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“Goles de Fumanya”
MEETING PLACE FOR THE WITCHES OF LLUÇANÈS
River gorges or the summits of mountains were witches’ favorite places for holding their sabbaths, covens or meetings, which in Lluçanés were called “samaniats”. As well as Goles de Fumanya, the witches of Lluçanès also met at the Gorg Negre, Gorg de la Llana, Goles de les Heures or Font del Bou.
SAMANIATS: THE SABBATH OF LLUÇANÈS
Before leaving home, the witches anointed themselves under the armpits with an ointment that had a visionary effect. According to judicial interrogations, at these night-time meetings the witches worshipped the devil and gave themselves over to an orgiastic ritual in which they danced and had carnal relations with the evil one, who was present in the form of a man or a male goat. The Meeting had to end at dawn; otherwise, the witches would lose their powers, but no before they had cast spells and pledged to do evil.
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“Goles de Fumanya”
LUGAR DE ENCUENTRO DE LAS BRUJAS DEL LLUÇANÈS
Las gargantas de los ríos o las cimas de las montañas eran los lugares preferidos de las brujas para hacer los sabbat, aquelarres o encuentros, que en el Lluçanès se llamaban “samaniats”. Además de en las Golas de Fumanya, las brujas del Lluçanès se reunían también en el Gorg Negre, en el Gorg de la Llana, en las Goles de les Heures o en la fuente del Bou.
LOS SAMANIATS: AQUELARRES DEL LLUÇANÈS
Antes de salir de casa las brujas se untaban con un ungüento de efectos visionarios bajo las axilas. Según consta en los interrogatorios judiciales, en esas reuniones nocturnas las brujas hacían adoración del demonio y se entregaban a un ritual orgiástico en el que bailaban y tenían trato carnal con el maligno, que estaba presente en forma de hombre o de cabrón. El encuentro terminaba antes del amanecer, pues si no, las brujas habrían perdido sus poderes; no sin que antes hubiesen practicado algún conjuro y se hubiesen comprometido a hacer el mal.
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"Goles de Fumanya"
LLOC DE TROBADA DE LES BRUIXES DEL LLUÇANÈS
Les goles dels rius o els cims de les muntanyes eren els llocs preferits de les bruixes per fer els sàbat, aquelarres o trobades, que al Lluçanès es deien "samaniats". A més d'en les Goles de Fumanya, les bruixes de Lluçanès es reunien també al Gorg Negre, al Gorg de la Plana, a les Gols de les Heures o a la font de l'Bou.
ELS SAMANIATS: AQUELARRES DEL LLUÇANÈS
Abans de sortir de casa les bruixes s'untaven amb un ungüent d'efectes visionaris sota les aixelles. Segons consta en els interrogatoris judicials, en aquestes reunions nocturnes les bruixes feien adoració del dimoni i es lliuraven a un ritual orgiàstic en què ballaven i tenien tracte carnal amb el maligne, que estava present en forma de home o de cabró. La trobada acabava abans de l'alba, ja que si no, les bruixes haurien perdut els seus poders; no sense que abans haguessin practicat algun conjur i s'haguessin compromès a fer el mal.
Font: "Ruta de Les bruixes del Lluçanès"
FAUNS
In Roman mythology, fauns are place-spirits (genii) of untamed woodland. Romans connected their fauns with the Greek satyrs, wild and orgiastic drunken followers of Bacchus (Greek Dionysus). However, fauns and satyrs were originally quite different creatures. Both have horns and both resemble goats below the waist, humans above; but originally satyrs had human feet, fauns goatlike hooves. The Romans also had a god named Faunus and goddess Fauna, who, like the fauns, were goat-people.
The Barberini Faun (Glyptothek, Munich, Germany) is a Hellenistic marble, c. 200 BC that was found in the Mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian (the Castel Sant'Angelo) and installed at Palazzo Barberini by Cardinal Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII), the patron of Bernini, who heavily restored and refinished it, so that its present 'Hellenistic baroque' aspect may be enhanced.
More on Wikipedia
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This was a part of my Souzou exibit@SaliMar.
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Location: Templum Ex Obscurum
Models: Me and Faina in our faun avatar.
Photomanipulation: Me
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The irony is too rich. Americans are enamored of fireworks in general, however for the 4th of July, it's an orgiastic extravaganza, as communities, both large and small, expend thousands of dollars on smoke, flame and boom. Across the nation between public and private purchases of fireworks, billions must be spent on them. In China, where almost all of the fireworks are produced, they must like the American independence celebration as much as the Muricans do.
then go back to the office & sell every one of the poor bastards down the tube for a nickel apiece :-(
― Hunter S. Thompson, 1972
HBM!!
painted desert national park, arizona
Tomb of the Bacchae 6th century BC - Monterozzi necropolis - Tarquinia
UNESCO World Heritage Site (2004)
Datazione: 510-500 a.C.
Anno di rinvenimento: 1874
Attraverso un breve corridoio a gradini si scende nella piccola camera sepolcrale con tetto a doppio spiovente. Decorazione: fiorellini sugli spioventi del soffitto; rosoni e foglie d’edera sul trave centrale. Nel triandolo frontonale della parete di fondo due gruppi di animali in lotta fronteggiano la mensola di sostegno del trave del soffitto. Sulle pareti è dipinto un grande fregio incorniciato da fasce colorate: in un boschetto si svolge una danza orgiastica collegata forse a culti dionisiaci con personaggi ebbri, che danzano e suonano stringendo nelle mani coppe di vino. Bella coppia dipinta sulla parete di fondo sono da riconoscersi il committente del sepolcro e sua moglie. Il pittore che ha affrescato l’ipogeo fa parte di quella schiera di artisti greco-orientali immigrati a Tarquinia al servizio della ricca committenza locale.
Dated: 510-500 B.C.
Year of discovery: 1874
A short stepped corridor leads to a small burial chamber with a gable roof. Decoration: little flowers on the roof slopes, rosettes and ivy leaves on the central beam. On the pediment of the back wall two groups of fighting animals are facing of the retaining console of the roof beam. A large frieze, framed by colored stripes is painting on the walls: in a thicket and orgiastic dance is taking place, probably related to cults of Dionysus, with inebriated characters who dance and sing holding wine cups in their hands. The couple painted on the back wall is recognizable the commissioner of the tomb and his wife. The painter of hypogeum is one of the Greek-Eastern artists who immigrated to Tarquinia and went into service with rich local patrons
Tomb of the Bacchae 6th century BC - Monterozzi necropolis - Tarquinia
Datazione: 510-500 a.C.
Anno di rinvenimento: 1874
Attraverso un breve corridoio a gradini si scende nella piccola camera sepolcrale con tetto a doppio spiovente. Decorazione: fiorellini sugli spioventi del soffitto; rosoni e foglie d’edera sul trave centrale. Nel triandolo frontonale della parete di fondo due gruppi di animali in lotta fronteggiano la mensola di sostegno del trave del soffitto. Sulle pareti è dipinto un grande fregio incorniciato da fasce colorate: in un boschetto si svolge una danza orgiastica collegata forse a culti dionisiaci con personaggi ebbri, che danzano e suonano stringendo nelle mani coppe di vino. Bella coppia dipinta sulla parete di fondo sono da riconoscersi il committente del sepolcro e sua moglie. Il pittore che ha affrescato l’ipogeo fa parte di quella schiera di artisti greco-orientali immigrati a Tarquinia al servizio della ricca committenza locale.
Dated: 510-500 B.C.
Year of discovery: 1874
A short stepped corridor leads to a small burial chamber with a gable roof. Decoration: little flowers on the roof slopes, rosettes and ivy leaves on the central beam. On the pediment of the back wall two groups of fighting animals are facing of the retaining console of the roof beam. A large frieze, framed by colored stripes is painting on the walls: in a thicket and orgiastic dance is taking place, probably related to cults of Dionysus, with inebriated characters who dance and sing holding wine cups in their hands. The couple painted on the back wall is recognizable the commissioner of the tomb and his wife. The painter of hypogeum is one of the Greek-Eastern artists who immigrated to Tarquinia and went into service with rich local patrons
Le origini del carnevale romano risalgono ai Saturnali, festività religiose dell'antica Roma caratterizzate da divertimenti pubblici, riti orgiastici, sacrifici, balli e dalla presenza di maschere.
A partire dal X secolo si svolsero festeggiamenti carnascialeschi sul monte Testaccio, con l'intento di richiamare l'antica festività romana. Dalla metà del XV secolo i giochi, per volontà di papa Paolo II, si svolsero in via Lata (attuale via del Corso).
Da oltre cento anni il carnevale di Roma non viene più celebrato a parte qualche sporadica comparsa, peccato.
The origins of carnival date back to the Roman Saturnalia, religious holidays of ancient Rome characterized by public amusement, orgiastic rites, sacrifices, dances and the presence of masks.
From the tenth century carnival festivities took place on the Mount Testaccio, with the intent to invoke the ancient Roman feast. From the mid-fifteenth century the games, by Pope Paul II, took place in via Lata (now Via del Corso).
For over one hundred years the carnival of Rome is no longer celebrated with a few sporadic occurrence, sin.
As origens do carnaval datam a Saturnália romana, feriados religiosos da Roma antiga caracterizada por diversão pública, ritos orgiásticos, sacrifícios, danças ea presença de máscaras.
A partir das festividades de carnaval século X teve lugar no Monte Testaccio, com a intenção de invocar a antiga festa romana. A partir de meados do século XV, os jogos, pelo Papa Paulo II, ocorreu em via Lata (hoje Via del Corso).
Por mais de cem anos, o carnaval de Roma não é mais comemorado com uma ocorrência esporádica poucos, pecado.
Los orígenes de carnaval de nuevo a las saturnales romanas, fiestas religiosas de la antigua Roma caracterizan por diversión del público, ritos orgiásticos, los sacrificios, los bailes y la presencia de máscaras.
De las fiestas de carnaval del siglo X se llevó a cabo en el Monte Testaccio, con la intención de invocar la antigua fiesta romana. Desde mediados del siglo XV los juegos, por el Papa Pablo II, se llevaron a cabo en medio de Lata (hoy Via del Corso).
Durante más de cien años, el carnaval de Roma ya no se celebra con unos pocos ocurrencia esporádica, el pecado.
"In my opinion, the trombone is the true head of the family of wind instruments, which I have named the 'epic' one. It possesses nobility and grandeur to the highest degree; it has all the serious and powerful tones of sublime musical poetry, from religious, calm and imposing accents to savage, orgiastic outburst. Directed by the will of the master, the trombones can chant like a choir of priests, threaten, utter gloomy sighs, a mournful lament, or a bright hymn of glory; they can break forth into awe-inspiring cries and awaken the dead or doom the living with their fearful voices."
- Hector Berlioz
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The #MacroMondays #Musicalinstrument theme
As Maestro Berlioz observes, the trombone is among the most versatile of instruments, found in symphony orchestras, brass bands, concert bands, military bands, all sorts of jazz outfits, in horn sections behind world renowned performers, and they are often the lead instrument in reggae.
