Büdingen’s Beautiful Details part 1

We had a really fun day in Büdingen (population is about 23,00). It was about 41 km away–a 45 min drive through farm country. I always look for tractors, but never see any. Fields are plowed and wet. Some early spring crops are coming up. Saw some white cranes and egrets. Rolling hills, wooded areas, old farming towns scattered. Such a peaceful country now. It’s hard to imagine tanks and soldiers moving across this land.

This week is the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Some 6 million European Jews were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust — the mass murder of Jews and other groups before and during World War II. Soviet Red Army troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau on Jan. 27, 1945, and the day has become known as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. An estimated 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Just 220,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive, according to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and more than 20 percent are over 90.

From Büdingen’s tourist info:

Büdingen is one of the rare towns in existence which has managed to survive the troubles of earlier times relatively unscathed. Today the safely preserved half-timbered buildings and stone buildings, the gables and dormers, the defiant walls and towers, all allow you to experience the living spirit of the past. Visitors can learn how an aspiring civic society emerged under the protection of the moated castle of the House of Ysenburg. The town developed out of housing for courtiers and servants outside the castle and was protected by statutes and privileges. This was a civic society affluent enough to afford a grand town hall, the beautifully decorated Church of Our Lady, as well as prestigious half-timbered houses. In the late middle ages, at the high point of Büdingens period of growth, the early 14th century wall around the town was replaced by a mighty new fortification. This bastion is more than two kilometres long, has 22 towers and half towers, and is regarded nowadays as one of the best examples of the way defense architecture changed as a result of the invention of firearms.

The oldest part of town dates to the mid-14th century, when the first defensive walls were built. The historic town hall, built in 1458, is the center of the Altstadt, or old town.

Walking through town you will soon see the Schloss, a beautiful and unusual, 13 sided palace. Still occupied by the noble family for 15 generations, they have turned part of the palace into a hotel. Their chapel is a popular wedding venue.

We wandered through all of the Altstadt–in and out and around. We went to the castle (original family still lives there) and wandered the grounds with old walls, towers, rivers and bridges. It felt like we were the only people in town until about noon. Then a few more came outside. It was so quiet and peaceful. We just soaked it all in, looking at the old details and old beauty. At 2:00 the Schloss café opened and John wanted cake. That’s all we ate all day. We spent 4 hours there, enjoying every minute of it.

For two reasons, I took a lot of photos here: #1 Everything was interesting. #2 Our Saturday outings are coming to an end and I’m feeling a little panicky about capturing memories of these incredible places. I do not want to forget these old parts of Germany where my heart feels at home.

Please pay attention to the details as we walk these streets together.

In the moat, under this window is a high water measuring marker.

There are several small museums in town–a butcher’s museum, a 1950s museum, a town museum and more. All were closed. Almost every shop in the Altstadt was closed too. It seems the town is on “Winter Pause” after the busy Christmas market times. It sounds like many towns’ shops close down during Jan and Feb, opening back up the 2nd week in March. Today Büdingen felt really deserted.

The Wurst (sausage) Museum, closed for winter break.

Incredible stonework.

A boar head over the castle gate.

A Jewish Memorial, listing Büdingen Jews killed in the wars. A brass plaque on the historic town hall commemorates the fate of the Büdingen Jews: In memory of the dead, as a warning to the living – “In memory and remembrance of our persecuted and murdered fellow citizens of the Jewish community in Büdingen who were deprived of their livelihood by the National Socialist dictatorship – We mourn the suffering of all Büdingen Jews.”

From Wikipedia:
From 1933 to 1938, there were attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Büdingen. In 1938, the last Jew is said to have left Büdingen and emigrated. In Düdelsheim, on Kristallnacht, a “rolling commando “of the SA from Büdingen appeared, joined by followers from Düdelsheim. As part of the staged pogrom, the mob of Nazis from Büdingen and Düdelsheim (especially the SA) broke into the synagogue, smashed the windows and set fire to the curtains. The inventory, consisting of tables, benches, desks and other items, was vandalized, loaded onto carts, taken to the market square and burned there to the cheers of a large crowd. The homes of the Jewish citizens still living in Düdelsheim were broken into, vandalized and in some cases looted. A 55-year-old woman was dragged from the toilet, sprayed with manure, beaten up and kicked along with her 52-year-old brother, and driven to the town hall. There, a sack was put over their heads and they were forced to “dance” with a broom in their hand. A 51-year-old was led through Düdelsheim by two people while another “rode” him on his neck. The Jews were then rounded up in the town hall, insulted and mocked. Some had ropes put around their necks and flour sacks put over their heads, which were then “exhibited” at the window for spectators.

So high was the water level on 18 June 1757:

I will explain the frogs in a later post.

Going into the castle area:

The castle here has been occupied since 1258. At the entrance to the living quarters of the castle/residence stand two sandstone guards with clubs. They say that every night at midnight, these two guards trade places. You can go watch them, but only someone who has never told a lie will see them move.