View allAll Photos Tagged driven
Apologies in advance to my fellow Flickrites.... I might get a bit boring with the new Hotel Mercedes.
I haven't driven her yet, but she's all ready to go on Sunday.
Mercedes Actros MP4 2545 Bigspace.
And sometimes, after a lot of color, I need to do a monochrome image.
I am sure someone who is into classic cars would be able to identify this auto by that emblem on the steering wheel but I am at a loss.
The G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2 - Nissan driven by Julien Canal, Roman Rusinov and Sam Bird finished first in the LMP2 class, 6th overall at the recent 6 Hours of Silverstone (12th April 2015).
This photograph was taken during a wet free practice 3 on the Saturday.
We've driven by this old school building many times without knowing its history or even that it is now a community center, an unlikely feat for a hamlet such as Chinook, Washington.
I took artistic license with this photo. Part of the school building's renovations included a new cement sidewalk from the street to the front door. Since it's new, it's blindingly white. Before the renovation, there was no such walk, so I used Photo Shop to reverse that part of the project.
Here's a Chinook Observer article from 2005, when today's superbly restored buildings were just a gleam in the eye of dedicated volunteers:
CHINOOK - About 300 people stormed Joanne Friberg Leech's Sanctuary Restaurant in Chinook last week for the first Friends of Chinook School fundraiser dinner. The spaghetti-and-all-the-trimmings event brought in about $7,500 to help with the restoration of the historic school and gymnasium.
Leech, who was born and raised in Chinook and went through all eight grades at the school, donated the restaurant for the evening. The food was donated, including 100 pounds of hamburger. "We even sold the leftovers," Leech said. "I'm so glad I had the sauce made the day before because people came in the doors early."
An assortment of cakes was supplied by Chinook Coffee Company.
Eileen Wirkkala, president of the Friends group said besides paid admissions to the dinner, lots of people added donations at the door. "The silent auction held during the event was very successful," she said. "A highlight of the auction was an original watercolor by Carol Johnson, a Friends board member, a 'mosaic' of the school and children at play.
"It wasn't just the money that made the event a success," Wirkkala said. "Everybody had so much fun. We're happy so many people support our project. It was such a diverse group of people who came not only from Chinook, but Ocean Park, Ilwaco, Long Beach and Astoria. The school is dear to the hearts of many people, not just old-time residents but people new to the community."
Board members Loma Leback Billups, Carol Johnson and Ron Williams all graduated from Chinook Grade School and at least two graduates who have moved away from the area came to join the fun.
Dawn Church Wallace, who is a math teacher in Columbia, Mo., came to Chinook with her husband. She attended Chinook School for eight years and said she was "the tallest one in the school. There were five people in my class," she said, with first through eighth grades in two rooms. "I had a great time" all through school, she said. "We had really good teachers - Julia Hall, Mr. Sundstrom, Mr. Pilafian, Miss Melhuishgat and Irene Tinker. Mrs. Tinker taught first and second grades and she was fabulous. She could teach a carrot to read."
Wallace remembered that her uncle Joe was in the eighth grade when she was in the first grade. "He got to ring the bell for recess," she said. "I have such good memories of Chinook School."
Stories of the good times at the school were flying at the dinner. It wasn't just the students, Wirkkala said. "It was also the warmth the school provided to the community during the Depression and war years when the people of the town needed a safe place to go." She said USO dances for the troops stationed at Fort Columbia were held at the school as well as baseball games and hometown basketball from the 1930s to the '50s which is still discussed at coffee shops. Plays were staged by Angus Bowmer while he was a teacher in Chinook and before he went on to achieve worldwide fame as the founder of the Ashland, Ore., Shakespearean Festival.
Ron Williams, of Chinook, said he spent five years at the school before he transfered to Long Beach. He remembers first, second and third grades all taught in one room. "There was one person in first grade and three each in the second and third grades," he said. "It was great. We basically all learned the same thing." His grandfather, David R. Williams, was the clerk of the school board when the gym was built in 1921 and that his father, brother, aunts and cousins all attended the school. His aunt, Ellla Williams Gottberg, was a school board member when he was attending the school.
