Southern Germany, Baden-Württemberg-2

Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg

About 60 Km west of Stuttgart is the sizable city of Karlsruhe. It has some big open spaces but I never cared much for the street scene there. Otherwise, I was often in Karlsruhe’s central train station as it is a major transit place for lines running north or south through the Rhine valley. I took some photos there in late May 2024. Coming out of the main train station almost directly across is a major zoo although the Germans more often use the word Tierpark (animal-park) or in Karlsruhe Stadtgarten zoo (city-garden zoo). The Germans usually use the word zoo for a pet store. We didn’t go in but walked partially around it. The facilities are extensive and indeed there are nice gardens rather than just animals in cages or enclosures.

Karlsruhe; Schloss, Schlossgarden, Platz der Grundgerecht

Heading north from the Marktplatz one already sees the most iconic building of the city the Karlsruhe Schloss (Castle) with its many statues and greenery in front. Just before arriving one passed through the Platz der Grundgerecht or plaza of basic rights. There are numerous quotations about human rights posted on signs. This reflects that Karlsruhe is the home of the constitutional court. After WWII Germans gave a lot of thought to a new constitution that emphasizes human rights. There are many memorials to the victims of Hitler but this is another approach, dwelling on the positive, embellishing on what freedoms are seen as essential. And coincidentally I took this picture just days after  the officially 75^th anniversary of the implementation of German constitution.

The castle itself is very extensive in Baroque style very similar to the castle in Ludwigsburg 20 KM north of Stuttgart. Behind the castle are the extensive castle gardens or Schlossgarten.

Karlsruhe, European Juggling Convention 2008

 In 2008, the big European Juggling Convention (EJC) was held in Karlsruhe. The parade through the center of the city ended at the Schlossplatz where thousands of residents were pretty blown away by the antics of crazy jugglers.The first photo is of Martin, a juggler from the Hamburg area that I first meet around 1985 as he did a show by the pyramide on the Marktpaltz

Not so well received by the police was the idea to pass clubs from on top of one of the castle fountains. Would have been quite the mishap to accidentally damage a historical structure. Karlsruhe hosted the EJC, a big juggling convention, a couple of times to great success as they had plenty of room for training indoors and space for tents for shows and camping outside. With upwards of 6000 visitors, the setting was almost overwhelming but fun.

Ettlingen, Rathaus, Marktplatz Georgsbrunnen

A few block through the pedestrian street from the Ettlingen castle, one comes to the central Ettlinger Marktplatz or market place with the Georgsbrunnen or George Fountain and the Rathaus or city-hall. The fountain statue depicts a dragon being slayed by St. George and above the archway under the Rathausturm or city-hall-tower is an antiwar memorial depiction of death slaughtering victims.

Ettlingen, Rathaus, Nepomuk Statue Albbrücke, Alb River

If one goes through the archway under the Rathausturm there is a bridge going over the small Alb River. On the bridge is a statue of Johannes Nepomuk, a 14^th century German priest and martyr declared holy by the Catholic Church. A block away is the Herz Jesu Kirche or Jesus’s heart church. Back along the Alb River are views of the historical center and some of the oldest remains of the first city wall fortifications commemorated by a ceramic plaque.

Ettlingen, Kanalstrasse St. Martinskirche

Back by the Marktplatz the Kanalstrasse or canal street takes one to the large St. Martinskirche or St Martin’s church. A building across from the front of the church has an interesting small figure of Mary and baby Jesus, so one can assume it was church built property. The last few photos are old houses in adjacent streets.

Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg’s oldest city

In early September 2024 we stopped for some hours in Rottweil which is about 80 kilometers south of Stuttgart. It only has 25,000 inhabitants and the old center situated on a high hill is rather compact. The architectural style is unusual for Germany and was strongly influenced by close ties to Switzerland in the middle ages. Some notable buildings are the old city hall across from the tourist information. One of the major streets in the old city is the Hochbrücktorstrasse or high bridge gate street whr3e many of the following photos were taken. The perpendicular Hauptstrasse or main street is also significant; half of it being a pedestrian zone where the Apostelbrunnen or Apostle Fountain, old city hall and city museum are located. At the upper end is the iconic Schwarzes Tor or Black Gate a remnant of the early city fortifications. In front of the museum and the black gate are also statutes of a Rottweiler dog, which make the name Rottweil recognizable world-wide.

I had a good impression of Rottweil although it has a reputation of being rather conservative with some questionable history. It has a very traditional carnival celebration with scary witch costumes being prevalent. Kind of ironic since from 1546 – 1661, 266 people, mostly woman were convicted of witchcraft and either burned or beheaded. And it only took 400 years before they were posthumously.pardoned.

Rottweil Heilig-Kreuz Münster Cathedral, Kapellenkirche

In a side street near the upper Hauptstrasse is the Cathedral known as the Heilig-Kreuz Münster. It is the most important Catholic Church in town. Farther down the Hauptstrasse across the large Hochbrücktorstrasse just off a block is the Kapellenkirche or chapel church which is even older, higher in my opinion more interesting although it was partially obstructed by scaffolding when we were there.  But the church tower stands out on the city skyline – contrasting to the modern tower a few kilometers away which is an elevator testing-tower from the Thysen-Krupps company. Both can be seen well from the Hochbrücke or high bridge at the beginning of the Hochbrückestrasse.

