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| Historic Wismar Centre |
Since The Wall between East and West Germany has fallen,
many of the cities and towns of the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) are
not only freed from Soviet rule but have recovered much of their historic character.
Despite extensive bombing and destruction during WWII, much of the earlier
glory has survived and much has been re-constructed after years of neglect and
progressive decay.
Wismar used to be also one of many Hansa Cities and had its
Golden Era during the 14th century. The city plan and lay out,
developed under ‘Lubischen Gesetz’ (Lubish Law) which specified strict design
requirements for Hanseatic Seaport cities, has survived the destruction of
WWII. Wismar boasts of having the largest market square in Germany – 1 hectare
– and the last surviving medieval canal in North Germany. This canal, The Grube,
originating and passing through various fresh water lakes, provided the city
with drinking water, drove water mills, and served as fire-fighting water
reservoir.
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| Sample of Time Frame Building |
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| Shopping in Wismar |
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| The Grube, the canal, with Happy Pig decorating a bridge |
Its most significant
feature, though, are four huge gothic-brick style cathedrals. All of them were
targeted for bombing during WWII; one of them was blown up intentionally in
1960.
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| Future Parking Lot |
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| Tower and remnant of church of Our Lady |
After the explosion, the tower of the Church of our Lady
remains intact, and reaches 80 meter into the sky in solid brick splendor. It
is immense. The hour indicators on the large tower clock measure five meters
each, no excuse not to know what time it is. The ‘footprint’ of the church is
followed by a newly constructed low brick wall whose intricate corners now
contain sculptures, benches and
fountains in a mix of brick pavement, grassy areas and flower beds.
Unfortunately city council is planning to convert this pleasant city park into
a parking lot – finally real progress!
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| Where church pews used to be.... |
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| Huge Clock Tower and Clock |
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| Headache from holding up heavy columns |
St George cathedral is a massive memorial to the imposing
structures of the late gothic. All is constructed of hand-made brick, its lofty
vault and ribbed ceilings lead the eye up and up. These intricate structures,
which took a couple of centuries to erect, were mostly designed with nothing
more than a compass and a yardstick (and outstanding skill of architect and
builder) and put together brick by brick with simple tools and ingenious
equipment. However, budget cuts happened even in the Middle Ages, and the
church never had a tower.
During communist rule between 1945 and 1990, these priceless
monuments were left to fall literally to pieces. Hurricane force winds in 1990
brought down most of the roof structure, whose masses of falling bricks damaged
a couple of residential buildings where inhabitants were lucky to get away with
minor injuries and a major scare.
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| Gothic Brick window, not holes in wall. These were used to support scaffolding during construction |
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| St George`s Cathedral |
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| Stark Gothic Interior |
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| Perfectly executed brick vaulting |
Wismar, with the generous help of donations and assistance,
specifically from the German Denkmals Schutz (Historic Building Association)
has done an admirable job in re-constructing this unequalled Gothic marvel,
which should return to its former glory after just about 40 Million Euros are
poured into it. It used to be the place of worship for medieval tradesmen and
merchants – they would be proud to see their work honored.
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| Wages in the Middle Ages |
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| `Gerbil Wheel` type lifting device |
St Nicholas Cathedral is the third in the lineup of what
seems like competing churches. This one shines through having the highest main
body, reaching 37 meters. Part of the roof fell victim to a hurricane in 1703,
but was rebuilt in a medley of styles during the following centuries. St
Nicholas Church was the temple for sailors and teamsters.
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| St. Nicholas Church |
That leaves the Church of the Holy Spirit. It also was built
during the 15th century, but instead of a vaulted ceiling, it has a
flat wooden one adorned with paintings of Old Testament scenes. It used to be
part of a hospital and later a home for the aged.
Wismar became rich through beer. Hundreds of breweries
exported their product (safer than water and tasty as well) to most of Europe
and even overseas during the Middle Ages. Trade died off and only one of the
breweries has survived to this day.
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| Old Brewery on left |
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| Door Sign at Old Brewery |
It still makes beer according to the German Reinheitsgebot
(German Purity Law) of 1516 which limits ingredients to natural water, hops,
yeast and grain. It is surprising how many varieties can be dreamed up with
just four ingredients. Mix of grain, roasting of kernels, quantity of hops,
duration and temperature of fermentation, yeasting methods all contribute to an
endless variety of taste, colour, clarity, feel and alcohol content. To become
a skilled master at beer brewing it takes almost as much study as learning to
be a brain surgeon. The law was introduced in 1516 to ensure that charlatans
would not doctor their beer with unsavoury or poisonous ingredients, and only
‘certified organic’ beer was produced, served and exported by licensed brewers.
The Germans take their beer seriously – since 500 years anyway.
It is predicted that the 500th anniversary in
2016 of the famous Purity Law, will turn Wismar into one huge never ending beer
bash for half of Germany and beer fans from the rest of the world. To that one
can only with them: Prost!!
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| Decorative Bricks on church wall |
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| Bronze Statues at historic Well |
