Our first stop next morning is the Palace of Justice in Nürnberg where the Allied forces held a series of military tribunals after World War II to prosecute prominent Nazi war criminals. Stalin wanted to murder 50 -100,000 German staff officers in revenge but Churchill opposed murder for "political purposes".
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The trials were held in 1945-46, at the Palace of Justice. The first and best known was the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which tried 22 of the most important captured Nazi leaders. Unfortunately, several key architects of the war (such as Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Josef Goebbels) had committed suicide before the trials began.
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Stalin had wanted the trials to take place in Berlin, as the capital city of the 'fascist conspirators', but Nürnberg was chosen as the site because: • The Palace of Justice was spacious, largely undamaged and a large prison was part of the complex. • Nürnberg was the Nazi's ceremonial heartland, hosted annual propoganda rallies and was a fitting place to mark the Nazi's demise.
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From the Palace of Justice, we travel on to the Kaiserburg castle complex which served as an administrative centre for the Holy Roman Empire.
5 Monday 12 July, 2010
It was a very hot day so Wolfram kindly dropped us off while he parked the car.
6 Monday 12 July, 2010
Wolfram also told us that the sandstone rock upon which the castle stands extends at least 20kms away; the castle at Cadolzburg stands on the same rock. Sandstone usually forms at the bottom of an ocean or lake, or in a desert, over millions of years. This is obviously neither an ocean nor a desert, so how did the rock get here? A metaphysical explanation beckons. Even a religious one?
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Why on earth would anyone be interested in the distance to Melbourne (16,176 kms) when surely the distance to Sydney is more relevant?
8 Monday 12 July, 2010
Nürnberg was the place where the Imperial Reichstag (Parliament or Congress) met until 1543. It was also the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire, which began when the Pope crowned the first Emperor on Christmas day in the year 800 CE.
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The first Holy Roman Emperor was from the German tribe called the Franks. To most of the world, he was known as Charlemagne or Charles the Great but he was known as Karl der Grosse to the Germans. The Pope chose Charlemagne because he was Roman Catholic at a time when there were several other Christian sects in Europe.
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School kids receiving lessons about the medieval building. Quite remarkable is how quiet and unobtrusive they were.
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The photo Jenni took.
12 Monday 12 July, 2010
The twin towers of St Sebaldus church can be seen in the centre while the tower of another major chiurch, St Lorenz Kirche, is visible in the upper left. The tallest structure in Bavaria, the Nürnberg telecommunication tower, can be seen in the distance on the right. It is 292 metres high and was built between 1977 and 1980. The altstadt is below us.
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Wolfram has a lot of knowledge about Nürnberg and is a great tour guide.
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The Sinwell Tower. Wolfram told us that this tower was not bombed during WWII because the allied bombers used it as a reference point in their bombing runs.
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The Heathen Tower in the courtyard of the complex was built in between 1170 and 1180 under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The term "Heathens-tower" dates from the early 16th Century, when the existing romanesque wall decorations were interpreted as "pagan" and so the images and statues were partly removed.
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Some of the pagan decoration is preserved on the lower floor.
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The building to the left is the well house containing the deep well.
18 Monday 12 July, 2010
Although the Deep Well was first documented in the 14th century, it is probably as old as the Imperial Castle itself. The well shaft, driven into the rock, has a depth of 47 meters. In times of siege, the well was the most important source of water for the castle
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The blackening of the stones from fires burning during the bombing runs, that destroyed much of the complex during WWII, are visible on the foundations of the Sinwell Tower.
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1563 - quite old.
21 Monday 12 July, 2010
View through the inner gate from the inner courtyard where the palas is situated. Note the Imperial Banner of Frederick III (1437–1493) on the gate. The Palas is the main representative building of the castle and was the centre of imperial power. Apart from the repair after the destruction of World War II, the current gothic building remains unchanged since being built in 1440-1442.
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Behind the Sinwell Tower are the the eastern municipal buildings of the castle (Kaiserstallung and Luginsland) which today are are used as a youth hostel.
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The colours of Franconia are red and white.
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Because of its architecture and history, the castle is one of the most important fortresses in Europe. It comprises three sections: the imperial castle, some buildings of the Burgraves (Counts) of Nürnberg and the municipal buildings of the Imperial City at the eastern site.
