Date(s): 2006+. Photos by aymar55@yahoo.com. 1 - 72 of 72 Total. 3878 Visits.
1 Rotenberg
2 Rotenberg church in the mistletoe
3 Rotenberg
4 Rotenberg
5 Rotenberg
6 Rotenberg
7 Rotenberg quaint corner house
8 Rotenberg, the crypt Chateaubriand perspective
9 access way to the crypt pine
10 access way
11 access way
12 access way Crowfoot meadow
13 access way Crowfoot meadow
14 the 12th century castle The old castle before Salucci. The conspiciously cone shape hill top of the present day will also be somewhat terraformed.
15 the 12th century castle Elaborate wooden eaves. Rare in the day and age of gargoyles. Unresolved, does the court yard come with a true well or is it just a cistern. Complicating factor, there is still a true well at the foot of the crypt hill (next to the bus stop). Schurwald fed I believe.
Lost poem: The Lookout in the Aviary.
16 dedication plaque Dedication plaque of the original castle chapel from 1083. The bishop of Worms is mentioned.
17 Rotenberg, the crypt Completed in 1824. A 12th century Staufic manor was totalled to make room for this Neo-Classical assertion. Recycling of original buckle stones can be excluded. Crypt is built in finest ashlar. Some of the rubble may have been given to the local vinters for retainment walls purposes.
Salucci, the architect in residence responsible for the update, died impoverished in Florence. No headstone in Hofen that is. Official reason for the royal displeasure: capillary action (saltpeter residue and/or fungal bloom) in the basement of Schloss Rosenstein. Unofficially: most likely repeated cost overruns. Other carrier highlight, combat engineer or something of that nature in the Grande Armee during the Russia campaign. Somewhat strange that he flunked dampproofing. You would expect some sense for practical measures with such a background.
18 Rotenberg, the crypt
19 Rotenberg, the crypt The 'never dying love' quote above the entrance is straight from the Scriptures. Paul (like nearly all of the heady stuff), first epistle to the Corinthians 13,8. (It is actually 'charité-agape' rather than 'amour' in the French translation). The quote is also a staple of Great War memorials. Not sure if Pestalozzi would have approved.
Great War Memorial, Korb
20 Rotenberg , the crypt Some similarity with Ravennna and the Panthenon cannot be denied.
21 Rotenberg, the crypt
The marriage that saved the kingdom. The son in law and of Alexander I had nothing to fear from the Congress in Vienna. All Napoleonic acquisitions (technical charm word 'mediatisation') were duly confirmed. The circumstance that the ruling monarch himself was married to a daughter of George III (Charlotte Augusta Matilda) did also help. (The heir apparent, the future Wilhelm I, married Paulowna, who was technically his cousin.) Twice hedged is better than once.
[The Carl Eugen dukedom had reinvented itself as a kingdom in the meantime, albeit a pocket one. All a question of switching your allegiance, pro-Austrian, pro-Napoleonic, pro-Kutusow, pro-Metternich, in the nick of time. General verdict: Close one. Saxony (Napoleon's last trans-Rhenian ally) did not fare so well. Contributing factor, no Talleyrand class diplomat at hand to patch things up. As for the Saxonian loyalty to a lost cause, the supposition of genuine Jacobitic sympathies is not required. Truth probabl...
22 Rotenberg, the lion braziers The braziers will be a time honored stage prop. Even Cesar's funeral had some. Moot point: Were fires actually lighted during the main event. (The Stiftskirche in Stuttgart served as temporary morgue.) The lion motive is also prominent in Schloss Rosenstein, another Salucci building.
23 lion brazier
24 lion brazier
25 lion brazier
26 the front steps oil habor, Untertürkheim
27 the front steps Daimler Stadium, Cannstatt
28 younger visitors
29 younger visitiors
30 vineyard view Uhlbach direction
31 Rotenberg, the crypt The capitals of the exterior columns are Doric, those of the interior rotunda Corinthian.
32 equilateral triangle The equilateral triangle will be a ablaze at winter solstice, or so I understand my heel stone magic.