"It's the soul of the community," Williams said. "We had halloween parties, Christmas plays and sports in the gym. There was a big rivalry with Ilwaco." His great-uncle, Lewis R. Williams, was the school's principal and superintendent in the 1920s and wrote two books - "Chinook by the Sea" and "Our Pacific County."
Patty Timmen Krager and her husband attended the school, grew up and got married. She said they had been looking at an old school yearbook and discovered her future husband was standing behind her in a school picture. "He said he always knew me," she remembers. "It must have been love at first sight although I was younger than he was when we were in school." The Kragers, both retired teachers, keep a home in Chinook and have taught Yupik Eskimo children at the village of New Tok in Alaska for seven years. They also taught in Ilwaco, Long Beach and Naselle.
Judy Church Williams, who still lives in Chinook, attended all eight grades at Chinook and says her eldest daughter was at the school for three years. Williams said she will always remember the fifth-grade teacher, whose name she couldn't remember, because he was always late for school.
With the kind of support for the school project that was apparent last week, the Friends group, founded in 2000, can look forward to success with their mission - to have the school and gymnasium once again the center point for the community, utilizing the facilities for cultural, educational, social, recreational and economic uses.
The school and gymnasium were indeed the soul of the community after the school was built in 1924. It closed in the 1970s and Friends members want it to once again be a center of services to Chinook and surrounding communities. A $24,000 pre-planning grant was received from the state and an evaluation of the facilities has been completed by an architect for the estimated $1.3 million restoration.
"Our plan for Chinook School is to make it available for low- to moderate-income youth and elderly," Wirkkala said. "Numerous service groups and agencies will participate and they will help provide the operating revenue for the school once the restoration is complete. In addition, we want the buildings available for community use for public and private meetings and gatherings." She said the Chinook Indian Tribe will continue to occupy office space and operate a food bank. The school field will continue to be used for T-ball, baseball and soccer.
"The Friends of Chinook School are very appreciative of the cooperation, assistance and support give by the Ocean Beach School District Board of Directors and the Pacific County Commissioners for the school project," Wirkkala said.
Membership in the group is open and donations are always appreciated, Wirkkala said, and more fund-raisers are on the horizon.
www.chinookobserver.com/news/fans-of-historic-chinook-sch...
To see how those dreams came true, click here:
I have driven past this garage my whole life, and yesterday I decided to stop across the street and take some pictures.
Unfortunately, I didn't really get to explore the options, or plan the shots, or take my time, because the owner of the place, the third generation Mr. Cook, came boiling across the street to find out what in the hell I was doing.
He stayed next to me until I was done, which was much sooner than I would have liked. I didn't even get to change my original, unsatisfactory angle.
But... the result was so different from anything I have ever posted, I decided to put it up for Sliders Sunday.
So, HSS everyone!
I had a horrible obsession with these canoes at Pyramid Lake on our most recent visit... I just couldn't help myself!
Having driven from Malvern in total sun it was disappointing to find the cloud cover here. But I'm sure it could have been worse!
Peak 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman' powers through Spetchley on 27-7-24.
D1924 'Crewe Diesel Depot' was on the rear for security after yesterdays failure on the E.C.S.
The working is the 'The Diamond Jubilee Express' 1Z45 0703 Bristol Temple Meads to York and running on time after being 9 minutes late leaving Temple Meads.
Ref: IMG_0002 27-7-24
Corvette Stingray Race, 1959
William Mitchell, vice president of design at General Motors, challenged his team to update existing Corvette, looking to European sports cars for inspiration. The team , including a young designer named Peter Brock, responded with this concept featuring forceful curves and a pointed body shape that reflected their youthful energy and enthusiasm for speed.
After a series of widely publicized deadly crashes in the 1950s, automakers backed away from projects developing high-speed performance cars driven in illicit street races. The Stingray team worked at a secret location they called Studio X. Their finished design influenced future Corvettes, but never became a mass-produced model. Instead, it appeared on racetracks as William Mitchell’s personal care.
Detroit Style is the exhibition organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts which brings the artistry and influence of Detroit car designers working between 1950 and the present day. It brings together 12 coupes and sedans designed across 70 years. Highlighting significant achievements in style and technology, the 12 cars include unique examples of experimental show cars created for display and iconic production models sold to the mass market. Design drawings enable you to imagine the creative and innovative processes that bring a vehicle from the drawing board to the street.