This is my tenor trombone which I played in various genres, but especially big band jazz. Its tubing, once a gleaming brass lacquer, now bears the wear associated with an instrument which was heavily used. Many professional brass players don't bother with lacquer at all, saying that it affects the tone of the instrument. I wasn't in their league and am happy with an instrument which looks like it's had a life.
The photo captures mainly the mouthpiece, but also part of the slide assembly into which that fits, and the tubing leading to the bell which is in the bokeh. It was taken using a 12mm extension tube, the 'bone precariously balanced on a work surface. Processing included adding texture to tease out the wear apparent on the tubing, a little grain and a vignette.
HMM all
Dharyehl's Commandments by Daniel Arrhakis (2022)
The Order of The Silver Orchid was in the past a Military Order of fearless and courageous warriors who protected the innocent against Tyrant Lords, their symbol a silver orchid that they always wore around their necks.
His mystic faith was governed by Dharyehl's Commandments, the end of usurpers and tyrants their primary mission...
The Dharyehl's Commandments (Updated for our times) are the Silver Orchid General Code of Conduct for their members :
1 - The brotherhood of brothers - Communal Life
In any mission as well as in the life of the order, the brothers will work, study, pray and train or fight in pairs, so that one may study the other more closely, and so that neither austerity nor secret abstinence is introduced into the communal life.
2 - A head held high - Honor, Honesty and Humility
Every brother should endeavor to live honestly and set a good example in everything, so that those who see him will not perceive anything bad in his behavior, nor in his walk, nor in his drink, nor in his food, nor in his appearance, nor in any of his actions and works. And especially should each brother strive to behave humbly and honestly and honor his order.
3 - The Use of the Hood and Cloak - The Cloak of Invisibility
Whenever possible, the brothers should wear a hood and cloak outside the monastery so as not to be easily recognized, and without them whenever circumstances so advise.
This hood can be integrated into more contemporary city clothes, preferably dark or with smaller elements/patterns in the color of the order.
4 - The Use of the Tattoo and the Necklace - Saint Michael the Archangel, and the Silver Orchid
You can use whenever you want tattoos, especially with the symbols or images of the orchid, the sword and the archchangelic seal of Saint Michael. Symbols connected with Nazism, Fascism, racism or any symbology that is associated with discriminatory values are prohibited.
5 - The colors of the Order - Golden, Silver, Red, and Blue.
Saint Michael's icons usually focus on three colors: golden, red, and blue. They are reflected in the order's clothing, tattoos, and symbols.
Silver (grey), black, brown, dark green, white or purple can also be used in special occasions and dates.
6 - Poverty isn't just a concept
None may carry or keep money without permission. When a brother asks any brother…for money to buy something, he should buy it as soon as possible that for which he asks it, and he may not buy anything else without permission. Just as they should not wear clothes, gold, jewelry or cars that denounce luxury.
7 - Do not speak words to the wind - Secrecy is the Soul of the Order
Communications by cell phone or other electronic means between members of the order are not permitted without prior authorization or if they are not authorized on a mission. Institutional communication is carried out by sealed letter, by coded messages or in person and in any case using the approved coded symbols and language.
8 - The sword is my strength
The use and carrying of a firearm is not permitted under any circumstances, but the use of a sword or saber in its various traditional and generational forms is permitted. However, the sword must always be hidden or disguised and under no circumstances must it be used outside of the assigned missions.
9 - Beware brothers in the dark - The candles for prayers.
And if possible, the house where they sleep and take lodging should not be without light at night, so that shadowy enemies may not lead them to wickedness. The use of candles is encouraged especially during prayers and spiritual recollection.
In the monasteries of the order there must always be light during the night as well as activities for those who guard and maintain the monasteries by night; in all monasteries there are always those who are more early risers and those who are more night owls, they are all important.
10 - A healthy body in a healthy soul
Cleanliness of the body, physical exercise, as well as regulated food without excesses and regular sleep favor the health and balance of the soul with the body. Gambling and orgiastic sex are prohibited.
Body cleansing, physical training include combat, prayers and meditation are some of the daily duties of the Guardians of the Silver Orchid.
11 - Oath and Life
The oath to the principles of the order is unbreakable, as well as its dedication, respect and obedience.
Marriage without children (*) is allowed, but only between members of the order, male or female, with no sexual discrimination. Moreover, in the continuity of the latter, any discrimination on the basis of race, gender or creed is prohibited. The order is mystical and tolerant to other religions and creeds that can be professed within the monasteries in spaces organized for this purpose.
12 - An act of treason - Commiseration
If on a mission they are captured, the Order will try by all means to free them, but if they are unable to do so, it is up to the brother and in his own hands his own fate. The mission is sacred and secret and can never be revealed.
As well as the experience and guiding commands of the Order, so if they are revealed they will be considered treason and you will never be able to join the brothers again.
The same applies if they commit serious crimes with great harm to society in general.
13 - The Final Act
The Tyrant Lords and the oppressors of the peoples, do not deserve the pardon, much less the complacency of the just. Their actions must be registered, denounced and judged by all means!
All the brothers who help us fight them will be praised for all eternity at the Memorial of the Immortals.
It will be the order's responsibility and its moral obligation to care until the end of their lives for their brothers who must be treated in health and illness and honored in life and death.
(*) In case this happens, will be proposed to them a life outside the Order with the necessary support.
Text and Image by Daniel Arrhakis (2023)
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning-- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald (from my favourite novel of all time, "The Great Gatsby")
In speaking about ancient or traditional peoples it is important not to confuse healthy and integral civilizations with the great paganisms—for the term is justified here—of the Mediterranean and the Near East, of which Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar have become the classic incarnations and conventional images. What strikes one first in these “petrified” traditions of the Biblical world is a cult of the massive and gigantic, as well as a cosmolatry often accompanied by bloody or orgiastic rites, not forgetting an excessive development of magic and the arts of divination; in civilizations of this kind the supernatural is replaced by the magical, and the here-below is divinized while nothing is offered for the hereafter—at least in the exoterism, which in fact overwhelms everything else; a sort of marmoreal divinization of the human is combined with a passionate
humanization of the divine; potentates are demigods, and the gods preside over all the passions.
A question that might arise here is the following: why did these old religions deviate into paganism and then become extinct, whereas a similar destiny seems to be excluded in the case of the great traditions that are alive today in both the West and the East?
The answer is that traditions having a prehistoric origin are, symbolically speaking, made for “space” and not for “time”; that is, they saw the light in a primordial epoch when time was still but a rhythm in a spatial and static beatitude and when space or simultaneity still predominated over the experience of duration and change; historical traditions on the contrary must take the experience of “time” into account and must foresee instability and decadence, since they were born at periods when time had become like a fast-flowing and ever more devouring river and when the spiritual outlook had to be centered on the end of the world.
The position of Hinduism is intermediate in the sense that it has a capacity, exceptional in a tradition of the primordial type, for rejuvenation and adaptation; it is thus at once prehistoric and historic and realizes in its own way the miracle of a synthesis between the gods of Egypt and the God of Israel.
But to return to the Babylonians: the stonelike character of this type of civilization cannot be explained solely by a tendency to excess; it is also explained by a sense of the immutable, as if one had seen primordial beatitude beginning to vanish and had therefore wished to build a fortress to stand against time, or as if one had sought to transform the whole tradition into a fortress, with the result that the spirit was stifled instead of being protected; seen from this angle the marmoreal and inhuman side of these paganisms looks like a titanic reaction of space against time. In this perspective the implacability of the stars is paradoxically combined with the passion of bodies; the stellar vault is always present, divine and crushing, whereas an overflowing life serves as a terrestrial divinity.
From another point of view, many of the characteristics of the civilizations of antiquity are explained by the fact that in the beginning the celestial Law was of an adamantine hardness while at the same time life still retained something of the celestial; Babylon lived falsely on this sort of recollection, and yet at the very heart of the cruelest paganisms there were mitigations that can be accounted for by changes in the cyclical atmosphere. The celestial Law becomes less demanding as we approach the end of our cycle; Clemency increases as man becomes weaker. Christ’s acquittal of the adulterous woman has this significance—apart from other equally possible meanings—as does the intervention of the angel in the sacrifice of Abraham.
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Frithjof Schuon: Light on The Ancient Worlds
then go back to the office & sell every one of the poor bastards down the tube for a nickel apiece :-)
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
waterlily, sarah p duke gardens, duke university, durham, north carolina
The precious bronze statue, datable to the end of the 4th century BC and attributable to the school of the great artist, Prassitele, is exhibited in the Museum of Sant’Egidio of Mazara del Vallo, a building of considerable architectural interest: a deconsecrated church that was built between the early 1500s and the end of the same century. It houses the precious statue since 2005, when at the end of the restoration, carried out by the Central Institute for Restoration of Rome, the Satyr returns to Mazara del Vallo.
The bronze statue was found in two phases: in the spring of 1997 the left leg came to light and on 4 March 1998 the body lacked the other leg and arms, both recovered from the mazarese fishing boat Capitan Ciccio, commanded by Francesco Adragna. It is assumed that the statue was part of a cargo of a ship wrecked between Sicily and Capo Bon in a period of great diffusion of the antiquarian trade in antiquity.
The Satyr is caught in the moment of the ecstasy of the orgiastic dance, it rotated on the right leg holding the symbols of worship, in the left the kantharos (wine glass) and in the right the thyrsus cane adorned with a ribbon and crowned with a pine cone, he had a panther skin on his shoulder. The abandonment of the head, the flowing hair, the parted lips, the torsion of the bust make one think of the delirium of the whirling dance, added to the excitement of drinking, in which the dancer went into a trance, fixing the pinecone on the thyrsus and rotating around himself to the point of unconsciousness.
The Dancing Satyr is an extraordinary work of art.
It's presence in the city of Mazara, after the restoration works, has enriched the Sicilian cultural heritage. The bronze statue is dated back to the IV century B.C., the Hellenistic period. It represents a dancing Satyr, a mythological figure.
The dynamism of his Dionysian dance characterizes the work. It’s been a typical feature of the Greek sculptures since the IV century. However, the main characteristic of this masterpiece is its magnificent head with flying hair. It’s unnaturally arched by the whirling dance that also upsets the most elementary natural rules. So, it was certainly carved by a master.
The Satyr was recovered on March 1998 by the fishing-boat Capitan Ciccio, belonging to the ship owners Asaro and Scilla and commanded by the captain Francesco Adragna. It was found at a depth of 500 m (1600 ft.) under the level of the sea, between Pantelleria and the African coast.
Though still missing both arms and his right leg, the statue is an incredible find. It's head and torso are in amazingly good condition,despite millennia spent at the bottom of the sea. Now, the Satyr has been restored, but the Central Institute of Art Restoration, in Rome, made use of several specialists’ help to clean the sculpture and fit it with a steel armature to strengthen it.