Freiburg, southwestern Baden-Württemberg

Freiburg is known as one of the most alternative cities in Germany. Pretty much in the southwestern corner of the country it is a University town surrounded by some of the Black Forest’s nicest scenery. Despite the mountains, it has the warmest climate in the country. Back in my street performing days used to occasionally go there to play on the Augustiner Platz which was one of the best pitches ever. I always had huge responsive audiences and did good hats despite the high ratio of students. The problem was that there was always a large contingency of punks that also hung out there yelling around, begging, throwing bottles and pissing in public. The city decided the solution would be to disallow street performing after 6 pm which was before people even showed up. The theory was that with no shows there would be little reason for people to hang around on this plaza. The result was that there was no longer a really good place for performers and the punks, who weren’t there for the shows anyway remained.

The other reason to go to Freiburg is the Kulturbörse, the largest performing arts showcase in Germany. I twice had a stand there but didn’t find it cost effective without having a performance on one of the stages. But the stages, which are ideal for comedians and magicians, are not really the best place to present a show relying on and audience participation or improvisation. The spontaneous reaction to things like someone going through my show with a baby carriage or dog, or eating an ice cream cone are often the highlight of my performance and just don’t happen on a stage in a hall. But the event is also a place to see shows, meet new people and run into performer colleagues and friends. I never really bothered to take any photos in Freiburg until Jan 2019 when I went back to the Kulturebörse for my first visit in a good 5 or 6 years absence. I didn’t take any photos at the event but did manage a couple of shots of the old city center including a couple of towers, Schwabentor and Martinstor, that would have ringed the early city fortifications.

Freiburg in Bresgau revisited

In early 2025 I made another trip to Freiburg. Again we looked around the historical center where one sees not just the towers previously mentioned but the cathedral and adjoining plaza where a market was happening. There are a number of other large churches and many impressive buildings belonging to the university. Near the Rathaus and tourist information there was an event for the World Women’s Day.

Freiburg Vauban Green Quarter, Seepark Flückigersee

We visited a couple of places outside of the center. The Flücktigersee and adjacent Seepark was an area NW of the center where I used to park my motor-home when I went to Freiburg to do street shows. One could swim in the  small lake and relax in the grassy areas in the park. There was a tower overlooking the area, which had the advantage of free parking and nearby indoor swimming pool if the weather was bad or one needed a bathroom. I used to go to the center a couple of kilometers away with my bicycle, pulling my trailer with my show equipment.

To the south of the center is an area called Vauban. It was something sepcial some decades ago as it was planned with all of the ecological insights at the time to have a community with living, shopping, schools, entertainment etc. within easy walking distance and accessable to all.

Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany

South of Stuttgart at the Swiss and Austrian borders is the Bodensee, Germany’s largest lake. It is a very pleasant place to swim, sail or bike ride. There are some very pretty towns along Bodensee but I never bothered to take photos despite spending a lot of time over the years performing and relaxing. There is also a historical pretty town about 18 KM north of Bodensee called Ravensburg. This is a collection of photos from the city center taken in 2019.

Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Bodensee Southern Germany

Konstanz is a lovely university city of over 85,000 in the southwestern part of Germany at the border to Switzerland. The Bodensee aka Lake Konstanz is the largest fresh water lake in Germany and also borders a small section of Austria. The Rhine River flows out of the Bodensee and the historical old center of Konstanz is actually on the south side of this junction; an enclave on otherwise Swiss territory. Coming from the train station there is now a nearby large shopping center called Lagos right at the border. Convenient since the residents  of the Swiss town of Kreuzlingen on the other side refer to Konstanz as “downtown” and being significantly cheaper is where they do most of their shopping. A few hundred meters away is the Schnetztor, a tower with a gate to the city an iconic remnant of the old city fortifications. Through the gateway and one is in the Hussenstrasse, one of the major pedestrian streets. It’s a mix of modern and historical buildings.

Old city hall, Marktstätte, Kaiserbrunnen

At the corner of Hussenstr. and Kanzleistrasee is an old pharmacy. Going east from here one passes the elaborately painted old city hall or Altes Rathaus before one comes to the Kaiserbrunnen or “kings fountain”  with its many unusual statues at the edge of the Marktstätte or central market place. In the late 1980s, ‘90s and even into the ‘00s. I was often there to make street performances.

Konstanz Habor, Konzil, City Garden, Imperia

Going under a passageway from the Marktstätte one comes in the harbor area. Multiple ferries to various destinations around the Bodensee leave from here. In direction Switzerland is the tourist infomation office, the train station again and an area with multiple beer gardens and further on an Aquarium called Sealife. In the other direction is the Stadtgarten or city gardens with a band-shell for performances. In the middle by the ferries and rental paddle-boats is a large statue to a son of Konstanz the count Zeppelin and an even larger statute called the Imperia, which is a rotating female figure with upraised arms holding figures of a naked man in each hand. There is a large historical building called the Konzil that now houses a cafe on the ground floor.

Konstanz Stadttheater, Rheinsteig, Rheintorturm, Pulverturm, Rhine River

Leaving the city garden one passes the city theater or Stadttheater to teh left and on the right a large monastery that is now a hotel is at the junction where the Rhine River flows out of the sea. Here one sees the main bridge over the Rhine and going west along the river bank one sees the Rheintorturm which is a historical tower that was one of the city’s most important fortifications. Nearby is the Pulverturm which specifically was used to store armaments. There are a number of statues along the banks here and a bicycle and pedestrian bridge the north side of which is a popular swimming place right in the city including a free sun-lotion dispenser. One is not supposed to jump off of the bridge since many boats pass underneath but the young and daring seem to ignore this risk.