Date(s): fall 2007. Photos by Aymar. 1 - 85 of 85 Total. 5857 Visits.
1 Asperg, the floor plan
Highlights from the Hohenasperg history:
Neolithic (agriculture related) finds since roughly 6000 B.C. The Hohenasperg was the center of a Celtic warrior clan in the 6th century B.C. Late Hallstatt, early LaTene time. And God made iron. Best known fact, the two tier funeral system. Small barrows in extended cemeteries for the rank and file, elf hills for the nobility. Half a dozen large funeral mounds surround the Hohenasperg. Some still visible from the fortress (high place Gregovia locations were apparently preferred). The Hochdorf hill is however a recent reconstruction. A subsequent Roman occupation is not reported.
Historic period:
The Asperg was bought by count Eberhard I in 1308. Particular land grabbing strategy: by hook and by crook. It was promptly lost again in 1312 in a coalition war with changing alliances. The free townships of the region, far and foremost Esslingen, did not make Eberhard's life any easier. The latter had razed Eberhard...
2 Asperg, Durer The Frundsberg siege of 1519. The drawing is by no less than Albrecht Dürer. It takes all kinds of war correspondents. Some slight perspective errors. The cross fire from the batteries to the right would hit the own assault troops.
3 Asperg, first impressions railway station view
4 Asperg, Hügelsburg No topographic tag but named so after Andreas v.Hügel, the late 18th century garrison commander.
5 Asperg, Hügelsburg
6 Asperg, Hügelsburg Memorial stone. Boebel, a musketeer by profession, 121 reg(iment), did fall to death at this spot, Date: 24th Feb of (17)78 and break his neck. One note the Y2K notation, always give the small numbers, never the century. We all live in a mantissa world.
7 Asperg, Hügelsburg Heraldic parapet intaglio. The sloped lettering is recent. Standing guard on this open of the walls was probably not terribly exciting.
8 Asperg, Schubart Turm The Schubart tower. Looks more like a handy tower.
The Hohenasperg had two celebrity inmates: Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, de facto minister of commerce and fianace, who fell out of favor after the unexpect death of Karl Alexander (martial ambitions on end). Best possible interpretation: the regency government which took over after the death of Duke Alexander in 1737 wanted a clean break with the past. The outcome is well known. Carl Eugen had the iron cage removed when he took over.
I know little of Schubart, who's fate may have haunted Schiller. Schubart's mocking of Carl Eugen's more permanent lady escort service was somewhat crass. As for Schiller, his Calvin and Rousseau inspired destiny and fate ideas would probably have been tolerated. His more Freudian (Stephen King type) poems might even have flattered the vanity of the autocratic Carl Eugen. Golem type church bells playing catch-the-cap with wayward souls. Background: Schiller was a sho...
9 Asperg, quiet corner Cosmas with barbed wire
10 Asperg, quiet corner Cosmas, testing my night vision goggles
11 Asperg, surveillance mast The black box houses a halogen light. A Klieg light by any other set name. Enhanced tungsten filament technology. The weather shielding the same as for the smaller version which is sold in builder supply markets. Intended primary use: Driveway and garden fountain illumination.
12 Asperg, surveillance mast
13 Asperg, concertino wire Close proximity with the ground wire of the lightning rod makes me suspect that the barbed concertino wire (solenoid) is not electrified. The latter could in fact do double duty as lightning rod.
14 Asperg, perimeter walk not a good color for a getaway car
15 Asperg, perimeter walk 'Château d'If' and 'château de lierre' ('yew' and 'ivy' respectively). Always important to keep things apart.
16 Asperg, perimeter walk
17 Asperg, perimeter walk pigeon usurped loophole
18 Asperg, interior moat wall hard to tell where the natural rock ends and where the masonry starts
19 Asperg, Pfaffenturm patched up embrasure
20 Asperg, Pfaffenturm Tentatively: tower of the freeloading priest.
21 Asperg, Pfaffenturm Two piece embrasure with relief arch. The load bearing top half noticeably thicker.
22 Asperg, Pulverturm Off limits to pachyderms. The cracked wall should be warning enough. Variant tag: silent picketing.
