Paul Smit  Mick Palarczyk | Features, Photos and TextTwo faces, one philosophy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by region |
touristical subjects |
general subjects |
flowers & gardens |
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.SACHSEN 38]
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/38/139248161_o77vX-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.SACHSEN 38]
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.THUERINGEN 36]
'Schloss and Park Belvedere, Weimar.'
Just outside Weimar is Schloss Belvedere, where Goethe left his marks once again as he helped transform the baroque gardens into an English landscape park. Proud peacocks are its symbol. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/36/139248145_6Wpgm-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.THUERINGEN 36]
'Schloss and Park Belvedere, Weimar.'
Just outside Weimar is Schloss Belvedere, where Goethe left his marks once again as he helped transform the baroque gardens into an English landscape park. Proud peacocks are its symbol. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.THUERINGEN 35]
'Goethe's garden house, Park an der Ilm, Weimar.'
Weimar is the city of Goethe. When he was twenty-six he was invited by Karl August, duke of the mini-state Sachsen-Weimar and seven years his minor, to be his personal teacher. Later Goethe became minister of mining and taxes. He improved the social climate of the miners and decreased the number of soldiers in the army, leading to lower taxes and higher prosperity for the Weimarians.
After a long journey to Italy he returned and became minister of education and director of the theatre. Everyone knows Goethe as a poet and author, but these were just two of his side-activities. He also liked to draw and was thoroughly involved with botanics, zoology, geology and colour theory. He was one of the last universal minds in history.
His garden house is another proof of his versatility. Not only did he design its garden, he designed the adjacent landscape park as well: the Park an der Ilm. In fact, he decorated it with his own romantic dreams: gothic ruins, artificial caves and antique temples.
His house proper, situated in the town's heart, is open for the public as well, but don't expect to be alone: it's the busiest attraction of Thüringen. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/35/139248102_DuU7g-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.THUERINGEN 35]
'Goethe's garden house, Park an der Ilm, Weimar.'
Weimar is the city of Goethe. When he was twenty-six he was invited by Karl August, duke of the mini-state Sachsen-Weimar and seven years his minor, to be his personal teacher. Later Goethe became minister of mining and taxes. He improved the social climate of the miners and decreased the number of soldiers in the army, leading to lower taxes and higher prosperity for the Weimarians.
After a long journey to Italy he returned and became minister of education and director of the theatre. Everyone knows Goethe as a poet and author, but these were just two of his side-activities. He also liked to draw and was thoroughly involved with botanics, zoology, geology and colour theory. He was one of the last universal minds in history.
His garden house is another proof of his versatility. Not only did he design its garden, he designed the adjacent landscape park as well: the Park an der Ilm. In fact, he decorated it with his own romantic dreams: gothic ruins, artificial caves and antique temples.
His house proper, situated in the town's heart, is open for the public as well, but don't expect to be alone: it's the busiest attraction of Thüringen. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.THUERINGEN 27]
'Rosegarden of the Dornburg castles.'
Three castles in a row, one romanesque, one renaissance and one rococo. Goethe retreated into the southernmost of the three Dornburg castles during the summer of 1828, leaving his ministerial worries behind. He did so with his employer, duke Carl August of Sachsen-Weimar, a small state that was especially famous in cultural circles.
Goethe loved to wander around the rose gardens surrounding the middle rococo castle, from where he had a beautiful view upon the river Saale down below. An inspiring spot, where famous pieces of literature were concepted. When he went, everything was kept as he had left it behind. Or so says the concierge. Thus the drawings he brought from his travels to Italy are still hanging in the same place. And his bed is as neat now as it was during his life; as an experienced traveller he had always preferred his field bed. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/27/139248010_xdjGt-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.THUERINGEN 27]
'Rosegarden of the Dornburg castles.'