Leyland Olympian / Roe A97KUM about to leave Dewsbury on its mammoth journey for a new life and future. Quite fitting it came back to West Yorkshire for old times sake and did very useful work serving as an outreach at a local church for around 4 years. It will be replaced by a newer less interesting vehicle shortly. Lovely to drive something which fits like a pair of old slippers, rather than something which is a headache or gives you one. "Bonne Chance" friend.
"The new BMW M5 is the uncompromising combination of elegant business saloon and systematically power-oriented supreme performance: large air inlets in the athletic front supply the M V8 high-performance engine with cooling air. The look created by the lines of the distinctive aluminium bonnet with two M specific swage lines is repeated in the contours of the roof made of very lightweight and tough carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). The discreet M rear spoiler supports the sporty and powerful appearance and is an important element of the overall aerodynamic concept. Form follows performance – consistently in every detail..."
Source: BMW Ireland
Photographed during Driven Club event in Northern Ireland.
____________________________________________________
Like my Fanpage
Follow me on Instagram
Driven by the owner here Joe Rothery tells me this truck has got over 3 million Kilometres on the clock & still looks the Dogs ...!!!!!
Here YJ53 KFU SCANIA R580 V8 164L of JOE ROTHERY INTERNATIONAL @ THE LIMES CAFE , A614 Bilsthorpe , Thursday 30th JUNE 2016
Bramley garage once again supplied buses for the Bradford network on Boxing day 2016. The use of elderly 60880 was perhaps surprising given its record, no programmed destination added to the puzzling choice. Faithful as ever the A4 paper helped out again as a route number ! Five Lane Ends, Bradford on the 641.
Aoibhe and Darren really had the wedding of their dreams. Married life was all they could have wished for.
Until Seamus distractedly drove his double decker bus around the bend onto Merrion Square while checking funny videos of cats attacking babies on his smart phone...
Avalanche is a small gathering of about six to ten houses(see map) in western Wisconsin. A popular trout stream runs through the location. I have driven by this old chapel many times and wondered about it. Next summer I am going to try and get permission to go inside and make some images---it might be interesting. This location is part of driftless area---an area of Wisconsin that was not compressed by glaciers 10,000 years ago. The area is known for its large hills and valleys. Each valley usually has a cold water trout stream running through it.
The back of this building is up against the steep side of one of the above mentioned hills. The trees and brush are crowding the back three sides of the building. Someone has cleared the front and mowed the grass. I made five shots to make this HDR image. I think I bridged the dynamic range problem by doing this.
I used my Pentax K5 and Pentax 18-135mm lens to make this image. Processing was done with Aperture 3 and PS CS5.
Camera settings: ISO 800, aperture f/7.1, focal length 31mm
weathered chapel
abandoned in the kickapoo valley
leading to unanswered questions
Image and haiku by John Henry Gremmer
"Driven by the fire of the Holy Spirit, the holy apostles travelled throughout the earth. Inflamed with the same fire, apostolic missionaries have reached, are now reaching, and will continue to reach the ends of the earth, from one pole to the other, in order to proclaim the word of God. They are deservedly able to apply to themselves those words of the apostle Paul: The love of Christ drives us on."
– St Anthony Mary Claret, founder of the Claretian missionaries.
This statue of St Anthony Mary Claret facing the mountains around Phoenix, AZ is on the ground of the Mount Claret Retreat Center.
In recent years, the great Brooklyn Bridge — long written about, photographed, painted, walked, biked and driven over; even sailed under — has become a gallery for thousands of padlocks known as love locks.
Some are engraved with initials, names and dates. Some have that information inscribed upon them, passionately, with a Sharpie. Some carry little pictures of New York landmarks like the Empire State Building. Most tell nothing about who put them there, or why.
“The lock signifies the commitment,” some say. “It will be a reminder every time we even see the bridge, let alone walk across it, that there was this one day when we decided that our love was so important.”
