The landscape reminding me a lot of the Rhein and the its valleys, particularly for its castles and viniculture, we arrived at our base camp to the explore the Saale-Unstrut region, a part of Germany we’ve regularly passed through but hadn’t devoted much time or attention to previously, finding a spot along the river, behind the limestone escarpments between Bad Kรถsen and the ruins of the Rudelsburg. Fortified around the mid-ninth century at the commission of a local bishop to secure trade and for border control, like its Hessian counterparts, archeological studies suggest it was the expansion of a defensive settlement occupied since the Bronze Age, the castle was first besieged in 1348 during a territorial dispute in the first documented case of gunpowder in Germany.
No longer regarded as impenetrable, as was the fate with castles in general, it was rebuilt several times over the centuries as a symbol of power, though one expensive to maintain and eventually allowed to fall into disrepair. The masonry of the keep were ordered to be torn down and used for reinforcement elsewhere but a debilitating accident befell the owner, who took his ordered demolition as a bad omen, currying disfavour and decided to the ruins stand, the profile from the sixteenth century more or less remaining to this day, preserved by romantically-minded fraternities from the nearby university cities of Leipzig, Jena and Halle. An enterprising caretaker of the desolate grounds in the 1830s revitalised popular interest after offering food and drink for passing hikers, prompting citizens of the Naumburg to petition the barons von Schรถnberg to turn it into a official gastronomic destination and venue for visitors. A repast at the Rudelburg by the King Of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, during a large-scale military exercise solidified the locale’s prominence and as a meeting place for
students’ corps, a society for tolerance and pacifism that rejected parallel movements during the lead ups to the first and second World Wars. A series of monuments were installed in the mid 1870s, taking a cue of public sentiment following the restoration of the
Wartburg, including an obelisk honouring Wilhelm I, the Lรถwendenkmal in memory of fraternity brothers killed in the wars and young Otto von Bismarck seated with his dog, a early pledge to the society. With many of these memorials facing destruction during the East German era, the group relocated from Bad Kรถsen and the Rudelberg to
Wรผrzburg and the
Marienburg.
We took a short hike around the river’s bend to the twin Turme, architecturally related to
Schloss Thurant, of Burg Saaleck—erected as a counter-foundation to the neighbouring episcopal, elevated to a knight’s estate before becoming quarry for the farmers of surrounding villages. Ultimately saved by the romanticisation of its neighbour and former foe, Burg Saaleck took a quite different trajectory in modern times after a tower served as the final refugee of the murders of Walther Rathenau, minister of reconstruction of the Weimar Republic and a signatory of the
Treaty of Rapallo, in an attempt to overthrow the government—which eventually succeeded—the site became a sort of pilgrimage destination for Nazi-sympathisers but the memorial was removed in 2000 by the local pastor with the help of the Bundeswehr. Hiking trails from the campsite also led to a half-completed bridge over the Saale, a stone marking a ghost birch (no longer there) and the Johannisquelle, the pump-house and mill spring for the baths of Bad Kรถsen, first discovered in 1725 and covered in an Art Nouveau style pavilion in 1909.
synchronoptica
one year ago: Je t’aime... moi non plus (with synchronoptica), slowing light speed, more esoteric programming languages, artistic idioms, assorted links to revisit plus the many anniversaries of SNL
two years ago: Texas Chainsaw Massacre plus a last day on the Havel
three years ago: the death of Pope Pius XII plus more links to enjoy
four years ago: Barbarella (1968), ancient animation, a Coming Out simulator plus a declassified map of nuclear targets
five years ago: the micronation of Rose Island
six years ago: an appreciation of the Smiley Face, a system for coding emotional facial reactions, St Gummarus plus the debut of Saturday Night Live (1975)
seven years ago: more on the moons of Jupiter plus the better letterer’s corner
eight years ago: pรคntsdrunk, more on Coming Out Day, the technical mastery of chindลgu, a moon moon plus The Secret Life of Plants
nรคchster halt: digital train journeys with passing scenery from footage of the route—via Web Curios
