Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/10/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi all, most people tend to drive straight past *Tangerm?nde* over one of the few bridges that cross the Elbe river (on the B188 East-West highway from Berlin to Hannover) without noticing that it's there. http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DMS/Germany/Tangermuende/ The city, as its name infers, is at the point where the river Tanger joins the Elbe, and has been a city since the 12th century and also the seat of a the German emperor Karl IV. The opriginal castle was razed to the ground by the Swedes, but much of the medieval fortifications still survive - almost all of it is brickwork, and hardly any stone. Most of the city now dates from 1671, after a young woman by the name of Grete Minde burned the city down as revenge for her mistreatment - her name has gone down in German literature in a classic novel by Theodor Fontane published in 1879 We always stop there for lunch or a coffee and a break from driving with a walk around the city. This ancient city is in the process of being brought back to its former glory after years of very limited investment under the communist regime of the GDR. As can be seen, some parts are still very much in need of redevelopment, but the work is in full swing throughout most of the city. The Schloss built on the foundations of the old castle is now a 4-star hotel (with very reasonable prices), and some of the towers of the medieval castle now contain hotel rooms - including the prison tower!! Although the pictures were shot on 3 separate visits (one of them very cloudy and dull), their order shows our usual route and our usual stops around the place. Well worth a visit if you are ever in the area. I'll be putting up some of the shots in colour when I get around to it. Hope you enjoy the visit Douglas BTW: the lady in the leather jacket is Frauke, my missus. Some of the shots with rather low contrast were shot with a Tamron zoom I picked up for 15 euros at the flea market in Berlin - it's not one of their best:-)