Unfortunately, reality must intrude, as it so often does. Love-struck couples’ feelings may or may not last forever, but their locks will definitely not. The Department of Transportation clips locks on the bridge every few weeks and has taken away 9,000 in the last 11 months. A spokesman for the agency said crews cleaned the bridge twice a week and removes locks as needed.
choker :
unrigged with resizer
➕hud driven fatpack version only
➕4 different metal colors
full fatpack for only 90L$ for this round of Saturday Sale!
BMW 750iL (E38) Automatic (1994-01) Engine 5400 V12 M73 Production 12619 (750iL) 286,905 total E38 7 Series
Registration Number Not Known
BMW ALBUM
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/albums/72157623759864432
Designed by Borke Boyer with styling by Claus Luthe and launched in 1994, the E38 is the third generation of BMWs flagship 7 Series. It was the first BMW 7 Series to offer a Diesel engine option, curtain airbags, and an in built television, and the first European car to offer Satellite Navigation. Available in two wheelbases, SWB 115.4 inches and LWB 121 inches. With a choice of a S6 petrol engine of 2.8 litre, V8s of 3.0-4.0 L and 3.5-4.4 L along with a flagship V12 of 5.4 litres. Diesel engine options ranged from S6 Turbo Diesels of 2.5 and 2.9 litres and a V8 Turbo Diesel of 3.9 litres.
The E38 received a mid-cycle facelift in 1998 for the 1999 model year, major visual changes included revised style head and tail lights
An armour plated 750i L appeared driven by James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in the 1997 Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies and a 735i was featured in the 2002 film The Transporter driven by Jason Statham .
Thankyou for a massive 58,257,649 views
Shot 30.04.2017 at Catton Hall Car Show REF 125-386
We had driven past signs for the National Trust's Lacock Village and Abbey many times, so, as we moved down from Bath to Exeter, it seemed like an oportunity too good to miss!
Bulleid pacific 35018 “British India Line” seen on Shap Bank with the 1057 Lancaster – Carnforth Santa Special on 1 December 2019.
The fact is, I do feel 'driven,' driven to be the best that I can be.
I can do no less and still feel happy and content and satisfied with myself.
Foundation and piling specialists Roger Bulllivant Ltd. operate this October 2012 registered Scania R560 pulling a Nooteboom 3-axle low-loader carrying their own designed and manufactured - Roger Bullivant - RB 5022 driven piling rig, the latest of 14 similar types operated. Pictured at Lymm Services, Cheshire on 21st April, 2016.
Chris Hibbert - Plant Design Manager at Roger Bullivant Ltd., makes the following comment on the RB 5022 rig:-
"The RB 5022 It is based on a CAT 320C excavator and we then add our own boom, mast and hammer assembly. The hammer assembly has a 5.5t moving weight inside the steel shell which can lifted and dropped via an internally mounted hydraulic cylinder from a variety of drop heights which are electronically selected. These machines are used to drive sectional concrete or steel piles into the ground which can be connected on top of each other until the required depth or resistance is obtained."
My thanks to Gary Farnell - Managing Director and to Chris Hibbert - Plant Design Manager at Roger Bullivant Ltd. for providing details about their specialist plant.
During a shed talk session, my friend and fellow Flickrite “Faded Image” posed the following question; of all the vehicles that you have either driven or ridden in, which gave you the most pleasure? After some deliberation I came up with MRL 765, a Tiverton bodied Austin K8 type, which fits into the “ridden in” category.
Having been delivered new in May 1950 to W A Hawkey & Sons Limited of Wadebridge it passed to Maurice & Bernard Chapman of Rosenannon near St Wenn during July 1966 when a mere sixteen years old. I came across MRL whilst on my first solo visit to Cornwall in September 1971 and at that time it was being used on a school run to and from St Wenn County Primary, but later it additionally worked the Wednesday only service from Rosenannon and St Wenn to St Columb Major first licensed in October 1974. I had the great fortune to not only travel on the service more than once, but also the school run. When I went down to Cornwall in April 1986 to ride the service on the last day of operation, MRL was in her twentieth year with the Chapman Brothers and approaching her thirty sixth birthday. I was approaching my thirty fifth birthday and there was something quite special about riding in service on a vehicle that was even older than I was. This small coach very much imitated larger coaches of the period as certain aspects of the exterior and interior bodywork were scaled down versions of the latter. I can recall the sound and smell of MRL and remember with some affection the way Bernie coaxed her along whenever there was an incline by slowly rocking back and forth in his seat. It is good to know that this vehicle is still around today and that next year 2015, MRL will reach the ripe old age of sixty five.
