Maasholm, a Fishing Village on the German Baltic Sea

The second week of our summer holidays, we spent in Maasholm, a small fishing village on the German side of the Baltic Sea. We had been here once before in 2014, and enjoyed what it had to offer: quaint accommodations, a supermarket, some restaurants, many walk ways, and plenty of rest in our comfortable renovated farm house on Main Street.

We drove for about 2 1/2 hours from Sydals, Denmark, to Maasholm. In the evening, we took a stroll around the coast as usual.

An upcycled fishing boat makes for a nice place to sit, especially out of the cold wind in the evening.

Maasholm on the shore
Maasholm Port with rainbow

Tüünlüüd, this street name gets me every time. Four ‘U’s with Umlaut!

Tüünlüüd

Eating well is another reason for spending time at the coast.

This is our vacation rental on Maasholm Main Street. Despite its location on main street, there is hardly any traffic noise, and off season, there are only few people to wander around as well. That’s me sitting on the bench.

As usual, my favorite spot is the one hidden away. This is for my quiet time.

Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt goes Educational with iCampus

We usually pass by Ledward Barracks twice a year. This latest update is with photos taken on 20 April 2019.

Left main gate of Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt

Right main gate of Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt

Here we are approaching the corner of Niederwerrner Straße and Franz-Schubert-Straße, and there it is, the new iCampus under construction.

For a closer view, we’re turning into Franz-Schubert-Straße.

This iCampus is being built in the Carus-Park, which is the new name for the former Ledward Barracks area. For more information about the Carus-Park in German, visit iCampus Schweinfurt.

Entering Franz-Schubert-Straße
iCampus and Ledward Barracks Schweinfurt
Former eastern side gate area
Looking towards the former MP station

Update on the Construction Site at Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt

Another trip to Schweinfurt, this time for a family celebration, had us pass by Ledward Barracks again. The corner of Niederwerrner Straße and Franz-Schubert-Straße looked very different, because several buildings have already been torn down.

Back in February 2015, the city of Schweinfurt purchased the areal from the Federal Republic of Germany. In December 2016, the city of Schweinfurt then sold it to the state of Bavaria. The state of Bavaria is now expanding its Würzburg university branch by adding another campus in Schweinfurt on the barracks grounds.

The demolition of the old buildings on Ledward Barracks will cost about euro 2.2 million, and was scheduled to be completed by June 2017. This is when construction of the new International Campus of the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt was originally due to begin.

As it is often the case in construction in Germany (and other places as well), things are taking longer than expected. There are a lot contaminated materials to be disposed of. Other building material will just get shredded, and some might be reused. Because of the heavy tanks used back then, part of the asphalt around the barracks is more than one meter in depth.

I took these photos of the former barracks just three days ago. Some buildings will remain; They plan on keeping the former Abrahms Club, the Court of Honor (Ehrenhof), and another building near the west gate, which is used for accommodating refugees, and on lease for the next five years.

 

The artillery barracks, the NCO Club, and the medical clinic are all gone.

 

 

 

Mainberg Castle near Schweinfurt

This guest post is written by Lance M. Goolsby, who originates from Seattle, Washington. However, he spent 15 years in the U.S. Army, serving in the city of Schweinfurt, Germany for four of them. He says he is married to the most wonderful woman, Antje (Pronounced: Auntie-A), a local Schweinfurter. After leaving the army, he decided to settle down in Schweinfurt and place his roots in this beautiful small city. This is what he has to share with us.

Mainberg Castle

Mainberg Castle

A couple days ago, I was searching the internet to get some source photos for a renovation project I am conducting and came across Maria’s blog.

I had heard of a local castle, but had never gone. Many times the unit would hold a party in the castle, but somehow I was either deployed to some foreign country, or on duty. So I was always otherwise occupied.

A few months ago I was invited to a birthday party being held in the castle, and I thought it would be my chance to see it first hand. Somehow I met the manager, and we started talking. He was in the works of finalizing the plans for the renovations of the castle with the owner. Hours passed with him telling me stories of the history of the building, from its major involvement in the German Peasants war of the 1500s, to the unsavory occupation of the castle during the second world war by generals Hermann Goering, and Heinrich Himmler.

