The castle of Münzenberg - 20/3/2020
According
to earlier plans for this year, we would now be getting ready to pack for our
trip to Europe, that is Italy and Germany. However, I need not explain why this
is not happening. In times when you rely on reflection and fond memories, the
films my husband took of previous trips no longer evoke slumber whilst watching.
Instead I now relive treasured moments of exploring sights and customs other
than those in my currently restricted daily life in Aussieland.
One
such recollection was our visit last year to my friend Rosi, whom I met at a
bus stop in Schwerin, while doing research in that enchanting town by the lake
of the same name. But that is another story. Since the formation of our
friendship my husband and I visit Rosi every time we travel to Germany. She lives
at the base of the old castle of Münzenberg, north of Frankfurt am Main. While
castles can be found all over Germany, Schwerin is famed for it, I have also
visited one of the oldest inhabited dating back to the seventh century. Meersburg
on the Lake of Constance, which in its long history was once inhabited in
mid-1800 by the famous German poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. But that too is
another story. The lesser known castle of Münzenberg is for me particularly interesting
as it provides the backdrop to Rosi’s garden. There we had spent many enjoyable
hours, exchanging, apart from other topics, stories about our respective
countries.
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| Between the western tower and the Gothic structure is Rosi's roof |
The castle of Münzenberg, translated as mountain of coins of mint, was built around 1160 by Kuno, the First of Hagen-Amsburg, a minister to Emperor Barbarossa. Its architecture was designed to display the owner’s wealth and important role in the imperial court. The two defensive towers are still standing prominently today. The taller tower is 29 meters high. The surrounding wall encloses, apart from the eastern and western facing towers, the ruins of a Romanesque building, the castle gate, a Chapelle, a fountain, a Gothic structure, and a kitchen and farming building. An outer wall provided additional defence against enemy attack. The walls are solidly constructed from boulders and stones.
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| Rosi and me deep in conversation, you can tell by the bent arms on the hips |
Passing onto different owners throughout its existence the castle was never totally completed, the last attempt came to a halt during the Thirty Year’s war from 1618 – 1648.
Today the
whole castle complex lends itself as backdrop to theatrical performances. Rosi
remembers that during the American occupation soldiers used the grounds for musical
performances. Indeed, in the present climate of focussing on internet
accessibility for communication I watched a delightful backstage production ‘Katherina
von Bora’ at Münzenberg castle on YouTube. The heroine of this play was the
wife of Martin Luther.
As the camera captured various angles of this historic fortress, I was able to retrace our steps from past visits. It made me realise that I can transpose myself to many places from the comfort of my home. While it is not the real thing, it can provide some consolation. I might even hatch nascent plans for travels in the future and to see Rosi again.
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| View of the eastern tower Von Presse03derivative work: MagentaGreen - Diese Datei wurde von diesem Werk abgeleitet: Münzenberg Palas.JPG:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40410317 |