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In the 13th century, Nürnberg became an Imperial Free City, and the castle came under the care of the city.
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The castle was damaged in 1944-45 during WWII with only the Roman double chapel and the Sinwell Tower remaining entirely intact. After the war, the castle was restored to its historical form, including the Luginsland tower which had been completely destroyed.
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The eastern part of the castle (which we never got to see) is located in the former Burgrave´s castle (a burgrave is the count of, i.e. appointed over, a castle or fortified town). Between the Fuenfeckturm and Luginsland towers was the imperial stabling and grain storage building where the youth hostel is now located.
28 Monday 12 July, 2010
Nuremberg Castle: Palas, Imperial Chapel, Heathens' Tower on the left - Sinwell Tower in the middle left - Pentagonal Tower, Imperial Stables and Luginsland Tower on the right
29 Monday 12 July, 2010
We leave the castle grounds and head for the Altstadt (old town) district.
30 Monday 12 July, 2010
We enter a square named after Albrecht Duerer (1471 - 1528), a famous German artist from the 14th century.
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Apparently, Duerer was one of the few artists to become rich in his own lifetime.
32 Monday 12 July, 2010
It was incredibly hot as the European heat wave continued so we stopped for a couple of gallons of water.
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I protected my bad left eye with sunglasses over my sunglasses.
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This crazy brass monument, to who knows what, accompanied us as we had our drinks.
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The Albrecht Duerer House was built in 1420 and it was acquired by Albrecht Duerer in 1509. He lived and worked here until his death. The house was severely damaged in WWII but was rebuilt in 1951. The building now serves as the Duerer Museum displaying examples of Duerer's work.
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One of Deurer's master works completed in Nürnberg is a copperplate engraving called Knight, Death and the Devil. It was engraved in 1513 and is one of his three master prints. The print portrays an armoured Christian Knight riding through a narrow gorge flanked by a pig snouted devil and the figure of death riding a pale horse. Death holds an hourglass to remind the knight of the shortness of his life. He is contemptuous of the threats and rides on.
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In this part of Nürnberg, there are many boutique breweries.
38 Monday 12 July, 2010
TheNürnberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws introduced in Nazi Germany at the party's annual Nürnberg Rally. The lack of a clear legal definition as to who was Jewish had allowed some Jews to escape discrimination aimed at them. The Nürnberg Laws classified people with four German grandparents as "German or kindred blood", while people were classified as Jews if they descended from three or four Jewish grandparents. A person with one or two Jewish grandparents was a Mischling, a crossbreed, of "mixed blood". These laws deprived Jews of German citizenship and prohibited marriage between Jews and other Germans.
39 Monday 12 July, 2010
Wolfram told us that the roofs on many buildings were turned in this direction so that if a fire started, it would fall to the ground and not into the adjoining building.
40 Monday 12 July, 2010
As we approach the St. Sebaldus Church we see this very ornate oriel window on the building opposite.
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The St. Sebaldus Church is one of the most important churches of the city and also one of the oldest. It is located at the Albrecht-Dürer-Platz, in front of the old city hall.
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It takes its name from Sebaldus, an 8th century hermit and missionary and patron saint of Nürnberg. It has been a Lutheran parish church since the Reformation.
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This photo is in St Sebaldus and it shows the bomb damage done to a nearby church, the Parish Church of St. Michael. It was severely damaged during WWII as this picture shows.
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St Sebaldus was also severely damaged and was restored to almost its pre-war state. New sandstone columns integrate seamlessly with the existing columns. The stained glass windows appear to have been reconstructed from what was left in the ruins.
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The exterior has been reconstructed using a mixture of fire-blackened original sandstone and new stones.
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The Old City Hall comprises all buildings in this city block erected between the 14th and 17th century. The buiding is situated opposite the eastern choir (the bit at the back) of St Sebaldus' Church and is modelled on Italian palazzo design.
47 Monday 12 July, 2010
Looking down Hauptmarkt into the market plaza in Alstadt. This pedestrian plaza continues south where it crosses the Pegnitz river. Interesting aside. When I looked at this picture recently and read my comment about the plaza continuing south, I was sure I had it wrong. I went to Google maps and found that it was indeed looking south. Some Southern Hemisphere instinct must have kicked in.