With the late Bernard “Bernie” Chapman standing proudly alongside, in the above view, scanned from a slide, we see MRL 765 on North Street, St Columb Major after working in with the Wednesday only service from Rosenannon, St Wenn, Tregonetha and Talskiddy.
Eduard van der Nüll: The Vienna State Opera commemorates the 200th birthday of its architect. Once he was driven to death.
Carmen is stabbed, Tosca jumps to her death and the Bajazzo murders his wife and rival. Much worse - because really true - is the fate of the two men who have built Vienna's State Opera, in which these masterpieces are performed: Eduard van der Nüll hanged himself after the building on the Ring Road had been fiercly criticized, and his partner, August Sicard of Sicardsburg a few weeks later died of a heart attack. The two architects literally perished in the construction of the Vienna Opera House.
The opera was still under construction, as the Viennese already mocked in rhyming form the various architectural epochs summarized here: Sicardsburg and van der Nüll, both have no style, Greek, Gothic, Renaissance, that's all the same to them!
In newspaper reports, the opera was referred to as "Königgrätz of the architecture", which was then, a few years after the most momentous military defeat of the monarchy, a special humiliation. The architects were even more annoyed by the commentary of Emperor Franz Joseph, who called the Hofoper a "sunken box".
Bad planning
In fact, the level of the track of the Opera Ring was one meter higher than the archways of the still unfinished structure. However, Sicardsburg and van der Nüll were not able to do anything. Instead, a misplaced planning by the Hofbauamt (Vienna Court Building Department) meant that the carriageway was laid higher than planned. However, it was clear to the public that the architects of the opera were responsible for the structural catastrophe. The 56-year-old van der Nüll was able to withstand the hostility towards him from all parts of society. He hanged himself on 4 April 1868 in his apartment in Windmühl alley (6th district of Vienna). Two months later, after a heart failure, Sicardsburg collapsed dead over his drawing table. He could not get over the suicide of his friend.
The two architects have been inseparable since their studies at the Vienna Academy of Arts, they had a joint studio and were also closely associated privately. In Internet forums they are referred to as a gay couple, there are guides through the "Gay Vienna", which point to the buildings of Sicardsburg and van der Nülls.
Pregnant
However, van der Nüll had married a year before his death, which gives the suicide another dramatic touch: his wife Maria was in the eighth month pregnant when she found the body of her husband in her apartment. In the Vienna City and State Archives is the estate of van der Nülls, whose letters bear witness to deep love to his wife. "For your loving affection, may God reward you, I can find no words for the recognition that is preserved in my heart," he wrote shortly before his death to her.
Whether the hostility against him and his partner was the sole cause of the tragedy is unclear. It is clear that both were ill: If van der Nüll's suicide in the forensic expert's report with "mental confusion" is explained, this is probably due to the fact that him should be made possible a church funeral. However, the death certificate also shows pulmonary edema. All in all, the illness, the strain of opera building and the public attacks could have led to suicide. And Sicardsburg had been suffering from a long-term illness.
Eduard van der Nüll was - despite the Dutch-sounding name - a genuine Vienna man. Born the illegitimate son of an officer, he grew up modest after the early death of his parents after his guardian had misappropriated most of his family fortune.
Founder time
Just as he and Sicardsburg had completed their study of architecture, Vienna's urban expansion was decided upon, which resulted in an unprecedented building activity. The soon-to-be-prominent architectural duo received numerous contracts in the early days, before he was entrusted with the planning of the six million gulden (= around € 70 million today) expensive Court opera. It was to be the highlight of their work. And became a deadly burden.
On May 25, 1869, about a year after van der Nüll and Sicardsburg's death, the opera was opened in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph with a festive performance of Mozart's "Don Giovanni". Meanwhile, the level of the roadway had been adapted to the building and the Viennese were enthusiastic about the new magnificent building on the ring road. No one could understand why polemic against the late architects was once so violent.
