Christmas Preparations in Heidelberg

The German Christmas markets aren't officially open yet, but holiday shoppers have started gathering and preparations are underway. We hung out in beautiful Heidelberg last night just to stroll around and window shop. The hot Glühwein was tasty, too.

Church of the Heidelberg Chatechism, a key document of the reformed tradition.

Chapter 36: Worms--City of Luther and the Niebelungenlied

On Saturday, we took off on the train for a two hour ride to Worms (the W pronounced like an English V). Lawna and I had already visited imperial cathedrals in Mainz and Speyer, and the similar looking cathedral in Worms finished the architectural trinity. All were imperial Doms, erected during the period of the Holy Roman Empire, and the edifice at Worms is particularly well known as the site where Martin Luther had to defend himself against charges of heresy. Worms is the cradle of the Protestant Reformation.

Worms Cathedral (Dom)

If you look back over my blog entries, you will see that the three churches in Mainz, Speyer and Worms have similar Romanesque features, both inside and out. Speyer's is the most extensively restored, but all three are in good shape today, despite the ravages of history. Along with Trier, Worms is one of the oldest cities in Germany, and the area has been a source for many ancient Neolithic and Roman artifacts. The famed medieval epic, Niebelungenlied, partly takes place in Worms and reflects a remote medieval culture. This epic was the basis for Richard Wagner's monumental operatic Ring trilogy and, more recently, the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Obviously, Middle Earth isn't Germany, but the medievalist J.R.R. Tolkien borrowed many features of both Wagner's rendition (the ring itself) and the original epic. If you have never read the Niebelungenlied, you may find you know more about it than you realize because of its influence on popular culture through comic books and fantasy films and literature.

St Sebastian in the Dom

Altar at Worms Dom

Tree of Life

old wall fresco

imperial tombs under the sanctuary

modern pipe organ

The following site contains pictures of places in Worms that we did not see, including the tower bridge:
http://www.flickriver.com/groups/worms_am_rhein/pool/interesting/

We didn't see any Rhine maidens or people donning cloaks of invisibility, and actually found a city that is quite modern with less of an old town middle than many other German cities we have visited. Like Trier, the historical sites are somewhat spread out and difficult to take in by foot. Worms is famous for its medieval tower bridge over the Rhine, which we missed because it's not close to the train station. We did visit the imperial cathedral and took in the city historical museum. Apparently, Worms also has a Niebelungenlied museum, and performs a drama based on the epic. The historical associations are complicated for several reasons:
1. Worms was long a great cultural center for the Ashkenazy Jews, whose numbers were decimated by the holocaust.
2. The Niebelungenlied was adapted into the Ring opera cycle by Richard Wagner, well known for his anti-semitism.
3. The romantic imagery of the Niebelungenlied was used by the Nazis to glorify the doctrine of Arian supremacy.

Of course, it's absurd to blame the 20th century holocaust on an anonymously composed 13th century epic. Racist propaganda can be adapted from any source, including the Bible, if you spin it obscenely enough. It is the cultural dilemma for modern day Germans. They have a long rich past to be proud of. Unfortunately, some of that past was distorted for cruel and disastrous purposes by a gang of thugs that controlled the country for a relatively short period of time. The enormity of their crimes has tainted a rich cultural heritage to this day. Nearly any display of national pride carries this undercurrent.

Roman stone work

City Museum

City Museum court yard

The city museum contains plenty of old Roman artifacts, some of the heavy monuments standing in the courtyard, spotted with the everpresent German moss. Inside the converted church, visitors may view old Neolithic and Roman clothing, pottery and adornments, most retrieved from ancient burial sites. Spiral stairs lead to other periods of history, including the age of Luther. Luther's German translation of the Bible is on display with some of his own handwriting. Based on the radical Protestant notion that Christians should actually read the Bible, Martin Luther translated the Latin Vulgate edition of Saint Jerome to German, and his Bible is the German equivalent to the English King James translation. Both brought the scriptures to the people. When English speakers quote the Bible, it is usually the King James version. For Germans, it is Luther's Bible. It was incredible to see that old book. Only a few books in this world can truly be said to have changed the course of history. Luther's Bible is one of them, along with Gutenberg's first printing of the Latin Bible. These were the books that allowed moderately literate Christians to start thinking for themselves rather than just obeying Papal doctrine from distant Rome. Now I've seen them both. Modern scholars have better sources to work from and can make more accurate translations than could Luther, but this was the book (predating the King James Bible) that pried open the gates to modern skepticism. Scriptural text, not the Pope, became the spiritual authority, and the ensuing careful studies of the text slowly evolved into the basic tools of modern critical analysis. Martin Luther was nowhere near as skeptical as modern analysts, but his emphasis on the primacy of the text struck the spark. God now spoke directly to individuals, not through ecclesiastical intermediaries.