48 Monday 12 July, 2010
Nürnberg over the centuries was on the trade routes and was a very rich town because of commerce and the trades that it established. Wolfram pointed out the mural on the building opposite that said something like Nürnberg producing goods for the world (the world being Europe).
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This is the choir of St Sebaldus and the Rathaus is to its right. Amazing to think that the church was a sad pile of rubble in 1945.
50 Monday 12 July, 2010
Marktplatz
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The original Schönen Brunnen (beautiful fountain) was built from 1385-96 and this is a replica. Much of the original survives in the Nürnberg museum. There are forty painted figurines spread over four levels of the structure. From below: philosophy and the seven liberal arts, the four evangelists and four fathers of the church, the seven selectors and nine heroes, Moses and the seven prophets.
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By turning the ring Jenni got a free wish whereupon she wished for my continued health and happiness (I presume). When the original brass ring was attached is not known but it has been replaced many times, the most recent being in 1957.
53 Monday 12 July, 2010
Fruit stall in marktplatz.
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Nürnberg was severely damaged in Allied strategic bombing from 1943–45.
55 Monday 12 July, 2010
On January 2, 1945, the medieval city centre (where we are standing right now) was bombed by the R.A.F and the U.S.A.A.F. About ninety percent of it was destroyed in one hour; 1,800 residents were killed and roughly 100,000 were displaced. I felt a little ill when I saw this picture because this isn't ancient history for me. I was five years old when this madness happened.
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In February 1945, additional attacks followed. In total, an estimated 6,000 people were killed in the air raids. Unfortunately for Nürnberg citizens, Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg which built 40 percent of Germany's Panther tanks, was a prime military target and the 1945 bombings targeted the political heart of the NSDA regime.
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Despite this damage, Nürnberg was rebuilt after the war and was to some extent, restored to its pre-war appearance including the reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings.
58 Monday 12 July, 2010
We cross the Fleischbrücke (Meat bridge) over the Pegnitz River. The single arch bridge was built between 1596 and 1598 and it replaced an earlier bridge that had been repeatedly destroyed by flood. Behind me on the opposite side is a placard of a bull. This serves to remind anyone who crosses the bridge that in the Middle Ages, this is where the meat trade was carried out.
59 Monday 12 July, 2010
St. Lorenz is one of the most important medieval churches in Nürnberg. It was badly damaged during the Second World War and later rebuilt. It is dedicated to Saint Lawrence and is one of the most prominent churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria.
60 Monday 12 July, 2010
We turn into Karolinenstrasse on our way to the Way of Human Rights.
61 Monday 12 July, 2010
TheWay of Human Rights is an outdoor sculptural monument that was opened on 24 October 1993. It is sited on the street between the new and old buildings of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, connecting Kornmarkt street and the medieval city wall.
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Engraved in each pillar is one article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in German and another language. This sculpture is part of Nürnberg's efforts to rid itself of its Nazi-era reputation and to reinvent itself as the City of Peace and Human Rights. The monument is intended as both a repudiation of past crimes and a permanent reminder that human rights are still regularly violated; Article 5 specifically prohibits torture for example.
63 Monday 12 July, 2010
After leaving the monument, we are surprised to see what we thought might be an Aussie night club. Kakadu is German for Cockatoo.
64 Monday 12 July, 2010
We're heading for a wonderful restaurant called the Zum Gulden Stern.
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The Zum Gulden Stern in Schottengasse - famous for its bratwurst sausages. Despite the heat, we had an absolutely wonderful lunch there.
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Inside the restaurant was very hot - about 40º - and it was not helped by the open fire used to cook the sausages.
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We opened the window to let some less hot air circulate.
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The sausages were served on a bed of sauerkraut or potatoes and they were a Franconian specialty called Nürnberger Rostbratwurst. The existence of sausage was first documented in 1313 and it is surprisingly small: 7 to 9cm long weighing 20-25g.
69 Monday 12 July, 2010
Nürnberger Bratwurst and Nürnberger Rostbratwurst (Rost refers to the cooking grate above the flames) are Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) under EU law since 2003 and may therefore only be produced in the city of Nürnberg where an Association for the Protection of Nürnberger Bratwürste was established in 1997.