Least of all Emperor Franz Joseph, who was so shaken by the tragic events surrounding the construction of the opera that he avoided ever again publicly announcing his personal opinion. The now used by him, made famous as meaningless as uncritical phrase "It was very beautiful, I was very happy," is the direct result of the drama to the two architects.
Symbol
Today, the Staatsoper is the landmark and most important symbol of the music metropolis Vienna. Opera director Dominique Meyer appreciates the contribution made by the two creators of the house: on January 9, Eduard van der Nüll's 200th birthday, he lays down a wreath at the architect's honorary grave at Vienna's Central Cemetery
The architects: They built Vienna's opera
Eduard van der Nüll. Born on January 9, 1812 in Vienna as the illegitimate son of Field Marshal von Welden. While studying architecture at the Vienna Art Academy, he met his future partner, August Sicard von Sicardsburg, with whom he founded an architectural office after a three-year joint study tour through Europe. Eduard van der Nüll took his life on April 4, 1868.
August von Sicardsburg. Born on December 6, 1813 in Budapest. Coined the architecture of Viennese Historicism of the Wilhelminian era with van der Nüll. Common buildings: Sophienbad (bath), Carltheater, Arsenal, Haas house on Saint Stephen's square, several noble palais and the Vienna Opera. Sicardsburg died on June 11, 1868 in Weidling near Vienna, only two months after the suicide of his partner.
Eduard van der Nüll: Die Wiener Staatsoper gedenkt des 200. Geburtstags ihres Architekten. Einst wurde er in den Tod getrieben.
Carmen wird erstochen, Tosca springt in den Tod und der Bajazzo ermordet seine Frau samt Nebenbuhler. Viel schlimmer noch – weil wirklich wahr – ist das Schicksal der beiden Männer, die Wiens Staatsoper, in der diese Meisterwerke aufgeführt werden, gebaut haben: Eduard van der Nüll erhängte sich, nachdem man den Prunkbau an der Ringstraße heftig kritisiert hatte, und sein Partner August Sicard von Sicardsburg erlag wenige Wochen danach einem Herzschlag. Die beiden Architekten sind an der Errichtung des Wiener Opernhauses buchstäblich zugrunde gegangen.
Die Oper stand noch im Rohbau, da spotteten die Wiener bereits in Reimform über die verschiedenen hier zusammengefassten Architektur-Epochen: Sicardsburg und van der Nüll, die haben beide keinen Styl, griechisch, gotisch, Renaissance, das is denen alles ans!
In Zeitungsberichten wurde die Oper als „Königgrätz der Baukunst“ bezeichnet, was damals, wenige Jahre nach der folgenschwersten militärischen Niederlage der Monarchie, eine besondere Demütigung war. Als noch ärger empfanden die Architekten den Kommentar Kaiser Franz Josephs, der die Hofoper eine „versunkene Kiste“ nannte.
Fehlplanung
Tatsächlich war das Niveau der Fahrbahn des Opernrings um einen Meter höher als die Torbögen des noch unfertigen Bauwerks. Doch dafür konnten Sicardsburg und van der Nüll nichts, vielmehr hatte eine Fehlplanung des Hofbauamtes dazu geführt, dass die Fahrbahn höher als vorgesehen angelegt wurde. Für die Öffentlichkeit stand aber fest, dass die Architekten der Oper die bauliche Katastrophe zu verantworten hätten. Der 56-jährige van der Nüll war den gegen ihn aus allen Kreisen der Gesellschaft gerichteten Anfeindungen nicht gewachsen. Er erhängte sich am 4. April 1868 in seiner Wohnung in der Windmühlgasse. Zwei Monate später brach Sicardsburg nach einem Herzschlag über seinem Zeichentisch tot zusammen. Er konnte den Selbstmord des Freundes nicht verwinden.
Die beiden Architekten waren seit ihrer Studienzeit an der Wiener Kunstakademie unzertrennlich, sie hatten ein gemeinsames Atelier und waren auch privat eng verbunden. In Internetforen werden sie als homosexuelles Paar bezeichnet, es gibt Reiseführer durch das „Schwule Wien“, die auf die Bauten Sicardsburgs und van der Nülls hinweisen.
