You only see what you know (Goethe)
On a very cold winter day, I took a guided tour through this fairy-tale castle 20 km south of Hanover named Marienburg. The Gothic revival castle was built between 1858 and 1867 as a birthday present by King George V of Hanover to his wife, Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. [German]
At the end of my photo walk through Goslar I came across this Glockenspiel placed at the Kaiserringhaus of Goslar. Four times a day it shows figures of miners doing their hard work at the nearby Rammelsberg Mine accompanied by well known tunes like the ‘Steigerlied’.
In the year 1254, a hospital for people in need, invalids and orphans, but also for pilgrims has been erected in Goslar. Today the building, which is generally known by its German name ‘Große Heilige Kreuz’, still houses flats for retired people. In another part of the former hospital, you can visit a couple of craftspeople in their shops.
On my way from the centre of Goslar to the Imperial Palace (Kaiserpfalz) I came across this double-crooked building in the middle of a row of half-timbered houses. I guess, it wouldn’t be that easy to buy furniture for this home?
At one of the oldest squares in Goslar you can see these strange faces. Personally the reminded me more on faces known from overseas than on German ones. The German name of the square is Schuhhof. During Christmas time a sort of Christmas wood is placed on this square.
A very special way to learn more about the history of Goslar: This pewter figure museum (Zinnfigurenmuseum) offers guided tours along the numerous showcases telling about the history of the city.
The house with the name Kaiserworth was built in 15th century as guildhall for the cloth merchants. At this time they were the wealthiest people in the city and so the building looks like. Today it houses a hotel and restaurant. The figures represents different emperors.
Goslar is a city which really can’t deny that there were slate mines nearby for many centuries. I saw a lot of slate-faced buildings in this city, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites now.
The Upper Harz Water Regale (Oberharzer Wasserregal) is a system of dams, reservoirs and ditches, built from the 16th to 19th centuries to divert and store the water that drove the water wheels of the mines in the Upper Harz region.
This is NOT contemporary art but the shift bosses’ change room (Steigerkaue) in the world heritage site of Rammelsberg mine. Instead of lockers the shift bosses used these baskets for storing their clothes and put them high up in the hall. A similar change room (Kaue) for miners I saw at the cocking plant Hansa in Dortmund.
Walking through the museums of the visitor mine and world heritage site Rammelsberg near Goslar gives an interesting insight in the miners’ life. For example you can see this first aid room equipped with materials from the 1980s.
There are several underground tours exploring the Rammelsberg Mine. I took the shortest one which goes through the Roeder Gallery. On this tour you follow the route of the water, channelled into the mine to set big water wheels in motion.