70 Monday 12 July, 2010
Jenni and I paid for the meal to thank our hosts for their generous hospitality and, after we had finished our meal, we sat outside and waited while Wolfram went back to retrieve the car. It was a couple of kms away.
71 Monday 12 July, 2010
On leaving the restaurant we spotted this magnificent Ferrari. A Bentley was parked in front of it. The Mercedes-Benz taxi looks very ordinary by comparison. The licence plate contains a Bavarian registration seal and a colour coded safety sticker. The LAU means that the car is registered in Lauf an der Pegnitz & Nürnberger Land. Lauf an der Pegnitz is a municipality near Nuremberg and it is the capital of Nürnberger Land.
72 Monday 12 July, 2010
After lunch we drove to the Congress Hall located in the Nazi party rally grounds. The Congress Hall is the biggest preserved national socialist monument building and is landmarked. It was planned as a congress centre with a capacity of 50,000 for the NSDAP (National Socialist Party) and is located on the shore of the Dutzendteich pond.
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The building reached a height of 39 m and a diameter of 250 m and is mostly built out of clinker with a facade of granite panels. The foundation stone was laid in 1935, but the building remained unfinished and without a roof.
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In the same rally grounds is the Zeppelinfield and tribune.
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The tribune grandstand (Zeppelinhaupttribüne) had a width of 360 meters and a smaller stand. It was one of Albert Speer's first works for the Nazi party and was based upon the Pergamon Altaris in the former Asia Minor city of Pergamon in the second century CE.
76 Monday 12 July, 2010
Albert Speerwas Hitler's personal architect, later Minister of Armaments and, according to his post-war autobiography, the closest thing to a friend Hitler ever had. After the war, he was sentenced to twenty years in Spandau Prison despite aiding the Allies during the Nürnberg Trials.
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In the 1970s, the pillars were removed. The rest of the stand is intact and used as the grandstand of the Norisring motor racing track.
78 Monday 12 July, 2010
As it was in 1937 - taken from the series of photographs at the site. In 1945 US troops blew up the swastika in the centre of the grandstand.
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Not much is left now.
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I climbed to the speaker's platform from where Hitler addressed crowds as large as 200,000.
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It was a weird sensation to stand where a creature responsible for the deaths of millions of people once stood. The thought that overcame me at the time is that these atrocities happened in my lifetime - it wasn't ancient history. I truly hope my hosts accepted my reactions as amazement and not as the ramblings of an ignoramus.
82 Monday 12 July, 2010
The stands and the thirty four former columns are mostly in ruins.
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In a sense it's a shame that this reminder of the past is being allowed to decay but Nürnbergers have more pressing needs for their taxes. The starting grid for the German national racing car series is visible.
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To the left is the Easy Credit Stadion which is the biggest stadium in Nürnberg. It is the home of the Nürnberg Football Club and has seating for 44.000 people. Norisbank, its major sponsor, recently renamed it to easyCredit Stadium (but no Nürnberger calls it that). It was one of the stadiums used when Germany hosted the 2006 FIFA world cup.
85 Monday 12 July, 2010
The tribune serves a far better purpose now as the grandstand for the German national racing car series.
86 Monday 12 July, 2010
Dean said that when he lived in Nürnberg over 20 years ago, the Americans were still here and used this facility to play baseball.
87 Monday 12 July, 2010
Large rock concerts, even AC/DC in 1979 and Metallica in 1984, have been held in the Zeppelinfield arena.
88 Monday 12 July, 2010
In the upper level of the grandstand is a series of photographs that show the history of Zeppelinfield. This map shows the location of the Zeppelinfield within the Nazi Party Rally Grounds.
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Nazi Party rallies were held in Nürnberg from 1933 to 1938. War stopped the 1939 rally.
90 Monday 12 July, 2010
Zeppelin field was named after one of Count Zeppelin's airships that landed here in 1909.
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The symbolic blowing up of the swastika by US forces in 1945.
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In 1967, Nürnberg city demolished the pillars because they were unsafe. The buildings, monuments and edifices of the party grounds were extremely expensive to maintain and Deutschmarks were better spent elsewhere.
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Hitler giving the Nazi salute to conscripts.
