 Kirchheim unter Teck
Altes Haus
|  Altes Pfarrhaus
|  Rathaus
Town Hall is early 18th century. Vaguely onion dome look. Zashitim rodnyiu Teck.
I wonder if the conspicuous Frankenstein spigots will spout St.Elms Fire under the right atmospheric conditions. The semi-animated golem slugging through the countryside.
Subtitle reference: The place was originally Zähringer home turf. It did fall to 'Wirtemberg' in 1303. The title did only cross the Channel in the second half of the 19th century. A comparatively recent event. The Guelphic connection with the Plantagenet court is much older. A request of Henry the Lion (the heraldic lion is Guelphic in this case) for political asylum from Staufic wrath at the court of Henry II, his father in law, was granted in the 12th century.
The House of Württemberg become over time the caretaker of the Staufic tradition (still the case, the three lions in the present day great seal of unified state). Some whitewash. The early Eberhards actually competed with the Zähringer for the large...
|  Rathaus
Safer statement: Podesta (city hall anything) and spiritual power (spire side) vying for the best in railway station clocks.
|  extended market
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 extended market
|  London Bridge
Certainly perched somewhat percariously. Some 'multifan' pipes can be made out under the propped up rooms. Second hand pitstop look. River will be the Lauter, Neckar contributary.
|  At the weir
Epilobium hirsutum + Lythrum salicaria
|  At the weir
Epilobium hirsutum, Great Willowherb
|  Conkers and lamp posts
Could probably have made it conkers in space suits with a bit of alignment magic.
|
 Kirchheim unter Teck
Rathaus with baroque cap tower
|  Kirchheim unter Teck
|  Kirchheim unter Teck
geranium splendor
|  Xysticus cristatus, male
Oxeye daisy with crab spider - town wall, corner bastion
|  Kirchheim unter Teck
the half timbered lore
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 Kirchheim unter Teck
|  Kirchheim unter Teck
I have seen those twisted sugar candy corners before. No actual moving parts. Trompe-l'oeil style once removed.
|  Kirchheim unter Teck
where are the truffles
|  Kirchheim unter Teck
Saturday afternoon street with idle smokestacks. The Kirchheim castle was built into the town wall. This is the 'faubourg' side. (The moat has been converted into a sunk park.)
|  Schloss Kirchheim
In more prosaic language: retreat for crowned widows. The better known name of the team of builders is Schickhardt, of Freudenstadt fame (Brasilia at its time, Ludwigsburg came later). The spelling of the given name, 'Heunrich' rather than 'Heinrich', is unusual. The Kirchheim castle served also as emergency residence in plague times. A vocational school is presently located in the building. Only one wing has been turned into a museum.
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 Schloss Kirchheim
Not sure about the style. Biedermeier plus a few left over Empire elements. Ornate might cover it. Probably still the very idea of high living in Baker Street time. The water colors give a vivid impression how the rooms may once have looked. (Most of the knickknacks are gone). The sizable roof garden, widow's lookout, is presently under reconstruction.
|  Schloss Kirchheim
Drawing room, brief inventory: A knitting basket, two bird cages, a great number of doilies, an even greater number of picture frames and a very elaborate chandelier. Not sure if the potted lily qualifies as shade tolerant aspidistra. The exotic carpet, Henri Rousseau style, will be a house cleaning nightmare.
|  Schloss Kirchheim
The slightly less ornate reading room. Do I detect an "I love me board". Room service could be called by pulling one of those long 'bell ropes'.
|  Schloss Kirchheim
Pompeii inspired tripod in best Saluzzi style. (Most of the actual furniture was in its time deployed on a need to party basis. Reshuffled without rhyme and reason from one castle into the other. There exists no authoritative inventory list.)
|  Schloss Kirchheim
May look like a wardrobe but the side door is actually room service related. Most rooms could be reached by a secondary back corridor. Some of the back doors where located directly behind open fireplaces to permit an unobtrusive refueling. Stoker in the wall. Possibly also a new twist to the Father Xmas story. (Not true for this suite which has been upgrade with free standing tile stoves.) Diplomatic caveat, the discreet wallpaper door in Carl Eugen's Solitude ballroom did lead directly into a 'Kennedy' suite. Telltale clues, gilded mirrors and plaster Amori everywhere.