33 reverse view well aligned telecommunications tower
34 the copula The tessellated dome. Some Capitol resemblance (suitably scaled down). You can hardly call it Colonial lag when everybody does it.
35 copula the upward shot
36 Corinthian capitel
37 St-John by Dannecker
38 St-John St John in Schiller pose. Possible Dannecker motto: Subject matter is no excuse for a deviation from the all embracing Platonic blueprint. (The more neutral Thorvaldsen ranks probably higher.) - The four evangelists are arranged crosswise, in conjugated pairs. The combination of different makers somewhat daring. Would not recommend that with that jet engines.
39 St-Luke by Thorvaldsen
40 St-Luke
41 icon-oclad One of Paulowna's personal icons. 'Oclad' technique (painting + plus embossed metal + overlaying metal work (the halo). Most likely provenance: Tver monastary.
42 Paulowna Paulownia imperialis, the large leaved, mauve flowered tree of the figwort family, introduced from China, was named after an aunt of this Paulowna, a daughter of the highly neurotic Czar Paul I (Suvorov time frame, the only Russian army who ever crossed the Alpes).
43 scissor-cut the central 'manhole' cover of the underground crypt room
44 Frederick I Homo Fredericus, the somewhat corpulent first King of Württemberg. Before Napoleon he was still Duke Frederick II. The dynastic numerals are traditionally zeroed when there is a change of grade.
45 Catharina Paulowna by Johann-Heinrich-Dannecker The second wife of Wilhelm I.
46 Wilhelm I The 2nd king of Württemberg. Probably one of the better kings regardless of some philandering.
47 Karl the 3rd king of Württemberg. The less than heterosexual liberal.
48 Wilhelm II by Adolf von Donndorf Wilhelm II, the 4th and last king of Württemberg
49 the sarcophagus
50 the sarcophagus
51 wreath Wilhelm I started the agricultural academy in Hohenheim (founded in 1818) and the harvest fair in Cannstatt. The Ferris Wheels came later. The zoological garden, the eponymous Wilhelma, followed in the mid 19th century. (The shown wreath is from a farmer organisation.)
52 Ilex aquifolium Holly (North side of the hill)
53 Ilex aquifolium
54 training ammo green training ammo near the crypt. Best guess: New Year celebrations.
55 Rotenberg Misused cave shelter in a vineyard close to the crypt.
The local tourist board is still debating if camel rides through the vineyards will be offered in the future. Only tricky part, the ships of the desert might develop a taste for sweet grapes.
62 Rotenberg, crypt frostbound silhouette, Remstal side
63 Rotenberg, winter-impressions Bust of a shepherd. Probably some sort of cultural loan.
64 Rotenberg, winter-impressions Goosehuber's Folly. Particular name sheer invention. Construction however somewhat out of place in a toolshed belt. Technical: Octagonal shape; the balustrades come with the usual support cast of petrified chess pawns (caryatides once removed). Probably sandstone. The corners most likely secured by hidden clamps. The Romans used molten lead. One of those tricks of the trade. Alternative solution, unsightly diagonal struts. - Should probably add something about certain proposals in summer nights. Personal opinion, unlikely.
65 Rotenberg last year's oak leaves (the old woman of the oak)
66 Rotenberg
67 Rotenberg Solidago canadensis in the brambles
68 Rotenberg the local bamboo plantation
69 Lythrum salicaria Purple Loosestrife. Normally a wetland plant. Picture was taken fairly close to the Rotenberg summit. Maybe a leaking underground mains. (And in some areas you can study the lay out of the whole sewer grid by merely taking a look at the cross country runs of fennel. X-ray alcantarilla.)
The Greek name of the plant is probably related with Lutetia (swamp land, tribe or city). The 'dialysis' derivation,'lythis-eris' (roughly 'to stop strife'), is most likely mere folk etymology. (Olive branch etymology even.)
70 Lythrum salicaria
71 Clematis vitalba Traveller's Joy. The switchboard look dates from the early 20ties, pulp cover scene. - The 'hair roots' are attached to achenes. Payload arrangement.