One thing led to another, and I was hired as the groundskeeper of the castle. My dream job. Bringing the long unattended gardens back to their former glory, which had not been seen by visitors since the renovations of the castle in 1924.

The castle name is Schloss Mainberg, located around 3 kilometers, or about 2 miles outside Schweinfurt.

The tower of the castle was the first thing built, in around the year 980 to 1005. In the late 1300s and early 1400s, the local duke built the original castle. The castle was mostly destroyed in the Peasants War in the 1520s. Twenty years later, the castle that stands now, was built. The only thing original to the castle prior is the tower, which only lost around 30 feet from its top in the war.

After the Second World War, the entire contents of the castle were either carted off under orders of General Goering, or looted by the American soldiers or the local towns people. All statues with the exception of one, were used by various soldiers as target practice or targeted by vandals, and all heads are missing. Later the castle was shortly used as a factory for a hair care products company. After that, it passed through a few hands, but never was renovated or repaired.

In the last 60 years, the castle has slowly fallen into ruin. Cracks are allowing water to seep into the building, staining and ruining many murals painted on the walls and ceilings.  Vines, crawling up the walls, are undermining the concrete and pieces are falling to the ground. Eventually without the proper care, the castle would fall to the ground.

My job will be to bring the grounds to the quality they were in after the 1822 renovations. In one author’s writings, he described the gardens as an almost heavenly walk. Looking right, the view over the local Bavarian valley afforded him the possibility to see for miles on end. Three fountains adorned with mythological creatures gave the area an ethereal sound and the flowers planted gave the garden a scent that he couldn’t forget for several years before he wrote the book.

Further investigation into the grounds has recently produced a second garden from the same era, which it seems no visitors has ever seen. It’s a garden for the woman of the house at the time to retreat to with one of her favorite books, to relax and read. We now refer to this one as the secret garden. It was built in the rear of the castle, which is on the uphill side. It was made up of one main terrace, and three others, adorned with flowers, and rock walls. They had in effect carved 4 level areas out of the castle, adorned them with flowers,  benches, and tables, then fenced it off from the main castle garden for privacy. It must have been a vision in itself and to me was much more beautiful than the main garden.

I thought for the readers of Maria’s blog it would be cool to see some recent photos of the same castle, of which she shared photos taken by Russell Satterthwait in the 60s and to compare how the castle has slowly fallen into almost ruin.

With luck, in the next two years, the castle will be back to its regal status. I also invite all readers to come by and take a tour with me when it is completed. You will not be disappointed. We will be able to have some coffee in its café, or if you like, spend the night in the castle hotel.

Mainberg Castle is one of the regions most important and beautiful castles. Soon it will be open to the public again.

Thanks for reading my long winded article.

— Lance Goolsby

grounds keeper at Mainberg Castle

Photobucket by Lance Goolsby: http://s60.photobucket.com/user/mordfilm/slideshow/Schloss%20Mainberg

YouTube by Matthias Breitenbach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIUlhAwT9NM

Schweinfurt Garrison Dining Out at Castle Mainberg 2009 (Photo courtesy of Schweinfurt PAO) on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/schweinfurtpao/13404333633/

Three Days in Riquewihr, Alsace

This is a little show-and-tell of roadsides,  restaurants, and Riquewihr impressions from our three-day visit.

There are quite a few tourists with a dog in tow. For some older dogs, it might be a bit hard to walk up and downhill on the cobble stones. This shop owner’s cat had a keg to hop on every time one of the friskier dogs came near.

cat on keg

Most amazing are the beautifully decorated shops and windows in these old and well preserved houses.

Grocer's shop window, Riquewihr

This was taken on Sunday evening with the weekend making it a busier place.

Riquewihr

We had looked online at rental places outside the medieval part of town as well, and so we took a little stroll to see where some of the other lodgings are located.

View onto Riquewihr

We ended up with a very nice studio apartment on main street, rue du Général-de-Gaulle. More about that in a different post.

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