Some of those hidden service corridors may also have served as hide outs in time of war, or so dramatic poetry will tell you. Unconvincing if you ask me. Most of those Versailles castle are so symmetric that you could find any hidden service corridor with a folding rule in less time than it would take you to set up an interrogation rack. The rack story could still be true. Simply more fun that way. (T...
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 Schloss Kirchheim
The legendary Duchess Henriette. Mother of kings (and queens) rather than a queen herself. Technically: Married to the king's brother. Henriette was still an excellent first lady once removed. She was blessed with healthy offspring (five children), she was a first rate matchmaker (slight variation of the Rothschild theme, no capital without a branch office) and she was also remarkable good at charity work. Christina type caprioles were alien to her. Also the great great great..grandmother, via Mary von Teck, of Elizabeth II. Franziska von Hohenheim, the moderating influence in the later part of Carl Eugen's reign, also walked the well carpeted grounds.
|  Duchess of Teck, title and family tree
A rudimentary family tree (only child bearing marriages are shown). I know little enough of the knitty gritty details. Ludwig Eugen, the martial brother of the much better known Carl Eugen was duke for less than 3 years. Bested by Moreau. Friedrich (Frederick) III/I (duke and king) was somewhat more pragmatic. If you cannot beat them join them. Carl Eugen had more than enough offspring, nearly 400 alimony certified male children are on record (girls were less well counted), but none of them were legitimate. The line was therefore continued through his brother. The problem with Charles I (Karl I) may have been homosexuality. General assessment: There was hardly ever any problem with finding a suitable candidate from a collateral line. Backup system of proven value.
|  Schloss Kirchheim
Philosophical 'catechism' dedicated to Queen Pauline, the third child of Henriette.
|  Burg Teck
The Teckberg with the eponymous castle - still a fair way off. As for tradition, flocks of radio controlled single-engine model planes still guard the mountain top. (Better than no albatrosses at all.)
|  Burg Teck
The Teck castle against a foreground of gladioli. Nearly as good as century plants. Interjacent, the small township of Owen. Topographic spelling 'Auland' = 'well watered meadow'. The Lauter river is not visible. Any 'New Harmony' overtones are gratuitous.
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 Burg Teck
The semi dramatic flower stands are technically spikes.
|  Burg Teck
The original Teck castle was destroyed during the peasant uprising (1525). The few remaining walls were torn down when duke Alexander, nomen est omen, decided to turn the place into a state of the art Vauban fortification. No passeran. The world probably lost nothing when the whole project was shelved in 1737. (The strategic value of highly perched mountain strongholds is unclear. Most billeting is done in the lowlands. Best case scenario: Levying taxes from passing shepherds.) The present building is a late 19th century creation. Sort of tea house cum hospice. It is run by the Swabian Jura Society.
|  Burg Teck
halfway up the mountain
|  Burg Teck
Marginal ground. The limestone just barely covered by a thin layer of grass. Similar sites were used as lookout mountains long before the time of the castle building Tecks. (Paleolithic tundra hunters did leave some fairly naturalistic, Aurignac class ivory knickknacks in the Vogelherd cave of the Lonetal. Off-hand: Not much to see, cave access is barred, but an excellent bushwhacking site.)
The shepherd's cart is parked near the plowed field. Not sure what kind of pumpkin spell has transformed it into an innocent looking panel van (sliding door option).
|  Burg Teck
Distant smoke signals. Most of the barbecue fires are on the other side, near the main parking lot.
|
 Burg Teck
Duchess for a day.
|  Burg Teck
Mint your own memorial coins. Blank production is actually fairly easy. Place any surplus copper coin on the nearest track and let a convenient Orient Express do the rest. (An ordinary freight train will also do in a pinch.) Only problem, the missing intaglio. The preview picture shows also the reason why towers in front elevation are rarely depicted on coins. The resulting oblong shape would be too awkward. Partial overhead view must do.
|  Lunaria rediviva
Forest honesty at nightfall. Another kind of Monopoly money. Silver based as the case may be.
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