The statue most probably belonged to a collection of sculptures, Satyrs and Bacchantes. Whirling and orgiastic dances kept them occupied. On July 2003 the Satyr returned to Mazara del Vallo, where it is on permanent display in the Satyr's Museum in the complex of Sant'Egidio. The bronze isn’t only the attestation of the importance of the Mediterranean area during the centuries, but also it helps us live the history of the Sicilian Canal and the relations between Sicilia and North Africa over again. This is possible thanks to a selection of archeological objects recovered in the same sea. The Satyr's Museum houses them. For example, a bronze fragment of elephant’s leg belonging to the Punic-Hellenistic age, a mediaeval bronze cauldron, a selection of freight amphora belonging to archaic, classical, Hellenistic, Punic and mediaeval period are some of the finds situated in the museum.
However, the discovery of the dancing sculpture has been of primary importance in the archeological research progress.
I awoke this morning after our New Year's Eve orgy to find myself sharing my marital bed with five English Lords! From memory, I think they included Lord Arbuthnot, Lord Groombridge, Lord Hannington, Lord Munnings and Lord Rickmansworth - but I'm not absolutely sure! The whole day so far has been the most delightful erotic blurr!
Anyway, I was awakened by my wonderful husband, bringing me and my lovers coffee and a very light breakfast-in-bed. After this restorative interlude, the orgiastic lovemaking kicked off once again - as it was doing all over our ancestral mansion! For a New Year's treat, I allowed my husband to watch the action in our bedroom - as the post-breakfast partnerships changed and evolved, and our guests circulated from one bedroom to another!
Eventually, we all managed to get up for a very late 'naked brunch', for which I slipped into this cute and sexy little dress - which I have worn here on Flickr once before. There is a Big Big Kiss awaiting the first person who can say exactly when!
Later on this afternoon, our New Year Sodality Trials begin in earnest. I will be bringing you the results of these later in the week!!
Lots and Lots of Love and New Year Hugs and Kisses to all my Friends and Fans!! Toodle Pip!
xxxx
Lady Rebecca Lynson
Duchess of Basingstoke
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year!
La multi ani!
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Many Thanks to the +4,860,000 visitors of my photographic stream
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New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
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© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.
Located in the mountains east of Lake Como, Villa De Vecchi, more commonly called "Red House", is a 19th century mansion built by Count Felice De Vecchi in the tiny hamlet of Bindo. For decades now, the historic, once opulent, building has been derelict, abandoned to total degradation.
Legend has it that a ghost lives in the villa and that it plays the piano every night.
Count De Vecchi was the head of the Italian National Guard and a patriotic hero for his role in the Five Days of Milan, an insurrection in 1848 that led to Milan’s liberation from Austrian rule. Enamored of the Valsassina valley near Lake Como, he ordered the construction of the villa between 1854 and 1857 to serve as his summer residence. The villa is located within a 130,000-square-meter park, surrounded by woods; its architecture was inspired by the count’s passion for Eastern culture.
According to one of the many legends associated with the villa, its decay began after the count found his wife and daughter horribly murdered. Not true. The building was abandoned and fell into disrepair after De Vecchi’s death.
In the 1920s, occultist Aleister Crowley spent a few nights at the villa, and it is said that his followers later used the house for satanic and orgiastic rites and that murders and suicides took place there.
Now abandoned, the Red House’s outer walls are covered with vines, while inside, frescoes and tapestries have been damaged by humidity or vandalized.
In 2002, large boulders came falling down the mountain during an avalanche and stopped a few meters short of the villa, thus sparing it. Locals are not sure that was a good thing.
The Dancing Satyr is an extraordinary work of art.
It's presence in the city of Mazara, after the restoration works, has enriched the Sicilian cultural heritage. The bronze statue is dated back to the IV century B.C., the Hellenistic period. It represents a dancing Satyr, a mythological figure.
The dynamism of his Dionysian dance characterizes the work. It’s been a typical feature of the Greek sculptures since the IV century. However, the main characteristic of this masterpiece is its magnificent head with flying hair. It’s unnaturally arched by the whirling dance that also upsets the most elementary natural rules. So, it was certainly carved by a master.
The Satyr was recovered on March 1998 by the fishing-boat Capitan Ciccio, belonging to the ship owners Asaro and Scilla and commanded by the captain Francesco Adragna. It was found at a depth of 500 m (1600 ft.) under the level of the sea, between Pantelleria and the African coast.
Though still missing both arms and his right leg, the statue is an incredible find. It's head and torso are in amazingly good condition,despite millennia spent at the bottom of the sea. Now, the Satyr has been restored, but the Central Institute of Art Restoration, in Rome, made use of several specialists’ help to clean the sculpture and fit it with a steel armature to strengthen it.
The statue most probably belonged to a collection of sculptures, Satyrs and Bacchantes. Whirling and orgiastic dances kept them occupied. On July 2003 the Satyr returned to Mazara del Vallo, where it is on permanent display in the Satyr's Museum in the complex of Sant'Egidio. The bronze isn’t only the attestation of the importance of the Mediterranean area during the centuries, but also it helps us live the history of the Sicilian Canal and the relations between Sicilia and North Africa over again. This is possible thanks to a selection of archeological objects recovered in the same sea. The Satyr's Museum houses them. For example, a bronze fragment of elephant’s leg belonging to the Punic-Hellenistic age, a mediaeval bronze cauldron, a selection of freight amphora belonging to archaic, classical, Hellenistic, Punic and mediaeval period are some of the finds situated in the museum.
However, the discovery of the dancing sculpture has been of primary importance in the archeological research progress.
Orgiastic annual festival, the ancient romans held in honor of the god Saturn.
Saturnalia is the name of a sculpture made in patinated bronze representing the homonymous festival that was practiced in ancient Rome and ending with the realization of orgies and people getting drunk. The work, made in 1900 by the Italian Ernesto Biondi, received contrary criticism because the subject represented therein.
The original sculpture is in the Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, while in Buenos Aires Botanical Garden there is a copy made in 1909.
____________________________________________
Fiesta anual orgiástica, que los antiguos romanos realizaban en honor al dios Saturno.
Saturnalia es el nombre de un grupo escultórico hecho en bronce patinado que representa la festividad homónima que se practicaba en la Roma antigua y finalizaba con la realización de orgías y gente emborrachándose. La obra, realizada en 1900, es del italiano Ernesto Biondi y recibió críticas contrarias debido a la temática que en ella se representaba.
La escultura original se encuentra en la Galería de Arte Moderno de Roma, mientras que en el Jardín Botánico de Buenos Aires se halla una copia realizada en 1909.
The most astonishing symbol of Mazara is housed in the former church of Saint Egidio. It is the statue of the Dancing Satyr recovered by a fishing boat from Mazara del Vallo, in the Sicilian Channel. The leg of the sculpture, entangled in the nets, was recovered first, then, the following year, the crew of the same fishing boat recovered the torso, that during the recovery lost an arm.
The sculpture, beautifully restored, leaves the public amazed for its radiant beauty. I can only imagine how astonished and excited the fishermen of the “Capitan Ciccio” were, when in 1997, they recovered the Satyr from the bottom of the sea, at a depth of 500 meters, where it had lain undiscovered for centuries. The bronze sculpture, by some dated IV century BC and by others the third and second centuries BC represents a Silenus, a mythological being, follower of the orgiastic procession of Dionysus. Its life- size dimensions conveys uneasiness because of the perceived body movement of the frenzied dancing, that never seems to be over. You feel hypnotized by his piercing alabaster eyes and enraptured by his gestures, inviting you to join his whirling dance.
One of their awe inspiring wild Bacchanalian orgiastic midnight celebrations, or just a feast of sarcasm.
ORGIASTIC SCULPTURE.
SCULPTURE FRAGMENT CALLED AFTER THE ORGY (APRÈS LORGIE), 1909 WORK, THE MEXICAN SCULPTOR LUCANO FIDENCIO NAVA, IS LOCATED IN THE LOBBY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ART. MEXICO CITY.
FRAGMENTO DE LA ESCULTURA LLAMADA "DESPUÉS DE LA ORGÍA" ( APRÈS L'ORGIE), OBRA DE 1909, DEL ESCULTOR MEXICANO FIDENCIO LUCANO NAVA, SE ENCUENTRA EN EL VESTÍBULO DEL MUSEO NACIONAL DE ARTE. CIUDAD DE MÉXICO
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2019!
La multi ani 2019!
===============================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
==========================================
Many Thanks to the +8,935,000 visitors of my photographic stream
===========================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Tea bags.
[Just a warning: What follows here is a satirical piece for the Macro Mondays theme April Fools. The attempt at humour is based on the caricature of the insular English as a linguistically arrogant (and ignorant) and xenophobic people.
I'm very aware, though, that humour often doesn't travel well over water. Please be assured the thoughts expressed are not those of the management!]
The British are a nation of tea drinkers.
As you’d also expect from the world’s fifth largest economy we are not afraid to lead the world in embracing the modern. And a prime example is the tea bag.
The main advantage of this life-changing invention is that you can so easily hang them out on the line to dry, ready for the next use. Gone are the days of scraping out tea strainers and spreading the contents on trays to dry in the sun (or, more likely, to be blown away).
Thus we preserve our life line of infusions - the more important in these days of diminishing Empire, when confounded upstart democracies threaten our supply chain!
Tea drying by any method, of course, creates a problem when faced with our climate. Constant drizzle, cold grey fog, damp chill winds, or even deluging downpours are certainly not good for drying the little bags.
But British ingenuity, like so often in history, is not to be underestimated.
We have designed little drying racks to stand the tea bags before the kitchen fires, or even (in lower establishments) the living-room hearths.
The better British households also have wooden frames attached to pulleys which can hoist the desiccating bags up to the room ceilings where the drier and warmer air pools.
I have heard, reliably too, that some of the very modern hovels are obliged to forego fires and instead have a curious thing called central heating that involves warming water in radiators.
I’m surprised it works. I think it’s mainly the lower classes that have them because they can’t afford the servants to make the fires.
But even here British inventiveness knows no bounds - you can get little racks to hang on the radiators to dry your tea bags. I kid you not - I have seen them advertised on Amazon!
So tea remains the drink of choice of the landed classes. I am trying to avoid mentioning the vile craze at the moment amongst the peasantry for that roasted bean thingy from Ethiopia.
I am certain this will never catch on and is just a passing fad - we are far too sensible as a nation.
I mean whatever good came out of South America? Just think of the ghastly tango!! Not to say anything about the slumba, rambo, and sizla or whatever they are: those corrupt orgiastic gyrations promoted as exercise by dodgy gyms. Proof, if any were needed, that exercise was a Bad Thing.
Ahah! The would-be geographer of the family has mentioned that Ethiopia isn’t in South America.
It matters not to the cut and thrust of my argument. My firm riposte was that as there are only two languages in the world, English and Foreign, that it is fair to conclude there are only two countries worthy of mention: Britain and Foreign. That Foreign is spread across several continents is immaterial to the point.