Three castles in a row, one romanesque, one renaissance and one rococo. Goethe retreated into the southernmost of the three Dornburg castles during the summer of 1828, leaving his ministerial worries behind. He did so with his employer, duke Carl August of Sachsen-Weimar, a small state that was especially famous in cultural circles.
Goethe loved to wander around the rose gardens surrounding the middle rococo castle, from where he had a beautiful view upon the river Saale down below. An inspiring spot, where famous pieces of literature were concepted. When he went, everything was kept as he had left it behind. Or so says the concierge. Thus the drawings he brought from his travels to Italy are still hanging in the same place. And his bed is as neat now as it was during his life; as an experienced traveller he had always preferred his field bed. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 17]
'Wörlitz landscape park.'
Wörlitz is Germany's oldest English landscape park, stretching along a former branch of the Elbe and since 2000 on the list of World Heritage Sites. Where many parks want to impress, Wörlitz just is elegant. Even the palace, the first classicistic building of Germany, looks friendly.
The park shows the marks of both Enlightenment, a movement glorifying intellect, and Romanticism, stressing emotions. Goethe, who combined both elements in his own character, wrote: "I was truly moved when we silently floated across the lakes and canals. Here the gods have permitted a king to surround himself with a dream." Initially most German rulers weren't interested in these modernisms at all. But some fifty years later the situation had changed dramatically: every self-respecting monarch had his garden turned into an English landscape park. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/18/139247847_cwXJK-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 17]
'Wörlitz landscape park.'
Wörlitz is Germany's oldest English landscape park, stretching along a former branch of the Elbe and since 2000 on the list of World Heritage Sites. Where many parks want to impress, Wörlitz just is elegant. Even the palace, the first classicistic building of Germany, looks friendly.
The park shows the marks of both Enlightenment, a movement glorifying intellect, and Romanticism, stressing emotions. Goethe, who combined both elements in his own character, wrote: \"I was truly moved when we silently floated across the lakes and canals. Here the gods have permitted a king to surround himself with a dream.\" Initially most German rulers weren't interested in these modernisms at all. But some fifty years later the situation had changed dramatically: every self-respecting monarch had his garden turned into an English landscape park. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 15]
'Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Beauty is not always with the famous palaces or well known garden views. This is just a far off corner of the Sanssouci Park, where hardly a tourist comes, part of the more than 500 ha Potsdam and Berlin Parks and Palaces UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/16/139247826_xT6Y4-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 15]
'Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Beauty is not always with the famous palaces or well known garden views. This is just a far off corner of the Sanssouci Park, where hardly a tourist comes, part of the more than 500 ha Potsdam and Berlin Parks and Palaces UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 14]
'Schloss and Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Fountain at the base of the stairs climbing the terraced vineyard garden towards the baroque Sanssouci palace, french for free of worries. In the evening, when most of the tourists have left, the park seems to dream towards the night, a vision of the world as the Prussian kings imaged it in their romantic fantasies. Sans souci - an illusion that became reality in Potsdam.
The terraced garden is the heart of the much larger, 290 ha Sanssouci Park, that itself is just the centerpiece of a whole chain of parks, gardens and palaces. Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great) and generations of Prussian kings after him had these parks constructed along the banks of the Havel, a river that widens into an idyllic lake every few kilometers. It has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/15/139247759_AYbfE-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 14]
'Schloss and Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Fountain at the base of the stairs climbing the terraced vineyard garden towards the baroque Sanssouci palace, french for free of worries. In the evening, when most of the tourists have left, the park seems to dream towards the night, a vision of the world as the Prussian kings imaged it in their romantic fantasies. Sans souci - an illusion that became reality in Potsdam.
