire was formed in about 1871. We took a tour through the Schloss and the guide kept telling us that Württemburg was a poor Kingdom but you wouldnt know it from what we saw. Apparently the Herzogen/Königen went into great debt to fund the building of the Schloss and the interior decoration. The interiors were mostly of Baroque and Neo-Classical style with a couple of rooms having Napoleonic/First Empire style due to the fact that Württemburg was on good terms with Napoleon before his misjudged foray into Russia with the Grand Armée. From what I can recall the guide saying: Württemburg gave more than ten thousand peasants as tribute to Napoleon to add to the Grand Armée; probably only a handful of these men, if any at all, returned back to their homes in Württemburg. The rooms were filled with paintings, mostly portraits and other pictures depicting members of the Royal Family, their relatives and Rulers of other Deutsch Reichen. There was also a lot of furniture, trinkets and china for tea and coffee on many tables in the rooms throughout the Schloss. We saw some of the dingy Servants quarters(Servants were not allowed in the main rooms and made their way around dark passages behind and between the rooms for the König, his family and their guests). We also saw the Royal Chapel from a mezzanine room (I dont think we were allowed inside) and a marvellous theatre annexed to one of the sides of the Schloss. One of the Königen of Württemburg was a theatre enthusiast and the whole thing was made out of wood as there was not enough money in the coffers to build one out of stone. If you didnt knock on some of the workings or look closely though, you wouldnt have known as the wood was fashioned to look as if it were stone. In the afternoon our host drove us to the Asperg Bahnhof from where we caught the S-Bahn to Bietigheim, the InterCity to Karlsruhe and then the ICE high-speed train to Freiburg-im-Breisgau. When we arrived in Freiburg the group of academics and the like who had been in Asperg split-up as we were all staying in different hotels. Dad hasnt been very organised on this trip and he didnt even know where the hotel was! The receptionist at the Hauptbahnhof didnt know either. Fortunately, our taxi driver knew where the hotel was. In Freiburg we are staying in the Hotel Roten Bären (Red Bear) which is apparently the oldest hotel in Deutschland. The interior is all very modern though, so it doesnt quite have the feel which we may have expected. There are, though, touches of rusticity and there are a very few old trinkets and paintings in the Common Room, including about three old art maps of Freiburg throughout the ages. Our hotel is in the Altstadt of Freiburg. All the Strasse are cobblestoned including the footpaths beside the road. Often the difference between Strasse and footpath are barely distinguishable. Not many cars drive through the Altstadt. About half the people you see in the Altstadt cycle on their days journeys and the other half walk. Just near our hotel there is a long bay with bike racks to lock your bike to (and its all full too!). There are also Trams in Freiburg too and the Strasse that our hotel is on has a tram line on it. On the edges of the Altstadt many of the gate buildings which would have let the citizens through the walls are still standing, but as yet I havent seen any remains of the City Walls. The Strasse go through the gates so that Trams and what few cars you see go under and through the gates into and out of the Altstadt. There is, however, also space between the gate buildings and the next building to the left or right which is used as a thoroughfare for pedestrians. Thus, one sees Trams and vehicles going through the gates whilst pedestrians walk around the gates.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 10:03:10 +0000
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