And, in any case, most areas of Foreign (all the good bits anyway) have been successfully invaded by our colonists. So that’s all well and good (as long as they pay their tea tax of course).
Sorry. I shouldn’t let it get me so wound up.
I am meandering off-piste. (Don’t you just love the way the British integrate so well with the world! The way they graciously include words of Foreign in the mother tongue… especially when they don’t really understand them (and, no, I’m not going to ask what off-piste really means in this forum).
This is an image of my tea bags.
I am, I admit, a particularly sophisticated tea drinker, having different types of tea to suit the changing hours of the day.
For Breakfast I have… er… English Breakfast (OK, so perhaps I’m not that sophisticated...), a strong tasty tea with plenty of backbone to get me going in the morning.
At Lunchtime I have a more refined, delicate tea: Earl Grey, a blend of light Indian teas and the rind from the bitter bergamot orange. This acts as a pick me up and keeps me going (mainly to the loo, it has to be said, though that may be a detail too far for this family-friendly group...).
Then at Teatime a bit of refinement with pure Ceylon: a delectable flavoursome tea with a beautiful orange colour. Delicious! (And more going...)
I label the pegs so I know which bag is which and prevent disasterous confusion of the types. The different colours help further in the dim light of dawn...
And if my viewer thought BLT stood for the ingredients of a sandwich, I am afraid you are a little behind the times. The cognoscenti (which I think means the finely perfumed classes) now have Sbam sandwiches (Streaky Bacon, mashed Avocado and Mayonnaise). Even the riff-raff of British society have always loved sbam sandwiches…
Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the image (though if you do it is probably a reasonable cause for concern…). Happy Macro Mondays :)
[Handheld in daylight (not the teabags, obviously). Brutally cropped to the size requirements of the group. I mean you wanted to see more, right? :) ]
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017!
La multi ani 2017!
=============================================
Many Thanks to the +4,860,000 visitors of my photographic stream
===============================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
========================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.
The front side is decorated with a relief depiction of an orgiastic nocturnal ritual (Pannychis) linked to mystery cults of a highly erotic nature. During these nocturnal feasts Dionysus and his cortege abandoned themselves to unbridled revelry, set in a rural sanctuary of Dionysus with herms of Pan.
Dionysus, in a state of drunkenness, is depicted in the center of the scene together with thirteen characters from his procession, Satyrs, Satyresses and Maenads, Fauns in voluptuous poses. The God, bearded and with a crown of ivy and vine leaves on his head, wears a long robe tight at the hips, and a necklace hangs from his neck; he holds a kantharos in one hand and a crown in the other. The god advances with an uncertain step supported by two young Fauns, one completely naked, the other wrapped in a nebris.
A "canephora" with a thyrsus and a basket on her head, a Maenad playing cymbals in front of a boy dressed in a short tunic with a shepherd's crook, and a Faun who illuminates the scene by raising a burning torch complete the group of characters sculpted in the center of the scene.
To the left of the central group there is a small altar and a temple-shaped building. A "taeda", a resinous torch used for wedding ceremonies and sacred rites, is placed near the altar; on its top surface a pine cone is placed. The acroterion placed on the top of the temple in correspondence with the right corner of the tympanum, depicts a Cupid fighting against a Satyr.
A Maenade (Arianne ?) dressed in a thin tunic lies near the temple. Her tympanum on the ground, and she appears exhausted and immersed in a deep sleep. A curtain stretched between two trees, a pine and a plane tree, separates the sleeping woman from the figure of a Satyresse carved near a ithyphallic herm of a bearded Pan. Turning her back to the herm, with her right hand she grasps one of Pan's horns , and with her left squeezes his phallus and start a coitus from behind raising her right leg on a pedestal decorated with festoons.
To the right of the main group a ithyphallic Satyr penetrates from behind a Satyresse, kneeling on a stone in front of a herm of young Pan. With her mouth open, she rests her left hand on the herm, and with the other hand touches the ground where a syrinx and a crook are placed.
A curtain between two trees, similar to the previous one, closes the scene illuminated by a torch held by young Satyr.
Source: G. Fiorelli, “Catalogo del Museo Nazionale di Napoli – Raccolta Pornografica”
Marble sarcophagus
Height 49 cm.; Length 235 cm.
Mid 2nd century AD - Antonine period
Farnese Collection, pesently displayed in the Secret Cabinet room
Naples, National Archaeological Museum – Inv. no. 27710.
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017!
La multi ani 2017!
=============================================
Many Thanks to the +4,830,000 visitors of my photographic stream
===============================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
========================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2018!
La multi ani 2018!
=============================================
Many Thanks to the +6,620,000 visitors of my photographic stream
===============================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the country-side.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
========================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017!
La multi ani 2017!
=============================================
Many Thanks to the +4,860,000 visitors of my photographic stream
===============================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
========================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2019!
La multi ani 2019!
===============================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
==========================================
Many Thanks to the +8,940,000 visitors of my photographic stream
===========================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Season's Greetings to All My Flickr Friends!
========================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
===================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments!
Season's Greetings to All My Flickr Friends!
========================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
===================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments!
The libretto of Tannhäuser combines mythological elements characteristic of German Romantische Oper (Romantic opera) and the medieval setting typical of many French Grand Operas. Wagner brings these two together by constructing a plot involving the 14th-century Minnesingers and the myth of Venus and her subterranean realm of Venusberg. Both the historical and the mythological are united in Tannhäuser's personality; although he is a historical poet composer, little is known about him other than myths that surround him.
Wagner wove a variety of sources into the opera narrative. According to his autobiography, he was inspired by finding the story in "a Volksbuch (popular book) about the Venusberg", which he claimed "fell into his hands", although he admits knowing of the story from the Phantasus of Ludwig Tieck and E. T. A. Hoffmann's story, Der Kampf der Sänger (The Singers' Contest). Tieck's tale, which names the hero "Tannenhäuser", tells of the minnesinger-knight's amorous adventures in the Venusberg, his travels to Rome as a Pilgrim, and his repudiation by the pope. To this Wagner added material from Hoffmann's story, from Serapions-Brüder (1819), describing a song contest at the Wartburg castle,[1] a castle which featured prominently in Thuringian history. Heinrich Heine had provided Wagner with the inspiration for Der fliegende Holländer and Wagner again drew on Heine for Tannhäuser. In Heine's sardonic essay Elementargeister (Elemental spirits), there appears a poem about Tannhäuser and the lure of the grotto of Venus, published in 1837 in the third volume of Der Salon.[1] Other possible sources include Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's play Der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg and Eichendorff's Das Marmorbild (The Marble Statue, 1819).[1][2]
The legend of Tannhäuser, the amorous crusading Franconian knight, and that of the song contest on the Wartburg (which did not involve Tannhäuser, but the semi-mythical minnesinger Heinrich von Ofterdingen), came from quite separate traditions. Ludwig Bechstein wove together the two legends in the first volume of his collection of Thuringian legends, Der Sagenschatz und die Sagenkreise des Thüringerlandes (A treasury of the tales of Thuringian legends and legend cycles, 1835), which was probably the Volksbuch to which Wagner refers to in his autobiography.[3][1] Wagner also knew of the work of another contemporary, Christian Theodor Ludwig Lucas, whose Über den Krieg von Wartburg of 1838 also conflated the two legends.[4][5] This confusion (which explains why Tannhäuser is referred to as 'Heinrich' in the opera) does not fit with the historical timeline of the events in the opera, since the Singers' Contest involving von Ofterdingen is said to have taken place around 1207, while Tannhäuser's poetry appeared much later (1245–1265). The sources used by Wagner therefore reflected a nineteenth century romantic view of the medieval period, with concerns about artistic freedom and the constraints of organised religion typical of the period of Romanticism.[6]
During Wagner's first stay in Paris (1839–1842) he read a paper by Ludwig Lucas on the Sängerkrieg which sparked his imagination, and encouraged him to return to Germany, which he reached on 7 April 1842.[7] Having crossed the Rhine, the Wagners drove towards Thuringia, and saw the early rays of sun striking the Wartburg; Wagner immediately began to sketch the scenery that would become the stage sets.[8] Wagner wrote the prose draft of Tannhäuser between June and July 1842 and the libretto in April 1843.[9]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannhäuser_(opera)
Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, pronounced [ˈʃlɔs nɔʏˈʃvaːnʃtaɪn], Southern Bavarian: Schloss Neischwanstoa) is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and in honour of Richard Wagner. Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds.
The castle was intended as a home for the King, until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his death.[1] Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.[2] More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer.[3]
Contents
1Location
2History
2.1Inspiration and design
2.2Construction
2.3Funding
2.4Simplified completion
2.5World War II
3Architecture
3.1Exterior
3.2Interior
4Tourism
5In culture, art, and science
5.1World Heritage candidature
6Panoramas
7Notes
8Citations
9General sources
10External links
Location[edit]
A northward view of Neuschwanstein Castle from Mount Säuling (2,047 m or 6,716 ft) on the border between Bavaria and Tyrol: Schwangau between large Forggensee reservoir (1952) and Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein palaces
The municipality of Schwangau lies at an elevation of 800 m (2,620 ft) at the southwest border of the German state of Bavaria. Its surroundings are characterised by the transition between the Alpine foothills in the south (toward the nearby Austrian border) and a hilly landscape in the north that appears flat by comparison.
In the Middle Ages, three castles overlooked the villages. One was called Schwanstein Castle.[nb 1] In 1832, Ludwig's father King Maximilian II of Bavaria bought its ruins to replace them with the comfortable neo-Gothic palace known as Hohenschwangau Castle. Finished in 1837, the palace became his family's summer residence, and his elder son Ludwig (born 1845) spent a large part of his childhood here.[4]
Vorderhohenschwangau Castle and Hinterhohenschwangau Castle[nb 2] sat on a rugged hill overlooking Schwanstein Castle, two nearby lakes (Alpsee and Schwansee), and the village. Separated by only a moat, they jointly consisted of a hall, a keep, and a fortified tower house.[5] In the nineteenth century only ruins remained of the twin medieval castles, but those of Hinterhohenschwangau served as a lookout place known as Sylphenturm.[6]
The ruins above the family palace were known to the crown prince from his excursions. He first sketched one of them in his diary in 1859.[7] When the young king came to power in 1864, the construction of a new palace in place of the two ruined castles became the first in his series of palace building projects.[8] Ludwig called the new palace New Hohenschwangau Castle; only after his death was it renamed Neuschwanstein.[9] The confusing result is that Hohenschwangau and Schwanstein have effectively swapped names: Hohenschwangau Castle replaced the ruins of Schwanstein Castle, and Neuschwanstein Castle replaced the ruins of the two Hohenschwangau Castles.
History[edit]
Inspiration and design[edit]
Neuschwanstein embodies both the contemporaneous architectural fashion known as castle romanticism (German: Burgenromantik), and King Ludwig II's enthusiasm for the operas of Richard Wagner.