Martin Luther

Luther Bible

Worms is not the most picturesque city in Germany. From the train station, visitors are beckoned to stroll through a pretty plain looking shopping district, full of souvenir shops, bakeries and doner cafes. Most all German cities have that, but often nested in quaint old architecture. Worms's shopping district is made up of pretty generic store fronts until you get to the cathedral which rises out of the cluttered modern architecture and fully dominates the square. If you want to visit a really pretty old city, go to Rothenburg or Bamberg, but for richness of history Worms is hard to beat. In our region, Mainz is definitely on the historical hit parade, too. Europe is full of marvelous history no matter where you travel, but some cities do stand out. It all depends on what you are looking for.

setting up stands for the annual Christmas market

a Worms mansion

Inside St Peter's Dom, Worms.

Chapter 35: Storybook Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Deutsche Bahn, the German train system, offers website specials for some trips, and last week one of the specials was to Rothenburg, a relatively unspoiled storybook village along the Bavarian "Romantic Road" between medieval Wurzburg and King Ludwig II's famous Neuschwanstein castle. It is particularly popular in December for its colorful Christmas market.  I booked tickets for it and Lawna and I took off from Landstuhl early Saturday morning for a four hour stop and start rail journey to the popular historic tourist town. We sped alongside the Neckar River past Heidelberg and several hilly resort towns, still brightly arrayed with fall leaves. After several transfers, we finally boarded a rural regional train that took us to Rothenburg's tiny brown brick station.

on board the train

Rothenburg moat

After taking a few minutes to get our bearings, we walked toward the old walled town, crossed the moat and walked through the medieval tower gate into picturesque Rothenburg. The city was founded in 950 by the Count of Comburg-Rothenburg and, of course, has a long history through the middle ages and modern times that I won't attempt to chronicle here. In most recent times, it was highly valued by the German Romantics and marked for preservation, and it also became an important symbol for the Nazis, representing the perfect German home town. Its preservation from allied destruction is a fascinating story itself. The US Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy knew of the town's historic significance and ordered that it not be attacked by artillery. It did suffer bombing, but was not extensively destroyed. The German military commander, despite Hitler's order to fight to the end, surrendered the city to avoid its wholesale destruction. Much of the outer wall was destroyed, but has since been restored with donations from all over the world, especially Japan. If you walk along the ramparts, as we did, you will see a continuous line of commemorative stones identifying the sources of donations.

ramparts

tower gate

The town is so well restored and historic that it almost looks like a display from Epcot Center, but it is the real thing. Restorations are continually being made, as you'll see from the pictures of the Town Hall. Alongside ancient towers are modern construction cranes and metal scaffolding as walls are cleaned, restored and paint retouched. Germany takes good care of its historic sites, and there are many of them.

walled city

picturesque Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Apart from the many touristy shops and restaurants, Rothenburg features some interesting museums. Probably the most popular is the Criminal Museum which features historic condemnation documents and plenty of instruments of punishment and torture. Apart from its obvious ghoulish attraction, the museum is really quite a fascinating glimpse into the justice systems of the past. It also corrects some common misconceptions. For instance, the infamous Iron Maiden did not really contain spikes, and it wasn't really used for torture. Women were placed inside of it in the public square for humiliation. The spikes were a nineteenth century addition in Romantic Gothic fiction.  If the Criminal Museum creeps you out, you can visit the nearby Toy Museum which features toys, dolls, puppets, etc. throughout mostly European history. You will see plenty of beautiful doll houses, elaborate puppets theaters and a great operational train set.

Criminal Museum

Toy Museum

The town square is dominated by the great town hall, which was under extensive restoration when we visited. We did climb up the old tower to get a bird's eye view of the town. The stairs are narrow and steep, I guess for small people with long strides. I had a camera bag on my back and had some trouble getting through a few tiny trap doorways, but we eventually huffed our way to the top. The final tiny entry to the lookout platform is like passing through a birth canal, but once you are up there, the view is pretty spectacular. If you feel uneasy with heights, you're kind of stuck until the other tourists finish gawking and taking pictures, because there really is no room to edge past them. I'm not terrified of heights, but have a healthy respect and was quite satisfied to re-enter the tower after the line had made its way around the bell. The walk down the steep stairs is even more fun because you can see just how far you will fall if you slip!

Town Hall with lookout tower to the left

Rothenburg from above

tower bell up close and personal

restoration crane

We stayed for a mediocre meal at a picturesque cobblestone sidewalk restaurant. The rule of thumb when traveling is that the prettiest restaurants usually serve the most expensive and most forgettable food (or memorable for all the wrong reasons). It's not a natural law, but it tends to be true. However, sometimes the ambiance is too much to pass up. It's a trade off.

ubiquitous German flower boxes

Days are growing shorter in Germany. We spent the dusk hours strolling the walls surrounding the city, stopped for some drinks and then returned to the train station. The weather had been beautiful throughout, but we reached Landstuhl about five hours later in a rainstorm. We'd been lucky.

waiting for a train

Quick, silent video of our trip to Rothenburg ob der Tauber