23 Asperg, Pulverturm
24 Asperg, Pulverturm Powder keg tower. Rather remarkable that it still stands. Were all those night guards non smokers.
25 Asperg, Pulverturm
26 Asperg, Pulverturm U shaped rather than round
27 Asperg, moat and outer gate Should look somewhat less bleak in sunshine. - The actual color distribution is traffic light controlled. It will switch to ivy green any moment now.
28 Asperg, main gate the ghost of a draw bridge
29 Asperg, inner gate This Renaissance tower (campanile second class) was added by Ulrich. The upgrading of fortresses was one of his chief preoccupations. For once justified.
31 Asperg, inner gate Capital with a two tailed mermaid. Once you notice her you can spot her everywhere. The motive did migrate. In the 17th century it can be found in support legs for tiled stoves. Somewhat akin to zoomorphic bath tub legs. The latter however exclusive lion paw territory. Particular support leg etiquette unclear. The snaggle toothed face in the acanthus leaves looks somewhat like the Inca version of a Gorgon.
32 Asperg, inner gate The gate is one way traffic only. Not sure if future archaeologists will be able to figure out the purpose of the meandering wall crevice once the artfully trained traffic light cable had been removed. It takes all kinds of magic marble slides.
33 Asperg, inner gate Missing plaque. It is quite some time since wooden pegs did fall out of fashion.
34 Asperg, warehouse
35 Asperg, warehouse "Penal hospital". The official plaque. - Some would claim that Ulrich, who put his stamp on the whole fortification, the 'reconquest' building boom of 1535, would also have made a first rate inmate. Padded cell section. (There never was an Ulrich II. All previous Ulrichs were earls.) - The particular building which shows the plaque served originally as warehouse for the garrison. Some form of tithe barn.
36 Asperg, the gate behind the gate 'All hope abandon ye who enter here'. Upbeat view: Backdoor to National Health Care services. Including reconstructive dentistry. Neutral: An ambulance entrance of sorts. Lower clearance than the porte-cochère of yore. Would describe the style, the small color squares, as harlequin camouflage.
37 Asperg, lion gate Lion gate, outer perimeter. Original from 1675 under duke Wilhelm Ludwig. Renovated in 1974. A sunken access way, once roofed, leads to the drawbridge.
38 Asperg, lion gate For once no Celtic funeral monument. Just a cleverly disguised water tower. Turn of the 20th century. The old well house was in the vicinity.
39 Asperg, access way the sunken access way
40 Asperg, access way Nightfall, even an artificial one, will hardly spoil anything.
41 Asperg, 'columbarium' barbed wire enhanced fan grille in blue
42 Asperg, 'columbarium' All these pillboxes (sentinel shelter might come closer) have been retrofitted with anti-access grilles. Partial success at best. Opportunistic pigeons let themselves in through the unbarred loopholes. The ledges inside the hooped roofs are apparently well suited for nesting.
43 Asperg, 'columbarium' The red dash at parapet hight will be Rockspray cotoneaster. Gizzard aided seeds dispersal may be assumed. - The pillbox monogram will stand for Carl Alexander.
44 Asperg, 'columbarium'
45 Asperg, 'columbarium' the 'cave' floor of the pillbox
46 Asperg, 'columbarium' the litterbug in person
47 Asperg parapet eaves
48 Asperg Crevice hugging vegetation, something with 6 leaved whorls. Without full conviction: madder.
49 Asperg Bridge post with intaglio graffiti. The calligraphic quality unmatched by anything from the present time.
50 Asperg, no liability sign This sign board sidelines as a 24 hour civil registry office. Courtesy of the municipality. Miniscule black border scrafitto: Pasguale + Carmen, Deniz + Cai.., Fathi + (erased, did not work out), Hamide + Blerime.
51 Asperg garden furniture from a bygone era
52 Asperg Some like it square. Looks like a minor spin off from the Central Railway Station in Stuttgart. Incidently, now slated for demolition. Moral: never underestimate the value of scaled down models, they may survive the original. ( Hauptbahnhof Stuttgart )
53 Asperg, vintage cannon Breech loading cannon from 1866. Possible Froschweiler veteran. Some felloe segments have been crudely replaced. The spokes were sawn-off at the wrong length.
54 Asperg, vintage cannon Exhibit comes without plaque but the butt end shows the casting date. With some technical license: Basic lock mechanism similar to a 'laterna magica' slide. Not sure if it would endear you to your technical instructor. Four letter words are somewhat more common. Parts are missing.
