Wolkenkratzer- Festival 2013
The Wolkenkratzer-Festival is an irregular event in Frankfurt (Main) and took place in 1996, 1998, 2001, 2007 and 2013. Around 1.2 million people have visited the event 2013. During the festival numerous skyscrapers are open for the public and plenty of other events, like base jumping, parachute jumping, concerts and fireworks, happend in 2013.
We have visited four skyscrapers:
- Skyper (Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP)
- Tower 185 (PwC)
- Trianon (Deka Bank)
- Main Tower (HeLaBa)
Sarreguemines
Sarreguemines is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It was transferred to Germany in 1871, with the Treaty of Frankfurt following the Franco-Prussian War. From 1871 to 1918 it formed part of the German imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine and manufactured plush velvet, leather, porcelain, and earthenware, and was a chief depot for papier-mâché boxes, mostly used for snuffboxes. It was returned to France after World War I [source: Wikipedia].
Sarreguemines is famous for their old faience or faïence, where fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body was produced for decades. The old pottery is open for the public and the museum shows the different steps and the history of the pottery. The former factory buildings are a part of a roomy garden, which is affiliated to the Jardín pour la Paíx/Garden for Peace/Gärten ohne Grenzen.
The ceramic museum, near the town hall, houses a beautiful winter garden with colourful ceramic wall tiles.
Simserhof, France
The Simserhof is an ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Sierstal in the French département of Moselle and faces the German frontier. During the Battle of France in 1940, Simserhof supported its neighboring fortifications with covering artillery fire, with partial success. The entire project ran from 1929 to 1938. By 1934 the central utility plant (usine) was in place, along with ammunition lifts and the internal railway. In 1938 the anti-tank obstacles were complete. Final costs were 118 million francs (equivalent to €30 million).
Jugendstilbad, Darmstadt
The architect August Buxbaum designed the Jugendstilbad in Darmstadt and it was built from 1907-1909.
New Garden, Potsdam
The New Garden (“Neuer Garten”) is located southwest of Berlin and in northern Potsdam. Frederick William II of Prussia (1744-1797) arranged to have a new garden bordering on the lakes Heiliger See and Jungfernsee. The New Garden is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin,” a status awarded in 1990.
The Gothic Library (“Gotische Bibliothek”) is arranged after the garden entrance directly to Mangerstraße und Behlertstraße. It was built between 1792 and 1794 from Frederick William II. The library sheltered german literature in the basement and french literature in the first floor. The inventory was moved to the city palace and was burned during the 2. World War.
The Marble Palace (“Marmorpalais”) was reserved for the private use of the king, who had an artistic temperament. After only a few years of use the palace was considered to be too small, and in 1797 construction started on two side wings. In November 1797 the king died and just the shell of the extensions had been completed. His son and successor, Friedrich Wilhelm III, being uninterested in the project and only finished off the exterior. Kaiser Wilhelm I. and his spouse moved into the Marmorpalais while they awaited the completion of their new residence at Babelsberg Palace (1833-1835-1849). His brother, Frederick William IV of Prussia, completed the unfinished interior structure and fittings for the two side extensions between 1843 and 1848. Therefore, frescos with scenes from the Niebelung saga (“Niebelungen Saga”) were added to the outside and decorated the colonnade walls. The last royal inhabitants of the Marble Palace were William, German Crown Prince, eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his spouse Cecilie, who lived there between 1904 and 1917, when they moved to nearby Cecilienhof Palace. The Palace was seriously damaged when the north wing was hit by an incendiary bomb and the main building by a grenade at the end of World War II. Further damage occurred when the Red Army maintained an officers’ mess in the palace after 1946. Since April 14, 2006 all 40 rooms have been renovated and opened to the public. The repair of the exterior surface was completed in fall 2009 after several years of restoration work.
The Egyptian entrance to the orangery (1791/93) is topped by a sphinx sculpture and two black statues of Egyptian gods decorate wall recesses in the semicircular entrance area.
Sprudelhof, Bad Nauheim
The Sprudeholf or “effervescent” bath is a type of spa bath through which carbon dioxide is bubbled and was one of several types of hydrotherap. The ensemble is an impressive cultural monument and was built between 1905 and 1911. It is a clearly structured and symmetric facility as a whole, as playful and loving is the design of the great little details. The mineral springs in the centre of the “Sprudelhof” are surrounded by six bath houses and each has an aesthetic waiting hall and an enchanting ornamental courtyard with a fountain.
Potsdam – Glienicke Bridge (Glienicker Brücke)
The Glienicker Bridge is situated on the edge of Berlin. It spans the river “Havel” to connect the cities of Potsdam and Berlin. During the Cold War, the Glienicker Bridge was one of the few places in the world where the Soviet Union and the Western powers stood directly opposite each other. The bridge lies at an isolated point where US-occupied West-Berlin met the Soviet-occupied Potsdam (East Germany).
The Glienicke Palace (Schloss Glienicke) was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel for Prince Carl of Prussia in 1826. The two golden lions in the front of the building are versions of the Medici lions from the Villa Medici. The palace and park are UNESCO World Heritage sites as part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin since 1990.
Potsdam – New Palace (Neues Palais)
The New Palace is situated on the western side of the Sanssouci royal park in Potsdam was build by Frederick the Great. The construction of the palace started 1763 and was finished after six years, 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace.
Potsdam – Orangery Palace
The Orangery Palace (Orangerieschloss) is also known as the New Orangery on the Klausberg, or just the Orangery. It was built in the style of the Italian Renaissance, after the image of the Villa Medici in Rome and the Uffizi in Florence.