94 Monday 12 July, 2010
In 1937, the year my parents married, the Nazi's held a rally that featured the Cathedral of light where 130 anti-aircraft searchlights illuminated the night sky.
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The rally was attended by conscripts into the labour service. Other rallies featured male and female athletes that filled the arena.
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I think of all the places I've been in the world, Nürnberg for me is the most historically significant.
97 Monday 12 July, 2010
As we left Zeppelin field, I saw a street called Itzhak Perlman Strasse. I asked Wolfram if this was the Israeli violinist and he said yes, Nürnberg is doing its best to live down its antisemetic past. What a wonderful thing to do.
98 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The next morning we travelled a short distance to Seckendorf to Wolframs' aero club to take a ride in some aeroplanes.
99 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We could not go on Sunday because of the wind but today the weather was acceptable - light rain expected but no winds or other nasties.
100 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The Aero club is called the Aero-Club Fürth e.V. It was founded in 1950 and the airfield was built in 1961. Gisela opens the doors to the second hangar to gain access to the control tower.
101 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Wolfram and Claus push the two aircraft out of the hangar.
102 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Gisela goes into the control tower.
103 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
This the plane that I'm to ride in. It's a Tecnam P92 Echo high winged, light aircraft built by the Tecnam aircraft company based in Naples, Italy.
104 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The P92 is a two seat ultralight monoplane with a Rotax 1.4 litre engine.
105 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The aeroplane that Wolfram is to fly is a Rotax Falke. Falke is German for Falcon.
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It has a wingspan of 17 m and was built in 2000.
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It's a Scheibe SF25C with a tricycle landing gear (they are usually taildraggers). It was made by Scheibe, a small German aircraft maker who specialised in gliders and motor gliders like this one.
108 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Egon Scheibe started the company in 1951 at the Munich-Riem Airport and, by 1955, the company had produced over 2,000 aircraft. After Egon Scheibe died in 1997, his sons-in-law took over the firm. By 2006, because of their advanced age, they were ready to relinquish control. However, without a successor the firm ceased operations.
109 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Hartmut Sammet subsequently founded Scheibe Aircraft GmbH in Heubach, Baden-Württemberg, taking over maintenance of existing Scheibe aircraft and the manufacturing rights to the Scheibe SF 25. The club's aircraft was one of the last produced before production moved to the Sammet company. It is powered by a 100 hp Rotax 912S.
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Wolfram carries out a very careful preflight check.
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This Scheibe was originally based in Unterwössen in the southern part of Bavaria - gliding heaven.
112 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
There wasn't enough room for Claus so he stayed behind.
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Lukas also carries out a careful preflight check; here he checks the Rotax 912 ULS engine. This is a similar engine to the Scheibe's but not as highly rated and cheaper.
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Gisela takes over the control tower and gives permission for take off.
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Claus joins Gisela in the control tower as Lukas and I taxi for takeoff.
116 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The P92 has radio but there is no instrument navigation or landing. Lukas is one of the few pilots in the club to be instrument rated - not surprising for a commercial airline pilot.
117 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The Scheibe taxis for takeoff.
118 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We take off in a westerly direction following Wolfram in the Scheibe.
119 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Lukas let the engine of the P92 become fully warm before take-off. It took some minutes to come up to temperature.
120 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We are turning south over the villages of Rossendorf and Gonnersdorf heading for Cadolzburg and then into Nürnberg. Wolfram and Jenni's plane in the distance is starting to head east.
121 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We pass over the village of Rossendorf. Dorf means village in German.
122 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Engine is at 5000 RPM as we pass through 1800 feet. We're travelling at 120 knots. Flaps are up and engine temperature is in the low green zone.
123 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We pass over Cadolzburg and can see Cadolzburg castle which we visit later in the day. In German, Burg means the town in which a castle is located.
124 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We head for Nürnberg having reached our cruising altitude of 3000 feet. Light rain threatens.
125 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We travel in a southeasterly direction towards Nürnberg city as light rain falls.
126 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We pass over the pyramidal Euromed Clinic (a private hospital) on the Southwestern Expressway. We drove past this building yesterday. The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal is below us. This canal system was completed in 1992 and connects the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers.
127 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Now we are on the northern side of Nürnberg. The Kaiserburg complex is in almost the exact centre.
