Goethe's House in Weimar.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30438] Goethes Wohnhaus at the Frauenplan in Weimar was for 47 years the residence of the great poet, writer and statesman. The Late Barock house was built in 1709 and became the living quarters of Goethe in 1782. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Horse cart in puppet town Mon plaisir in Arnstadt.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30389] The Baroque miniature doll town ‘Mon plaisir’ was created between 1716 and 1751 for Princess Auguste Dorothea von Schwarzburg-Arnstadt. The dolls were never intended as toys; they represent society in the style of a Baroque Cabinet of curiosities (Wunderkammer). The around four hundred figures have delicately made heads of wax and are distributed over 82 miniature rooms in specially made cabinets.The collection was created near Arnstadt in Augustenburg Castle, which no longer exists, and is now in the Schlossmuseum in Arnstadt. Here we see a horse cart that delivers sacks of flour for the bakery. The horses are made with real animal skin. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

St. Martin in the Stadtschloss Museum of Weimar.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30479] The Stadtschloss Museum of Weimar has a considerable collection of religious medieval art from Thuringia. Here we see a painted limewood sculpture of St. Martin originating from Meckfeld, dating from1503 and made by the 'Meister des Meckfelder Altars'. St. Martin (316 or 336 -397 AD, originally a soldier in the Roman army, became Bishop of Tours (France) and is best known for the account of his using his sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar in the depth of winter. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Medieval tournament in Thuringia.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30570] During the summer months medieval tournaments are reenacted at some of the castles that abound in Thuringia. Here we see a little girl from an attending 'noble family' attaching her scarf to the lance of her favourite 'knight'. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30212] ’Guild’s bier of farmers in Workum.’

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30212] ’Guild’s bier of farmers in Workum.’ This picture shows a detail of a scene which decorates the guild’s bier (‘gildebaar’ in Dutch) of the farmers that is preserved in the St. Gertrudiskerk (Church of St. Gertrude) in Workum. The bier, dating from the beginning of the 18th century, was used by the farmers’ guild for transporting members of its society to the grave. The scene shows an agricultural landscape with meadows, cows, sheep, horses and windmills. On the horizon is the town of Workum, dominated by the Church of St. Gertrude with its massive freestanding tower. For an image of the entire bier, see photo 30210. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30204] ’Ceramic winter scene.’

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30204] ’Ceramic winter scene.’ This ceramic wall plaque shows a winter scene that was probably inspired by the paintings of the Dutch painter Hendrik Frederik ten Kate (1822-1891). The ‘fired painting’ (‘gebakken schilderij’ in Dutch) was produced around 1850 in a ceramic factory in Makkum and is exhibited in the ‘Eerste Friese Schaatsmuseum’ (First Frisian Skating Museum) in Hindeloopen. The museum is dedicated to ice skating in general and to the famous Elfstedentocht (Eleven Towns Tour) in particular, a 200 km long skating tour, which visits the eleven historic Frisian towns, Hindeloopen being the sixth in the itinerary. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Gothic winged altar in Liebfrauenkirche in Arnstadt.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30377] The winged altar (Flügelaltar) in the choir of the Church of Our Lady in Arnstadt dates from 1498 and was probably made by the Regler Werkstatt in Erfurt. Here we see a detail of the upper part of the left panel with St. George fighting the dragon. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

'Hofämterspiel ' in the Playing Card Museum of Altenburg.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30550] Altenburg has been a production centre for playing cards for 500 years and has a 'Spielkartenmuseum' (Playing Card Museum) in the 'Stadtschloss' since 1923. The oldest deck of cards shown in the museum is the 'Hofämterspiel' (Court-office Game). The cards were printed from woodblocks and then hand coloured. Each suit in turn shows members of the royal household - from the court jester up to the king's steward, including servants and court officials. These are depicted in a hierarchy, numbered 1-10 in Roman numerals, plus a queen and king. There are 48 cards in total. Which game or games the Hofämterspiel was devised for is impossible to tell. The Hofämterspiel reflects political relationships in Central Europe in the mid-15th century. The four suit signs are the coat of arms of four kingdoms: France, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary. The deck was possibly commissioned around 1450 by Ladislaus I, King of Hungary and Bohemia and Duke of Austria. The original deck is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna; the cards shown in Altenburg are facsimiles. Here we see the 'Marschalk' (Marshal) of the Suit of Germany with Roman numeral nine on the left. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Beer stein in Belvedere Castle near Weimar.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30498] Belvedere Castle, 3 km. south of Weimar, was constructed in 1722 as a summer residence for Duke Ernst August I of Sachen-Weimar-Eisenach. In 1922 the castle was converted in a museum which gives visitors the chance to experience what life was like for the Duke and his successors. Here we see an item from the ducal faience collection, a beer stein made in Thuringia around 1720. It is believed by some that the lid on beer steins was implemented during the age of the Black Plague (14th century), to prevent diseased fleas from getting into the beer. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

Medieval tournament in Thuringia.

[GERMANY.THUERINGEN 30569] During the summer months medieval tournaments are reenacted at some of the castles that abound in Thuringia. Here we see the contending 'knights' saluting the public. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30211] ’Guild’s bier of farmers in Workum.’

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30211] ’Guild’s bier of farmers in Workum.’ This picture shows one of the three scenes decorating the guild’s bier (‘gildebaar’ in Dutch) of the farmers that is preserved in the St. Gertrudiskerk (Church of St. Gertrude) in Workum. The bier, dating from the beginning of the 18th century, was used by the farmers’ guild for transporting members of its society to the grave. The scene shows an agricultural landscape with meadows, cows, sheep, horses, windmills and a farm. On the horizon is the town of Workum, dominated by the Church of St. Gertrude with its massive freestanding tower. For an image of the entire bier, see photo 30210. Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30203] ’Ceramic winter scene.’

[HOLLAND.FRIESLAND 30203] ’Ceramic winter scene.’ This ceramic wall plaque shows a winter and skating scene that was probably inspired by the paintings of the Dutch painter Hendrik Frederik ten Kate (1822-1891). The ‘fired painting’ (‘gebakken schilderij’ in Dutch) was produced around 1850 in a ceramic factory in Makkum and is exhibited in the ‘Eerste Friese Schaatsmuseum’ (First Frisian Skating Museum) in Hindeloopen. The museum is dedicated to ice skating in general and to the famous Elfstedentocht (Eleven Towns Tour) in particular, a 200 km long skating tour, which visits the eleven historic Frisian towns, Hindeloopen being the sixth in the itinerary. Photo Mick Palarczyk.