The terraced garden is the heart of the much larger, 290 ha Sanssouci Park, that itself is just the centerpiece of a whole chain of parks, gardens and palaces. Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great) and generations of Prussian kings after him had these parks constructed along the banks of the Havel, a river that widens into an idyllic lake every few kilometers. It has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 13]
'Schloss and Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Schoolgirls in the terraced vineyard garden of the baroque Sanssouci palace, french for free of worries. This garden is the heart of the much larger, 290 ha Sanssouci Park, that itself is just the centerpiece of a whole chain of parks, gardens and palaces. Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great) and generations of Prussian kings after him had these parks constructed along the banks of the Havel, a river that widens into an idyllic lake every few kilometers. The park landscape starts at Werder and reaches, via Potsdam, deep into Berlin. In the past the Glienicker Bridge, famous for its exchange of spies, divided this area. Since the German unification you can enjoy it as a whole and it has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/14/139247753_WSc4g-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 13]
'Schloss and Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Schoolgirls in the terraced vineyard garden of the baroque Sanssouci palace, french for free of worries. This garden is the heart of the much larger, 290 ha Sanssouci Park, that itself is just the centerpiece of a whole chain of parks, gardens and palaces. Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great) and generations of Prussian kings after him had these parks constructed along the banks of the Havel, a river that widens into an idyllic lake every few kilometers. The park landscape starts at Werder and reaches, via Potsdam, deep into Berlin. In the past the Glienicker Bridge, famous for its exchange of spies, divided this area. Since the German unification you can enjoy it as a whole and it has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.")
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 12]
'Schloss and Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Gardener working in the terraced vineyard of the baroque Sanssouci palace, french for free of worries. Behind the glass doors you can recognize figs.This garden is the heart of the much larger, 290 ha Sanssouci Park, that itself is just the centerpiece of a whole chain of parks, gardens and palaces. Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great) and generations of Prussian kings after him had these parks constructed along the banks of the Havel, a river that widens into an idyllic lake every few kilometers. The park landscape starts at Werder and reaches, via Potsdam, deep into Berlin. In the past the Glienicker Bridge, famous for its exchange of spies, divided this area. Since the German unification you can enjoy it as a whole and it has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/13/139247742_NAZG6-Ti.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.BRANDENBURG 12]
'Schloss and Park Sanssouci, Potsdam.'
Gardener working in the terraced vineyard of the baroque Sanssouci palace, french for free of worries. Behind the glass doors you can recognize figs.This garden is the heart of the much larger, 290 ha Sanssouci Park, that itself is just the centerpiece of a whole chain of parks, gardens and palaces. Friedrich der Große (Frederick the Great) and generations of Prussian kings after him had these parks constructed along the banks of the Havel, a river that widens into an idyllic lake every few kilometers. The park landscape starts at Werder and reaches, via Potsdam, deep into Berlin. In the past the Glienicker Bridge, famous for its exchange of spies, divided this area. Since the German unification you can enjoy it as a whole and it has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo Paul Smit.")
[GERMANY.SACHSEN 38]
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.
![Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.SACHSEN 38]
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.](http://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Europe/Germany-Parks-and-Castles-in/38/139248161_o77vX-S.jpg "Smit & Palarczyk > [GERMANY.SACHSEN 38]
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.")
[GERMANY.SACHSEN 38]
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.
'Völkerschlachtdenkmal near Leipzig.'
Everything looks heavy, the atmosphere is dark and the interior seems to be imported straight from the computer game Doom: the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. It seems as if the granite giants inside can wake up from their slumber any moment and crush you under their weight. It was built in 1913 as a monument for peace and commemorates the tens of thousands of deceased soldiers that fell one hundred years earlier in an enormous battle against Napoleon.
In reality nothing refers to peace, and everything to megalomanic, brainless Teutonhood. Maybe not so strange, being constructed only one year before the First World War. It shows clearly with which philosophy the country would thrust itself into war. Its Wagnerian, mythical Germanian kitsch makes clear that Germany was in fact ready for Nazism in 1913, ten years before its actual conception. Photo Paul Smit.
See photo in gallery
filename: 38 |
All rights reserved. No permission for reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files or text, is granted without prior written authorisation from the author.