In the 19th century, many castles were constructed or reconstructed, often with significant changes to make them more picturesque. Palace-building projects similar to Neuschwanstein had been undertaken earlier in several of the German states and included Hohenschwangau Castle, Lichtenstein Castle, Hohenzollern Castle, and numerous buildings on the River Rhine such as Stolzenfels Castle.[10] The inspiration for the construction of Neuschwanstein came from two journeys in 1867—one in May to the reconstructed Wartburg near Eisenach,[11] another in July to the Château de Pierrefonds, which Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was transforming from a ruined castle into a historistic palace.[12][nb 3]
Neuschwanstein project drawing (Christian Jank 1869)
The King saw both buildings as representatives of a romantic interpretation of the Middle Ages, as well as the musical mythology of his friend Wagner, whose operas Tannhäuser and Lohengrin had made a lasting impression on him.[13]
In February 1868, Ludwig's grandfather King Ludwig I died, freeing the considerable sums that were previously spent on the abdicated King's appanage.[8][nb 4] This allowed Ludwig II to start the architectural project of building a private refuge in the familiar landscape far from the capital Munich, so that he could live out his idea of the Middle Ages.
It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin of Hohenschwangau near the Pöllat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles, and I must confess to you that I am looking forward very much to living there one day [...]; you know the revered guest I would like to accommodate there; the location is one of the most beautiful to be found, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world. It will also remind you of "Tannhäuser" (Singers' Hall with a view of the castle in the background), "Lohengrin'" (castle courtyard, open corridor, path to the chapel) ...
— Ludwig II, Letter to Richard Wagner, May 1868[14]
The building design was drafted by the stage designer Christian Jank and realised by the architect Eduard Riedel.[15] For technical reasons, the ruined castles could not be integrated into the plan. Initial ideas for the palace drew stylistically on Nuremberg Castle and envisaged a simple building in place of the old Vorderhohenschwangau Castle, but they were rejected and replaced by increasingly extensive drafts, culminating in a bigger palace modelled on the Wartburg.[16] The king insisted on a detailed plan and on personal approval of each and every draft.[17] Ludwig's control went so far that the palace has been regarded as his own creation, rather than that of the architects involved.[18]
Whereas contemporary architecture critics derided Neuschwanstein, one of the last big palace building projects of the nineteenth century, as kitsch, Neuschwanstein and Ludwig II's other buildings are now counted among the major works of European historicism.[19][20] For financial reasons, a project similar to Neuschwanstein – Falkenstein Castle – never left the planning stages.[21]
The palace can be regarded as typical for nineteenth-century architecture. The shapes of Romanesque (simple geometric figures such as cuboids and semicircular arches), Gothic (upward-pointing lines, slim towers, delicate embellishments) and Byzantine architecture and art (the Throne Hall décor) were mingled in an eclectic fashion and supplemented with 19th-century technical achievements. The Patrona Bavariae and Saint George on the court face of the Palas (main building) are depicted in the local Lüftlmalerei style, a fresco technique typical for Allgäu farmers' houses, while the unimplemented drafts for the Knights' House gallery foreshadow elements of Art Nouveau.[22] Characteristic of Neuschwanstein's design are theatre themes: Christian Jank drew on coulisse drafts from his time as a scenic painter.[23]
The basic style was originally planned to be neo-Gothic but the palace was primarily built in Romanesque style in the end. The operatic themes moved gradually from Tannhäuser and Lohengrin to Parsifal.[24]
Construction[edit]
Neuschwanstein under construction: Bower still missing, Rectangular Tower under construction (photograph c. 1882–85)
Neuschwanstein under construction: upper courtyard (photograph c. 1886)
In 1868, the ruins of the medieval twin castles were completely demolished; the remains of the old keep were blown up.[25] The foundation stone for the palace was laid on 5 September 1869; in 1872 its cellar was completed and in 1876, everything up to the first floor, the gatehouse being finished first. At the end of 1882 it was completed and fully furnished, allowing Ludwig to take provisional lodgings there and observe the ongoing construction work.[24] In 1874, management of the civil works passed from Eduard Riedel to Georg von Dollmann.[26] The topping out ceremony for the Palas was in 1880, and in 1884, the King was able to move in to the new building. In the same year, the direction of the project passed to Julius Hofmann, after Dollmann had fallen from the King's favour.
The palace was erected as a conventional brick construction and later encased in various types of rock. The white limestone used for the fronts came from a nearby quarry.[27]
The sandstone bricks for the portals and bay windows came from Schlaitdorf in Württemberg. Marble from Untersberg near Salzburg was used for the windows, the arch ribs, the columns and the capitals. The Throne Hall was a later addition to the plans and required a steel framework.
The transport of building materials was facilitated by scaffolding and a steam crane that lifted the material to the construction site. Another crane was used at the construction site. The recently founded Dampfkessel-Revisionsverein (Steam Boiler Inspection Association) regularly inspected both boilers.
For about two decades the construction site was the principal employer in the region.[28] In 1880, about 200 craftsmen were occupied at the site,[29] not counting suppliers and other persons indirectly involved in the construction. At times when the King insisted on particularly close deadlines and urgent changes, reportedly up to 300 workers per day were active, sometimes working at night by the light of oil lamps. Statistics from the years 1879/1880 support an immense amount of building materials: 465 tonnes (513 short tons) of Salzburg marble, 1,550 t (1,710 short tons) of sandstone, 400,000 bricks and 2,050 cubic metres (2,680 cu yd) of wood for the scaffolding.
In 1870, a society was founded for insuring the workers, for a low monthly fee, augmented by the King. The heirs of construction casualties (30 cases are mentioned in the statistics) received a small pension.
In 1884, the King was able to move into the (still unfinished) Palas,[30] and in 1885, he invited his mother Marie to Neuschwanstein on the occasion of her 60th birthday.[nb 5] By 1886, the external structure of the Palas (hall) was mostly finished.[30] In the same year, Ludwig had the first, wooden Marienbrücke over the Pöllat Gorge replaced by a steel construction.
Despite its size, Neuschwanstein did not have space for the royal court, but contained only the King's private lodging and servants' rooms. The court buildings served decorative, rather than residential purposes:[9] The palace was intended to serve King Ludwig II as a kind of inhabitable theatrical setting.[30] As a temple of friendship it was also dedicated to the life and work of Richard Wagner, who died in 1883 before he had set foot in the building.[31] In the end, Ludwig II lived in the palace for a total of only 172 days.[32]
Funding[edit]
Neuschwanstein in 1886
The King's wishes and demands expanded during the construction of Neuschwanstein, and so did the expenses. Drafts and estimated costs were revised repeatedly.[33] Initially a modest study was planned instead of the great throne hall, and projected guest rooms were struck from the drafts to make place for a Moorish Hall, which could not be realised due to lack of resources. Completion was originally projected for 1872, but deferred repeatedly.[33]
Neuschwanstein, the symbolic medieval knight's castle, was not King Ludwig II's only huge construction project. It was followed by the rococo style Lustschloss of Linderhof Palace and the baroque palace of Herrenchiemsee, a monument to the era of absolutism.[8] Linderhof, the smallest of the projects, was finished in 1886, and the other two remain incomplete. All three projects together drained his resources. The King paid for his construction projects by private means and from his civil list income. Contrary to frequent claims, the Bavarian treasury was not directly burdened by his buildings.[30][34] From 1871, Ludwig had an additional secret income in return for a political favour given to Otto von Bismarck.[nb 6]
The construction costs of Neuschwanstein in the King's lifetime amounted to 6.2 million marks (equivalent to 40 million 2009 €),[35] almost twice the initial cost estimate of 3.2 million marks.[34] As his private means were insufficient for his increasingly escalating construction projects, the King continuously opened new lines of credit.[36] In 1876, a court counselor was replaced after pointing out the danger of insolvency.[37] By 1883 he already owed 7 million marks,[38] and in spring 1884 and August 1885 debt conversions of 7.5 million marks and 6.5 million marks, respectively, became necessary.[36]
Even after his debts had reached 14 million marks, King Ludwig II insisted on continuation of his architectural projects; he threatened suicide if his creditors seized his palaces.[37] In early 1886, Ludwig asked his cabinet for a credit of 6 million marks, which was denied. In April, he followed Bismarck's advice to apply for the money to his parliament. In June the Bavarian government decided to depose the King, who was living at Neuschwanstein at the time. On 9 June he was incapacitated, and on 10 June he had the deposition commission arrested in the gatehouse.[39] In expectation of the commission, he alerted the gendarmerie and fire brigades of surrounding places for his protection.[36] A second commission headed by Bernhard von Gudden arrived on the next day, and the King was forced to leave the palace that night. Ludwig was put under the supervision of von Gudden. On 13 June, both died under mysterious circumstances in the shallow shore water of Lake Starnberg near Berg Castle.
Simplified completion[edit]
Neuschwanstein front façade and surroundings (photochrom print, c. 1900)
A 1901 postcard of Berg Castle
At the time of King Ludwig's death the palace was far from complete. He slept only 11 nights in the castle. The external structures of the Gatehouse and the Palas were mostly finished but the Rectangular Tower was still scaffolded. Work on the Bower had not started, but was completed in a simplified form by 1892 without the planned figures of the female saints. The Knights' House was also simplified. In King Ludwig's plans the columns in the Knights' House gallery were held as tree trunks and the capitals as the corresponding crowns. Only the foundations existed for the core piece of the palace complex: a keep of 90 metres (300 ft) height planned in the upper courtyard, resting on a three-nave chapel. This was not realised,[17] and a connection wing between the Gatehouse and the Bower saw the same fate.[40] Plans for a castle garden with terraces and a fountain west of the Palas were also abandoned after the King's death.
The interior of the royal living space in the palace was mostly completed in 1886; the lobbies and corridors were painted in a simpler style by 1888.[41] The Moorish Hall desired by the King (and planned below the Throne Hall) was not realised any more than the so-called Knights' Bath, which, modelled after the Knights' Bath in the Wartburg, was intended to render homage to the knights' cult as a medieval baptism bath. A Bride Chamber in the Bower (after a location in Lohengrin),[23] guest rooms in the first and second floor of the Palas and a great banquet hall were further abandoned projects.[33] In fact, a complete development of Neuschwanstein had never even been planned, and at the time of the King's death there was not a utilisation concept for numerous rooms.[29]
Neuschwanstein was still incomplete when Ludwig II died in 1886. The King never intended to make the palace accessible to the public.[30] No more than six weeks after the King's death, however, the Prince-Regent Luitpold ordered the palace opened to paying visitors. The administrators of King Ludwig's estate managed to balance the construction debts by 1899.[42] From then until World War I, Neuschwanstein was a stable and lucrative source of revenue for the House of Wittelsbach, indeed King Ludwig's castles were probably the single largest income source earned by the Bavarian royal family in the last years prior to 1914. To guarantee a smooth course of visits, some rooms and the court buildings were finished first. Initially the visitors were allowed to move freely in the palace, causing the furniture to wear quickly.
