Kronach

Last weekend we went to a little town near Augsburg called Buttenweisen to attend a wedding of Carolin Jakobs.  Unfortunately we forgot our camera!  The wedding was in the town hall foyer with all the guests standing and the couple and their witnesses seated before the town official.  He gave a rather long speech.  One of the guests fainted in the middle of it causing a small panic and a call to the ambulance.  After the wedding we all went to a biergarten for a sit down dinner and visiting.  We were seated with The bride's half sister and her boyfriend who was wearing a rodeo buckle.  Turns out he is an official of the ERCA, European Rodeo Cowboy association.  It was fun to learn about rodeo combining American (military) influence with German animal protection laws.

Today we had no appointments so we drove to Kronach to visit Festung Rosenberg, the largest intact fortress in Germany.  The original parts date from the 1200's and it was enlarged and fortified at least three different times.  The original fort had a medieval keep.  Later a second wall wall was built by digging a huge moat and using the earth to fill a 15 foot thick wall.  Then in the late 1700's five outer bastions were added.

The main entry gate from the 1700's

View from the outer bastion.  You can see the inner wall behind which is another deep courtyard.  The tower in the center is the old keep.

The keep with a later addition for a stairwell replacing the original ladders.

One part of the space between the inner and outer walls.

This covered bridge is the only exterior access from the outer bastions to the inner wall.   There are tunnels inside the walls.  This bridge was wooden so it could be burned in case of attack but the fort was never taken.

This give a some idea of the monumental size of the walls.

The city center of the town of Kronach still retains its medieval flavor with part of the city wall intact and lots of half timbered buildings along the very narrow streets.

As seen from the fort entrance.  The larger building on the right is the local prison.

One part of the old city wall.

This is the oldest fire house we have ever seen.  It is right in city center.  The rear side has large doors for modern fire engines.

On the left is another part of the wall.  The street narrows here when you enter the older part.

The town is proud of its most famous citizen, Lucas Cranach, one of my favorite artists.  We even have two Cranach prints hanging in our bedroom.  He was part of the transition from stylized church paintings to scenes from contemporary life.  Here are a couple of the works from the museum in the fortress.

This is the crowning with thorns but note the mocking guy in the lower left corner.

Regal elegance.