Today is a cold and rainy day. With only two days left in Munich, we decided to take a train to Nuremberg The local trains are on strike and only one out of three ICE, inter city express, are running. All the schedules are off and trains are cancelled so we have to be flexible.
Nuremberg is a large city with a small old town. Before WWII Nuremburg was one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It was heavily bombed because it was a nazi stronghold. Most of the town was demolished during WWII and rebuilt in the ashes. Two beautiful churches, St Sebald and St Lorenz, 2 forts, a castle and lots of houses have been rebuilt in the old style. Two of the churches are showing modern thought provoking sculptures in celebration of the 500 year anniversary of the reformation. In the 1300's they carved out an underground tunnel system that covers 25,000 sq meters and is 4 stories deep. This space has been used to store beer since 1380, served as an air raid shelter during WWII and as a bunker for the storage of art treasures. Nuremberg is also known for the trials of Nazi leaders and for the parade grounds where 100,000 would gather for rallies. This was later turned into a concentration camp for 50,000 socialists.
We stopped for lunch and had a coconut chile soup that was delicious and bratwurst since they have been serving it since the 1300's.
There is lots of unpleasant history to ponder. Will peace for the world's people ever be realised? Try to appreciate the time and cost of rebuilding all you see in these photographs.
Posted via Blogsy
Those sculptures are agony, all the more powerful set mid stride in a building glorifying God. What must it be to be a German serving tourists descendants of those they murdered 80 years back.
ReplyDeleteI'm happier to see that country your eyes, and not mine.