128 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The third of Nürnberg's three main churches, St Lorenz, on the southern side of the Pegnitz river is below us.
129 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The old city walls and the Kaiserburg castle with Albrecht Duerer plaza in the centre front.
130 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The Altstadt of Nürnberg. Below us is the St. Sebaldus Church with the old city hall behind it . Marktplaza is in the lower centre with Frauenkirche church on the left (eastern side) while the Fleischbrücke (Meat bridge) over the Pegnitz River is up from there.
131 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Luitpold Hall, where the 1935 Nürnberg Laws were passed once stood at the end of the Grosse Strasse, to the right of the Congress Hall, but it was destroyed in 1945. It is now a parking lot although the granite steps remain.
132 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Zeppelinfield and the Tribune with Easy Credit Stadium behind it.
133 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Up from Zeppelin Field is the new congress centre.
134 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The Congress Centre is 12 buildings most of which are irregularly shaped. The building at the front (between the two square buildings is the main entrance. In the Frankenhalle (large, triangular building on the edge of the forest) they conduct concerts for up to 5000 people
135 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The great road in front of the old Congress Hall is almost 2 km long and 40 m. wide. It was intended to be the central axis of the site and a parade road for the Wehrmacht. In the northwestern direction the road points towards Nürnberg Castle. This was to create an association between the role of Nürnberg during the Third Reich and its role in medieval times.
136 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Road construction started in 1935 and finished in 1939 but it was never used as a parade road because the last Nazi Party rally was held in 1938 and WWII started in 1939.
137 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
After the war, the US Army used the road as a temporary airfield. Nowadays it is used by the nearby Nürnberg Congress Centre for overflow parking.
138 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Claus told me that they used to hold Model Aeroplane contests at Zeppelin Field.
139 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Lukas, being a commercial airline pilot, knew the controllers at Nürnberg airport and arranged permission for us to fly down the runway.
140 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We approach the runway to get a commercial pilot's eye view of a landing approach.
141 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We don't touch down as this would have entailed an expensive landing fee. At the end of the runway both pilots waggle the wings to say thanks.
142 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We fly back towards home.
143 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Jenni is visible on the RH side of the aircraft - having a wonderful time. We got several warnings (beeps) that we were flying in the close proximity of another aircraft.
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I presume they followed a road or railway line to find their way back.
145 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
At one time, Wolfram cut the motor but there was not enough thermal activity and the glider could not maintain its altitude.
146 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Wolfram and Jenni land in front of us.
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We follow them down.
148 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Touchdown for the Scheibe.
149 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
As we approached the airfield, Lukas asked me if there was anything else he could do for me. How nice was that?
150 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
It's time for lunch and we drive to nearby Cadolzburg.
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It's another beautifully maintained or rebuilt medieval village.
152 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The wall of the castle separates it from the rest of the village.
153 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
We briefly tour Cadolzburg castle.
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Cadolzburg was first mentioned in the year 1157. In the mid-13th century it was acquired by the burgraves (Counts) of Nürnberg and later on by the Hohenzollerns (a ruling family of counts), who frequently used it as a seat of government and eventually turned it into a fortress for military action against Nürnberg.
155 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The castle stands on the same sandstone rock as the Kaiserburg castle 20 kms away.
156 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
I'm fascinated by the remains of the drawbridge.
157 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
The courtyard of Cadolzburg - significantly restored.
158 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Looking out where the drawbridge once provided access across the moat.
159 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Wolfram told us that this building was seriously damaged during WWII but not by bombing. It seems that the war was over and US occupation forces were nearby so the Wehrmacht set fire to the building so that it could not be used as a headquarters.
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The castle has since been mostly restored but restoration is still not complete
161 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Restoration work is being carried out by the Bavarian Palace Department which owns the building. This department also owns Neuschwanstein and many others across Germany.
162 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Stopping to read a bit about an historic building.
163 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
Gisela and Wolfram take us to lunch at a restaurant very near the castle. Gisela smiles continuously - she's a delightful, lovely lady. She spoke not a word of English but made us feel welcome and very special. Hers is a truly remarkable talent.
164 Tuesday 13 July, 2010
After lunch, followed by afternoon tea back at Wolfram and Gisela's, we said goodbye and commenced our tour of Claus' Germany.