When Bavaria became a republic in 1918, the government socialised the civil list. The resulting dispute with the House of Wittelsbach led to a split in 1923: King Ludwig's palaces including Neuschwanstein fell to the state and are now managed by the Bavarian Palace Department, a division of the Bavarian finance ministry. Nearby Hohenschwangau Castle fell to the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, whose revenues go to the House of Wittelsbach.[43] The visitor numbers continued to rise, reaching 200,000 in 1939.[43]
World War II[edit]
Due to its secluded location, the palace survived the destruction of two World Wars. Until 1944, it served as a depot for Nazi plunder that was taken from France by the Reichsleiter Rosenberg Institute for the Occupied Territories (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg für die besetzten Gebiete), a suborganisation of the Nazi Party.[44] The castle was used to catalogue the works of arts. (After World War II 39 photo albums were found in the palace documenting the scale of the art seizures. The albums are now stored in the United States National Archives.[45])
In April 1945, the SS considered blowing up the palace to prevent the building itself and the artwork it contained from falling to the enemy.[46] The plan was not realised by the SS-Gruppenführer who had been assigned the task, however, and at the end of the war the palace was surrendered undamaged to representatives of the Allied forces.[46] Thereafter the Bavarian archives used some of the rooms as a provisional store for salvaged archivalia, as the premises in Munich had been bombed.[47]
Architecture[edit]
The effect of the Neuschwanstein ensemble is highly stylistic, both externally and internally. The king's influence is apparent throughout, and he took a keen personal interest in the design and decoration. An example can be seen in his comments, or commands, regarding a mural depicting Lohengrin in the Palas; "His Majesty wishes that ... the ship be placed further from the shore, that Lohengrin's neck be less tilted, that the chain from the ship to the swan be of gold and not of roses, and finally that the style of the castle shall be kept medieval."[48]
The suite of rooms within the Palas contains the Throne Room, King Ludwig's suite, the Singers' Hall, and the Grotto. The interior and especially the throne room Byzantine-Arab construction resumes to the chapels and churches of the royal Sicilian Norman-Swabian period in Palermo related to the Kings of Germany House of Hohenstaufen. Throughout, the design pays homage to the German legends of Lohengrin, the Swan Knight. Hohenschwangau, where King Ludwig spent much of his youth, had decorations of these sagas. These themes were taken up in the operas of Richard Wagner. Many rooms bear a border depicting the various operas written by Wagner, including a theatre permanently featuring the set of one such play. Many of the interior rooms remain undecorated, with only 14 rooms finished before Ludwig's death. With the palace under construction at the King's death, one of the major features of the palace remained unbuilt. A massive keep, which would have formed the highest point and central focus of the ensemble, was planned for the middle of the upper courtyard but was never built, at the decision of the King's family. The foundation for the keep is visible in the upper courtyard.[49]
Neuschwanstein Castle consists of several individual structures which were erected over a length of 150 metres on the top of a cliff ridge. The elongate building is furnished with numerous towers, ornamental turrets, gables, balconies, pinnacles and sculptures. Following Romanesque style, most window openings are fashioned as bi- and triforia. Before the backdrop of the Tegelberg and the Pöllat Gorge in the south and the Alpine foothills with their lakes in the north, the ensemble of individual buildings provides varying picturesque views of the palace from all directions. It was designed as the romantic ideal of a knight's castle. Unlike "real" castles, whose building stock is in most cases the result of centuries of building activity, Neuschwanstein was planned from the inception as an intentionally asymmetric building, and erected in consecutive stages.[33] Typical attributes of a castle were included, but real fortifications – the most important feature of a medieval aristocratic estate – were dispensed with.
Exterior[edit]
Palace roof
Overview of palace complex; position of the planned chapel marked in yellow
View from location of unrealised chapel along upper courtyard level: Bower (left), palace front, and Knights' House (right)
The palace complex is entered through the symmetrical Gatehouse flanked by two stair towers. The eastward-pointing gate building is the only structure of the palace whose wall area is fashioned in high-contrast colours; the exterior walls are cased with red bricks, the court fronts with yellow limestone. The roof cornice is surrounded by pinnacles. The upper floor of the Gatehouse is surmounted by a crow-stepped gable and held King Ludwig II's first lodging at Neuschwanstein, from which he occasionally observed the building work before the hall was completed. The ground floors of the Gatehouse were intended to accommodate the stables.
The passage through the Gatehouse, crowned with the royal Bavarian coat of arms, leads directly into the courtyard. The courtyard has two levels, the lower one being defined to the east by the Gatehouse and to the north by the foundations of the so-called Rectangular Tower and by the gallery building. The southern end of the courtyard is open, imparting a view of the surrounding mountain scenery. At its western end, the courtyard is delimited by a bricked embankment, whose polygonally protracting bulge marks the choir of the originally projected chapel; this three-nave church, never built, was intended to form the base of a 90-metre (295-ft) keep, the planned centrepiece of the architectural ensemble. A flight of steps at the side gives access to the upper level.
Saint George
Gatehouse
Today, the foundation plan of the chapel-keep is marked out in the upper-courtyard pavement. The most striking structure of the upper court level is the so-called Rectangular Tower (45 metres or 148 feet). Like most of the court buildings, it mostly serves a decorative purpose as part of the ensemble. Its viewing platform provides a vast view over the Alpine foothills to the north. The northern end of the upper courtyard is defined by the so-called Knights' House. The three-storey building is connected to the Rectangular Tower and the Gatehouse by means of a continuous gallery fashioned with a blind arcade. From the point of view of castle romanticism the Knights' House was the abode of a stronghold's menfolk; at Neuschwanstein, estate and service rooms were envisioned here. The Bower, which complements the Knights' House as the "ladies' house" but was never used as such, defines the south side of the courtyard. Both structures together form the motif of the Antwerp Castle featuring in the first act of Lohengrin. Embedded in the pavement is the floor plan of the planned palace chapel.
The western end of the courtyard is delimited by the Palas (hall). It constitutes the real main and residential building of the castle and contains the King's stateroom and the servants' rooms. The Palas is a colossal five-story structure in the shape of two huge cuboids that are connected in a flat angle and covered by two adjacent high gable roofs. The building's shape follows the course of the ridge. In its angles there are two stair towers, the northern one surmounting the palace roof by several storeys with its height of 65 metres (213 ft). With their polymorphic roofs, both towers are reminiscent of the Château de Pierrefonds. The western Palas front supports a two-storey balcony with view on the Alpsee, while northwards a low chair tower and the conservatory protract from the main structure. The entire Palas is spangled with numerous decorative chimneys and ornamental turrets, the court front with colourful frescos. The court-side gable is crowned with a copper lion, the western (outward) gable with the likeness of a knight.
Interior[edit]
Floor plan of third floor, position of fourth-floor Hall of the Singers marked in red
Corridor
Throne Hall detail
Had it been completed, the palace would have had more than 200 interior rooms, including premises for guests and servants, as well as for service and logistics. Ultimately, no more than about 15 rooms and halls were finished.[50] In its lower stories the Palas accommodates administrative and servants' rooms and the rooms of today's palace administration. The King's staterooms are situated in the upper stories: The anterior structure accommodates the lodgings in the third floor, above them the Hall of the Singers. The upper floors of the west-facing posterior structure are filled almost completely by the Throne Hall. The total floor space of all floors amounts to nearly 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft).[50]
Neuschwanstein houses numerous significant interior rooms of German historicism. The palace was fitted with several of the latest technical innovations of the late 19th century.[22][51] Among other things it had a battery-powered bell system for the servants and telephone lines. The kitchen equipment included a Rumford oven that turned the skewer with its heat and so automatically adjusted the turning speed. The hot air was used for a calorifère central heating system.[52] Further novelties for the era were running warm water and toilets with automatic flushing.
The largest room of the palace by area is the Hall of the Singers, followed by the Throne Hall. The 27-by-10-metre (89 by 33 ft)[53] Hall of the Singers is located in the eastern, court-side wing of the Palas, in the fourth floor above the King's lodgings. It is designed as an amalgamation of two rooms of the Wartburg: The Hall of the Singers and the Ballroom. It was one of the King's favourite projects for his palace.[54] The rectangular room was decorated with themes from Lohengrin and Parzival. Its longer side is terminated by a gallery that is crowned by a tribune, modelled after the Wartburg. The eastern narrow side is terminated by a stage that is structured by arcades and known as the Sängerlaube. The Hall of the Singers was never designed for court festivities of the reclusive King.[citation needed] Rather, like the Throne Hall it served as a walkable monument in which the culture of knights and courtly love of the Middle Ages was represented. The first performance in this hall took place in 1933: A concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of Richard Wagner's death.[34]
The Throne Hall, 20 by 12 metres (66 by 39 ft),[55] is situated in the west wing of the Palas. With its height of 13 metres (43 ft)[55] it occupies the third and fourth floors. Julius Hofmann modelled it after the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche in the Munich Residenz. On three sides it is surrounded by colorful arcades, ending in an apse that was intended to hold King Ludwig's throne – which was never completed. The throne dais is surrounded by paintings of Jesus, the Twelve Apostles and six canonised kings. The mural paintings were created by Wilhelm Hauschild. The floor mosaic was completed after the king's death. The chandelier is fashioned after a Byzantine crown. The Throne Hall makes a sacral impression. Following the king's wish, it amalgamated the Grail Hall from Parzival with a symbol of the divine right of kings,[19] an incorporation of unrestricted sovereign power, which King Ludwig as the head of a constitutional monarchy no longer held. The union of the sacral and regal is emphasised by the portraits in the apse of six canonised Kings: Saint Louis of France, Saint Stephen of Hungary, Saint Edward the Confessor of England, Saint Wenceslaus of Bohemia, Saint Olaf of Norway and Saint Henry, Holy Roman Emperor.
Palace rooms (late 19th century Photochrom prints)
Hall of the Singers
Throne Hall
Drawing room
Study room
Dining room
Bedroom
Apart from the large ceremonial rooms several smaller rooms were created for use by King Ludwig II.[41] The royal lodging is on the third floor of the palace in the east wing of the Palas. It consists of eight rooms with living space and several smaller rooms. In spite of the gaudy décor, the living space with its moderate room size and its sofas and suites makes a relatively modern impression on today's visitors. King Ludwig II did not attach importance to representative requirements of former times, in which the life of a monarch was mostly public. The interior decoration with mural paintings, tapestry, furniture and other handicraft generally refers to the King's favourite themes: the grail legend, the works of Wolfram von Eschenbach, and their interpretation by Richard Wagner.
Grotto
The eastward drawing room is adorned with themes from the Lohengrin legend. The furniture – sofa, table, armchairs and seats in a northward alcove – is comfortable and homelike. Next to the drawing room is a little artificial grotto that forms the passage to the study. The unusual room, originally equipped with an artificial waterfall and a so-called rainbow machine, is connected to a little conservatory. Depicting the Hörselberg grotto, it relates to Wagner's Tannhäuser, as does the décor of the adjacent study. In the park of Linderhof Palace the King had installed a similar grotto of greater dimensions. Opposite the study follows the dining room, adorned with themes of courtly love. Since the kitchen in Neuschwanstein is situated three stories below the dining room, it was impossible to install a wishing table (dining table disappearing by means of a mechanism) as at Linderhof Palace and Herrenchiemsee. Instead, the dining room was connected with the kitchen by means of a service lift.