55 Asperg, vintage cannon best guess, lanyard related force transmission
56 Asperg, vintage cannon Cradle area with trunnions and sighting device. Most swords have them too, trunnions I mean, not sighting devices. Never actually seen but the linguistic evidence is strong. Nobody ever speaks of well balanced macaronis. The upper latch piece is missing.
57 Asperg, vintage cannon The rifled barrel is still loaded with some mean looking grape shot. Wood grouse watch out. (AP is rarely wasted on wildlife.)
58 Asperg, vintage cannon Nearly as comfortable as side-car riding. The open construction looks solid enough. Fit for duty with a flying merry-go-rounds. The barrel has a burnished brass look. The cross head rim screw is somewhat anachronistic.
59 Asperg, vintage cannon Some left over wire mesh netting. The seats could probably be converted into impromptu chicken coops. Whatever life stock you can scrounge.
60 Asperg, vintage cannon heavy duty linchpins secure the footrest
61 Asperg, vintage cannon Break train with swing suspended break beam. The break handle could be operated from either side. Various attachments. Grease pot hook in the center. Not sure if the rings were rifle storage related. Right handed placement makes this probable.
62 Asperg, vintage cannon close up, break handle and grease pot hook
63 Asperg, the vineyards Ghost town saloon door. Reverting to a natural state of torque balance. Natural selection seems to favor doors with a stronger top hinge. A 'mouse hole' indicates the location of the broken out lower hinge.
64 Asperg, the vineyards
65 Asperg, the vineyards Looks like any other shopping mall. The only thing missing is an escalator repair crew.
66 Asperg, the vineyards some no trespass gates are more convincing than others
67 Asperg, the vineyards Brick shelter set into a dry stone retainment wall. The dry stone walls are protected by landmark conservation. Too steep for consolidation anyhow. Neckar valley to the right.
68 Asperg, the vineyards vaulted underground vineyard shelter with recycled kitchen table
69 Asperg, the vineyards
The fairly brittle vineyard soil: 'gypsum-Keuper-marl'. It should amount to a limestone-loam mix. Common enough. The Asperg has a cap of harder limestone sandstone. (A higher hand did place the cap there.) As an aside: The dungeons in the fortress would have been a Count of Monte Christo dream come true. Once you have pierced the overlaying hard rock it is easy going. Any teaspoon will do. Reciprocal sapper assessment. As an aside, the moat goes nearly through the cap. Expert verdict: Volcanic rock would be much more suitable for fortifications.
70 Asperg, the vineyards grapes suspended from a wall
71 Asperg, vineyard dacha A better class of vineyard shelter. Some of these vineyards in choice location were once owned by the duke. And something always rubs off. The purveyor to the court label still exists.
72 Asperg, vineyards dacha The double balcony system somewhat unusual. The wall bracket should hold an outdoor light.
73 Crepis A stand of Hawksbeard. Crepis pulchra or kin. Clasping stem leaves.
74 Echium vulgare Viper's Bugloss. A stand of withered husks. Some branches still flower bearing. Against a 'bleached out' Asperg.
75 Echium vulgare
76 Echium vulgare
77 Echium vulgare Viper's Bugloss. The inflorescence is classified as a branched spike. Most of the sepal cups are empty. Last round of ammunition. The tiny 'ink stains' at the hair roots are generic. (Long hand: Duly noticed but no explanation at hand.)
78 Echium vulgare
79 Echium vulgare The extruding, Blue Curls type stamens can be likened to the fangs or forked tongue of a 'viper'. The bent raceme obviously helps with the zoomorphic transfer. The Greek name 'echium' means snake. Related with Vedic 'Ahi', an antagonistic world snake in good standing. Same etymological root as 'aðexe', the pre-Norman 'lizard' word.
80 Echium vulgare Correct arrangement of all the vertebral bones is not always easy.
81 Echium vulgare
82 Asperg, railway station Geostationary satellites never rust, they just drift away.
83 Asperg, railway station Bridge graffiti. Halloween theme with uniform parts.
Download MOV 84 Asperg, railway station graffiti panning
85 Asperg, railway station A very small beer drinker. Perron (platform access way) staple.
