You only see what you know (Goethe)
The building was erected as a theatre by architect Wilhelm Vernukken in 1603/1606. The commissioner was Landgraf Moritz, who named the Ottoneum after his son Otto. Today, a natural history museum is housed here. Well-known collection pieces are a Xylotheque and the Ratzenberger Herbarium. [German]
The Saalburg is a reconstructed Roman fort in Hesse. Inside its walls, a museum tells about the life of the soldiers along the border. The castellum was a part of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes. Today the remains of the Limes are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Nerobergbahn was built in 1888 as a funicular railway driven by water counterbalancing and is still operated with this technology. It connects the Nerotal Valley with the Neroberg Hill, a lookout high over Wiesbaden. [German]
Several German railway stations offer model railway layouts. After putting in a 1-Euro-coin, children (and their parents) can control the miniature trains. The dioramas are pretty large and full of details. I took this photo at the central station of Frankfurt am Main.
As you know, I love to stroll around railway stations while waiting for the next connection. So I do at airports as well. At Frankfurt on Main Airport, I came across this Cadillac Sedan (1956).
Fun as well as thought provoking advertising seen at Frankfurt on Main Airport. Literally translated the text says: “You have to read in order to stay on top”
Another interesting venue of the dOCUMENTA (13) I visited today: The Grimm Brothers Museum (Brüder-Grimm-Museum) housed at the Palais Bellevue.in Kassel.
In 2012 I visited the dOCUMENT (13) in Kassel. The Fridericianum was the first building I came across on this trip. A building with a catching story for museum buffs like me.
Fun detail seen in Kassel: A figure standing on top of a sphere inside a church tower. Its a sculpture created by the artist Stephan Balkenhol. The traffic lights are not art, I was just standing at a pedestrian crossing and there was no time for a better position.
Photo of a sundial seen at the tower of the Fridericianum in Kassel.
After World War II, a large part of Kassel was rebuilt in the style of the 50ties. So if you are interested in the architecture of this period, a walk through Kassel is an appropriate way to learn more about it.
Odd detail seen on top of a hotel near Kassel Central Station: A diving platform! The explanation for this strange combination: It’s an artwork.