Kitchen
The bedroom adjacent to the dining room and the subsequent house chapel are the only rooms of the palace that remain in neo-Gothic style. The King's bedroom is dominated by a huge bed adorned with carvings. Fourteen carvers worked more than four years on the bed canopy with its numerous pinnacles and on the oaken panellings.[56] It was in this room that Ludwig was arrested in the night from 11 to 12 June 1886. The adjacent little house chapel is consecrated to Saint Louis, after whom the owner was named.
The servants' rooms in the basement of the Palas are quite scantily equipped with massive oak furniture. Besides one table and one cabinet there are two beds of 1.80 metres (5 ft 11 in) length each. Opaque glass windows separated the rooms from the corridor that connects the exterior stairs with the main stairs, so that the King could enter and leave unseen. The servants were not allowed to use the main stairs, but were restricted to the much narrower and steeper servants' stairs.
Tourism[edit]
Neuschwanstein welcomes almost 1.5 million visitors per year making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.[3][57] For security reasons the palace can only be visited during a 35-minute guided tour, and no photography is allowed inside the castle. There are also special guided tours that focus on specific topics. In the peak season from June until August, Neuschwanstein has as many as 6,000 visitors per day, and guests without advance reservation may have to wait several hours. Those without tickets may still walk the long driveway from the base to the top of the mountain and visit the grounds and courtyard without a ticket, but will not be admitted to the interior of the castle. Ticket sales are processed exclusively via the ticket centre in Hohenschwangau.[58] As of 2008, the total number of visitors was more than 60 million.[2] In 2004, the revenues were booked as €6.5 million.[1]
In culture, art, and science[edit]
Neuschwanstein is a global symbol of the era of Romanticism. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies such as Helmut Käutner's Ludwig II (1955) and Luchino Visconti's Ludwig (1972), both biopics about the King; the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and the war drama The Great Escape (1963). It served as the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, Cameran Palace in Lucario and The Mystery of Mew, and later similar structures.[59][60] It is also visited by the character Grace Nakimura alongside Herrenchiemsee in the game The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery (1996).
In 1977, Neuschwanstein Castle became the motif of a West German definitive stamp, and it appeared on a €2 commemorative coin for the German Bundesländer series in 2012. In 2007, it was a finalist in the widely publicised on-line selection of the New Seven Wonders of the World.[61]
A meteorite that reached Earth spectacularly on 6 April 2002, at the Austrian border near Hohenschwangau was named Neuschwanstein after the palace. Three fragments were found: Neuschwanstein I (1.75 kg (3.9 lb), found July 2002) and Neuschwanstein II (1.63 kg (3.6 lb), found May 2003) on the German side, and Neuschwanstein III (2.84 kg (6.3 lb), found June 2003) on the Austrian side near Reutte.[62] The meteorite is classified as an enstatite chondrite with unusually large proportions of pure iron (29%), enstatite and the extremely rare mineral sinoite (Si2N2O).[63]
World Heritage candidature[edit]
Since 2015, Neuschwanstein and Ludwig's Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee palaces are on the German tentative list for a future designation as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A joint candidature with other representative palaces of the romantic historicism is discussed (including Schwerin Palace, for example).[64]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle
Synopsis[edit]
Background[edit]
In Eisenach, Germany, in the early 13th century, the landgraves of the Thuringian Valley ruled the area of Germany around the Wartburg. They were great patrons of the arts, particularly music and poetry, holding contests between the minnesingers at the Wartburg. Across the valley towered the Venusberg, in whose interior, according to legend, dwelt Holda, the Goddess of Spring. In time, Holda became identified with Venus, the pagan Goddess of Love, whose grotto was the home of sirens and nymphs. It was said that the Goddess would lure the Wartburg minnesinger-knights to her lair where her beauty would captivate them. The minnesinger-knight Heinrich von Ofterdingen, known as Tannhäuser, left the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia a year ago after a disagreement with his fellow knights. Since then he has been held as a willing captive through his love for Venus, in her grotto in the Venusberg.[27][incomplete short citation][17]
Overture[edit]
The substantial overture commences with the theme of the 'Pilgrim's Chorus' from Act 3, Scene 1, and also includes elements of the 'Venusberg' music from Act 1, Scene 1. The overture is frequently performed as a separate item in orchestral concerts, the first such performance having been given by Felix Mendelssohn conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in February 1846.[28] Wagner later gave the opinion that perhaps it would be better to cut the overture at opera performances to the Pilgrim's Chorus alone – "the remainder – in the fortunate event of its being understood – is, as a prelude to the drama, too much; in the opposite event, too little."[29] In the original, "Dresden" version, the overture comes to a traditional concert close (the version heard in concert performances). For the "Paris" version the music leads directly into the first scene, without pausing.
Act 1[edit]
The Venusberg, (the Hörselberg of "Frau Holda" in Thuringia, in the vicinity of Eisenach), and a valley between the Venusberg and Wartburg
Scene 1. Wagner's stage directions state: "The stage represents the interior of the Venusberg...In the distant background is a bluish lake; in it one sees the bathing figures of naiads; on its elevated banks are sirens. In the extreme left foreground lies Venus bearing the head of the half kneeling Tannhäuser in her lap. The whole cave is illuminated by rosy light. – A group of dancing nymphs appears, joined gradually by members of loving couples from the cave. – A train of Bacchantes comes from the background in wild dance... – The ever-wilder dance answers as in echo the Chorus of Sirens": "Naht euch dem Strande" (Come to the shore).[30] In the "Paris" version this orgiastic ballet is greatly extended.
Scene 2. Following the orgy of the ballet, Tannhäuser's desires are finally satiated, and he longs for freedom, spring and the sound of church bells. He takes up his harp and pays homage to the goddess in a passionate love song, "Dir töne Lob!" (Let your praises be heard), which he ends with an earnest plea to be allowed to depart, "Aus deinem Reiche, muss ich fliehn! O Königin! Göttin! Lass mich ziehn!" (From your kingdom must I flee! O Queen! O Goddess, set me free). Surprised, Venus offers him further charms, but eventually his repeated pleas arouse her fury and she curses his desire for salvation. (In the "Paris" version Venus's inveighing against Tannhäuser is significantly expanded).[31] Eventually Tannhäuser declares: "Mein Heil ruht in Maria" (My salvation rests in Mary). These words break the unholy spell. Venus and the Venusberg disappear.
Scene 3. According to Wagner's stage directions, "Tannhäuser...finds himself a beautiful valley… To the left one sees the Hörselberg. To the right...a mountain path from the direction of the Wartburg ...; in the foreground, led to by a low promontory, an image of the Virgin Mary – From above left one hears the ringing of herder’s bells; on a high projection sits a young shepherd with pipes facing the valley".[32] It is May. The shepherd sings an ode to the pagan goddess Holda, "Frau Holda kam aus dem Berg hervor" (Lady Holda, come forth from the hill). A hymn "Zu dir wall ich, mein Jesus Christ" (To thee I turn, my Jesus Christ) can be heard, as Pilgrims are seen approaching from the Wartburg, and the shepherd stops playing. The pilgrims pass Tannhäuser as he stands motionless, and then, praising God, ("Allmächt'ger, dir sei Preis!" (Almighty God, to you be praise!)) he sinks to his knees, overcome with gratitude. At that moment the sound of hunting-horns can be heard, drawing ever nearer.
Scene 4. The Landgrave's hunting party appears. The minnesingers (Wolfram, Walther, Biterolf, Reinmar, and Heinrich) recognise Tannhäuser, still deep in prayer, and greet him ("Heinrich! Heinrich! Seh ich recht?" (Heinrich! Heinrich! Do I see right?)) cautiously, recalling past feuds. They question him about his recent whereabouts, to which he gives vague answers. The minnesingers urge Tannhäuser to rejoin them, which he declines until Wolfram mentions Elisabeth, the Landgrave's niece, "Bleib bei Elisabeth!" (Stay, for Elisabeth!). Tannhäuser is visibly moved, "Elisabeth! O Macht des Himmels, rufst du den süssen Namen mir?" (Elisabeth! O might of heaven, do you cry out the sweet name to me?). The minnesingers explain to Tannhäuser how he had enchanted Elisabeth, but when he had left she withdrew from their company and lost interest in music, expressing the hope that his return will also bring her back, "Auf's Neue leuchte uns ihr Stern!" (Let her star once more shine upon us). Tannhäuser begs them to lead him to her, "Zu ihr! Zu ihr!" (To her! To her!). The rest of the hunting party gathers, blowing horns.
Act 2[edit]
The Wartburg in Eisenach
The minnesingers' hall in the Wartburg castle
Introduction – Scene 1. Elisabeth enters, joyfully. She sings, to the hall, of how she has been beset by sadness since Tannhäuser's departure but now lives in hope that his songs will revive both of them, "Dich, teure Halle, grüss ich wieder" (Dear hall, I greet thee once again). Wolfram leads Tannhäuser into the hall.
Scene 2. Tannhäuser flings himself at Elisabeth's feet. He exclaims "O Fürstin!" (O Princess!). At first, seemingly confused, she questions him about where he has been, which he avoids answering. She then greets him joyfully ("Ich preise dieses Wunder aus meines Herzens Tiefe!" (I praise this miracle from my heart's depths!)), and they join in a duet, "Gepriesen sei die Stunde" (Praise be to this hour). Tannhäuser then leaves with Wolfram.
Scene 3. The Landgrave enters, and he and Elisabeth embrace. The Landgrave sings of his joy, "Dich treff ich hier in dieser Halle" (Do I find you in this hall) at her recovery and announces the upcoming song contest, at which she will preside, "dass du des Festes Fürstin seist" (that you will be the Princess of the Festival).
Scene 4 and Sängerkrieg (Song Contest). Elisabeth and the Landgrave watch the guests arrive. The guests assemble greeting the Landgrave and singing "Freudig begrüssen wir edle Halle" (With joy we greet the noble hall), take their places in a semicircle, with Elisabeth and the Landgrave in the seats of honour in the foreground. The Landgrave announces the contest and the theme, which shall be "Könnt ihr der Liebe Wesen mir ergründen?" (Can you explain the nature of Love?), and that the prize will be whatever the winner asks of Elisabeth. The knights place their names in a cup from which Elisabeth draws the first singer, Wolfram. Wolfram sings a trite song of courtly love and is applauded, but Tannhäuser chides him for his lack of passion. There is consternation, and once again Elisabeth appears confused, torn between rapture and anxiety. Biterolf accuses him of blasphemy and speaks of "Frauenehr und hohe Tugend" (women's virtue and honour). The knights draw their swords as Tannhäuser mocks Biterolf, but the Landgrave intervenes to restore order. However, Tannhäuser, as if in a trance, rises to his feet and sings a song of ecstatic love to Venus, "Dir Göttin der Liebe, soll mein Lied ertönen" (To thee, Goddess of Love, should my song resound). There is general horror as it is realised he has been in the Venusberg; the women, apart from Elisabeth, flee. She appears pale and shocked, while the knights and the Landgrave gather together and condemn Tannhäuser to death. Only Elisabeth, shielding him with her body, saves him, "Haltet ein!" (Stop!). She states that God's will is that a sinner shall achieve salvation through atonement. Tannhäuser collapses as all hail Elisabeth as an angel, "Ein Engel stieg aus lichtem Äther" (An angel rose out of the bright ether). He promises to seek atonement, the Landgrave exiles him and orders him to join another younger band of pilgrims then assembling. All depart, crying Nach Rom! (To Rome!).
In the "Paris" version, the song contest is somewhat shortened, possibly because of the lack of suitable soloists for the Paris production.[citation needed]
Act 3[edit]
The valley of the Wartburg, in autumn. Elisabeth is kneeling, praying before the Virgin as Wolfram comes down the path and notices her
Scene 1. Orchestral music describes the pilgrimage of Tannhäuser. It is evening. Wolfram muses on Elisabeth's sorrow during Tannhäuser's second absence, "Wohl wusst' ich hier sie im Gebet zu finden" (I knew well I might find her here in prayer) and her longing for the return of the pilgrims, and expresses concerns that he may not have been absolved. As he does so he hears a pilgrims' prayer in the distance, "Beglückt darf nun dich, O Heimat, ich schauen" (Joyfully may I now you, O homeland, behold). Elisabeth rises and she and Wolfram listen to the hymn, watching the pilgrims approach and pass by. She anxiously searches the procession, but in vain, realising sorrowfully he is not amongst them, "Er kehret nicht züruck!" (He has not returned). She again kneels with a prayer to the Virgin that appears to foretell her death, "Allmächt'ge Jungfrau! Hör mein Flehen" (Almighty Virgin, hear my plea!). On rising she sees Wolfram but motions him not to speak. He offers to escort her back to the Wartburg, but she again motions him to be still, and gestures that she is grateful for his devotion but her path leads to heaven. She slowly makes her way up the path alone.
Scene 2. Wolfram, left alone as darkness draws on and the stars appear, begins to play and sings a hymn to the evening star that also hints at Elisabeth's approaching death, "Wie Todesahnung Dämmrung deckt die Lande...O du mein holder Abendstern" (Like a premonition of death the twilight shrouds the earth... O thou my fair evening star).
Scene 3. It is now night. Tannhäuser appears, ragged, pale and haggard, walking feebly leaning on his staff. Wolfram suddenly recognises Tannhäuser, and startled challenges him, since he is exiled. To Wolfram's horror, Tannhäuser explains he is once again seeking the company of Venus. Wolfram tries to restrain him, at the same time expressing compassion and begging him to tell the story of his pilgrimage. Tannhäuser urges Wolfram to listen to his story, "Nun denn, hör an! Du, Wolfram, du sollst es erfahren" (Now then, listen! You, Wolfram, shall learn all that has passed). Tannhäuser sings of his penitence and suffering, all the time thinking of Elisabeth's gesture and pain, "Inbrunst im Herzen, wie kein Büsser noch" (With a flame in my heart, such as no penitent has known). He explains how he reached Rome, and the "Heiligtumes Schwelle" (Holy shrine), and witnessed thousands of pilgrims being absolved. Finally he approaches "ihn, durch den sich Gott verkündigt'" (he, through whom God speaks)[a] and tells his story. However, rather than finding absolution, he is cursed, "bist nun ewig du verdammt!" (you are forever damned!), and is told by the pope that "Wie dieser Stab in meiner Hand, nie mehr sich schmückt mit frischem Grün, kann aus der Hölle heissem Brand, Erlösung nimmer dir erblühn!" (As this staff in my hand, no more shall bear fresh leaves, from the hot fires of hell, salvation never shall bloom for thee). Whereupon, absolutely crushed, he fled, seeking his former source of bliss.
Having completed his tale, Tannhäuser calls out to Venus to take him back, "Zu dir, Frau Venus, kehr ich wieder" (To you, Lady Venus, I return). The two men struggle as a faint image of dancing becomes apparent. As Tannhäuser repeatedly calls on Venus, she suddenly appears and welcomes him back, "Willkommen, ungetreuer Mann!" (Welcome, faithless man!). As Venus continues to beckon, "Zu mir! Zu mir!" (To me!, To me!), in desperation, Wolfram suddenly remembers there is one word that can change Tannhäuser's heart, and exclaims "Elisabeth!" Tannhäuser, as if frozen in time, repeats the name. As he does so, torches are seen, and a funeral hymn is heard approaching, "Der Seele Heil, die nun entflohn" (Hail, the soul that now is flown). Wolfram realises it must be Elisabeth's body that is being borne, and that in her death lies Tannhäuser's redemption, "Heinrich, du bist erlöst!" (Heinrich, you are saved). Venus cries out, "Weh! Mir verloren" (Alas! Lost to me!) and vanishes with her kingdom. As dawn breaks the procession appears bearing Elisabeth's body on a bier. Wolfram beckons to them to set it down, and as Tannhäuser bends over the body uttering, "Heilige Elisabeth, bitte für mich!" (Holy Elisabeth!, pray for me!) he dies. As the growing light bathes the scene the younger pilgrims arrive bearing the pope's staff sprouting new leaves, and proclaiming a miracle, "Heil! Heil! Der Gnade Wunder Heil!" (Hail!, Hail! To this miracle of grace, Hail!). All then sing "Der Gnade Heil ist dem Büsser beschieden, er geht nun ein in der Seligen Frieden!" (The Holy Grace of God is to the penitent given, who now enters into the joy of Heaven!).[27][incomplete short citation][25][30]
After Wagner[edit]
Productions[edit]
Wagner died in 1883. The first production of the opera at Wagner's Bayreuth Festspielhaus (originally constructed for the performance of his Ring Cycle), was undertaken under the supervision of Cosima in 1891, and adhered closely to the 'Vienna' version. Later performances at Bayreuth included one conducted by Richard Strauss (1894), and one where the Bacchanal was choreographed by Isadora Duncan (1904).[33] Duncan envisaged the Bacchanal as a fantasy of Tannhäuser's fevered brain, as Wagner had written to Mathilde Wesendonck in 1860.[34] Arturo Toscanini conducted the opera at Bayreuth in the 1930/31 season.[35][incomplete short citation]
In the words of the Wagner scholar Thomas S. Grey, "The Bacchanal remained a defining focus of many ...productions, as a proving ground for changing conceptions of the psychosexual symbolism of the Venusberg." Productions including those of Götz Friedrich at Bayreuth (1972) and Otto Schenk at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, (1977) "routinely offer quantities of simulated copulation and post-coital langour, for which the Paris score offers ample encouragement".[33] A Munich production (1994) included as part of Tannhäuser's fantasies "creatures out of Hieronymus Bosch crawl[ing] around the oblivious protagonist".[36]
The Operabase website indicates that in the two calendar years 2014/2015, there were 163 performances of 41 productions of Tannhäuser in 30 cities throughout the world.[37]
Literature[edit]
Many scholars and writers on opera have advanced theories to explain the motives and behaviour of the characters,[9] including Jungian psychoanalysis,[1] in particular as regards Tannhäuser's apparently self-destructive behaviour. In 2014 an analysis suggested that his apparently inconsistent behaviour, when analysed by game theory, is actually consistent with a redemption strategy. Only by public disclosure can Tannhäuser force a resolution of his inner conflict.[38]
Season's Greetings to All My Flickr Friends!
=======================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept in the countryside.
There are more than 2000-year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
=========================
Many Thanks to the +11,180,000 visitors of my photographic stream!
================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and the or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
y are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.
Poodles, Banal and Effete
In the 1980s painting was complicated. After performance and conceptual art in the 1970s, it seen by many in the art world as a conservative medium pandering to the market: paintings were easy to sell. Engaging in these debates, General Idea used painting subversively, working with a traditional format to carry provocative content.
Their Mondo Cane paintings – featuring orgiastic Day-Glo poodles in various sexual positions – reference frank Stella’s Protractor paintings from the late 1960s. Stella’s work was purely geometric, whereas General idea turned to figurative painting with allusions to sexuality. Watchdogs, retrievers and gay companions, the poodles might also be understood as avatars for the artists themselves.
Have you missed me? I'm returning from my orgiastic Wedding Anniversary Trip to Monte Carlo tomorrow! It has been more fun than I could decently describe here!! But I'll be diving straight back into the regular duties of a working Duchess, partnering Lord Trembath in distributing the prizes at the Somerset County Flower Show on Saturday. We shall also be judging the winner of the Women's Institute Homebake Contest - part of the prize for which will be an invitation for two to a Fête Champêtre and formal dinner at Lyndon Towers later this summer. Next week, of course, is Royal Ascot!
Anyway, I was thinking of wearing this little number to judge the flower show and bake contest - but what do you all think? Is it ladylike enough? I do also plan to wear the same dress for some escort work next week...
Love and Kisses to All!
Toodle Pip!
xxxxx
Lady Rebecca Lyndon
PS... there are no rules in my contests! Please express your preferences in any way that you like!
Season's Greetings to All My Flickr Friends!
=======================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept in the countryside.
There are more than 2000-year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
======================
Many Thanks to the +11,175,000 visitors of my photographic stream!
================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and the or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
y are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.
Season's Greetings to All My Flickr Friends!
========================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
===================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments!
I Wish You A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017!
La multi ani 2017!
=============================================
Many Thanks to the +4,830,000 visitors of my photographic stream
===============================================
New Year's period in Romania is unique. Ancient times customs are piously kept at the countryside.
There are more then 2000 year-old customs from the Dacian ancestors mixed or overlapped with Christian's traditions
The most colorful New Year’s Eve traditions are however the mask-dances, magical ceremonials of death and rebirth, with a variety of representations from the animal world like goats, horses or bears, fictional characters like the devil and symbolic personages like the ugly, the beautiful, the elder, the military, the gypsy, the bride, the emperor and many more.
Each role and performance has a special meaning attached to the past cultural reality of Romanian villages.
In Romanian folk tradition, New Year's Day falls in the middle of the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 through January 6). New Year's Day thus divides the twelve days of Christmas into two six-day sections.
The first half of the 12-day cycle begins on Christmas day and is considered a dangerous or evil period. The night grows longer, causing the spirits of the dead ancestors to wander around on the earth.
Symbolically, these spirits represent the attempt by nature to return to its chaotic state of darkness and cold.
In some rural regions, orgiastic rituals attempt to drag nature back from the edge of chaos and to give birth to a new year.
The day of January 6 is the traditional celebration of Epiphany (baptism of Christ). This signals the successful conquest of light over darkness.
========================================
© Ioan C. Bacivarov
All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance
Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/
Many thanks for yours visits and comments.