Schwanger
Allerdings hatte van der Nüll ein Jahr vor seinem Tod geheiratet, was dem Selbstmord eine weitere dramatische Note verleiht: Seine Frau Maria war, als sie die Leiche ihres Mannes in ihrer Wohnung fand, im achten Monat schwanger. Im Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv liegt der Nachlass van der Nülls, dessen Briefe an seine Frau von tiefer Liebe zeugen. „Für Deine liebende Zuneigung möge Gott Dich belohnen, ich finde keine Worte für die Anerkennung, die in meinem Herzen dafür bewahrt ist“, schrieb er ihr noch kurz vor seinem Tod.
Ob die Anfeindungen gegen ihn und seinen Kompagnon der alleinige Grund für die Tragödie waren, ist unklar. Fest steht, dass beide krank waren: Wenn van der Nülls Selbstmord im gerichtsmedizinischen Gutachten mit „geistiger Verwirrung“ erklärt wird, ist das wohl darauf zurückzuführen, dass ihm ein kirchliches Begräbnis ermöglicht werden sollte. Allerdings zeigt das Totenbeschauprotokoll auch ein Lungenödem auf. Alles in allem könnten die Krankheit, die Belastung durch den Opernbau und die Angriffe in der Öffentlichkeit zum Freitod geführt haben. Und Sicardsburg war seit längerem herzleidend.
Eduard van der Nüll war – trotz des holländisch klingenden Namens – ein waschechter Wiener. Als unehelicher Sohn eines Offiziers zur Welt gekommen, wuchs er nach dem frühen Tod der Eltern in bescheidenen Verhältnissen auf, nachdem sein Vormund den Großteil des Familienvermögens veruntreut hatte.
Gründerzeit
Gerade als er und Sicardsburg ihr Architekturstudium beendet hatten, wurde Wiens Stadterweiterung beschlossen, die eine nie dagewesene Bautätigkeit zur Folge hatte. Das bald prominente Architektenduo erhielt in der Gründerzeit zahlreiche Aufträge, ehe ihm die Planung der sechs Millionen Gulden (= heute rund 70 Millionen €) teuren Hofoper anvertraut wurde. Sie sollte zum Höhepunkt ihres Schaffens werden. Und wurde zur tödlichen Belastung.
Am 25. Mai 1869, rund ein Jahr nach van der Nülls und Sicardsburgs Tod, wurde die Oper in Anwesenheit Kaiser Franz Josephs mit einer Festvorstellung von Mozarts „Don Giovanni“ eröffnet. Mittlerweile war das Niveau der Fahrbahn dem Gebäude angeglichen worden und die Wiener waren von dem neuen Prunkbau an der Ringstraße hellauf begeistert. Niemand konnte verstehen, warum gegen die verstorbenen Architekten einst so heftig polemisiert wurde.
Am allerwenigsten Kaiser Franz Joseph, den die tragischen Ereignisse um den Bau der Oper dermaßen erschütterten, dass er es vermied, je wieder öffentlich seine persönliche Meinung kundzutun. Die von ihm ab jetzt verwendete, berühmt gewordene, ebenso nichtssagende wie kritiklose Floskel „Es war sehr schön, es hat mich sehr gefreut“, ist die direkte Folge des Dramas um die beiden Architekten.
Symbol
Heute ist die Staatsoper Wahrzeichen und wichtigstes Symbol der Musikmetropole Wien. Operndirektor Dominique Meyer weiß den Anteil der beiden Schöpfer des Hauses zu schätzen: Er lässt am 9. Jänner, Eduard van der Nülls 200. Geburtstag, am Ehrengrab des Architekten am Wiener Zentralfriedhof einen Kranz niederlege
Die Architekten: Sie bauten Wiens Oper
Eduard van der Nüll Geboren am 9. Jänner 1812 in Wien als unehelicher Sohn des Feldmarschalls von Welden. Lernte während des Architekturstudiums an der Wiener Kunstakademie seinen späteren Partner August Sicard von Sicardsburg kennen, mit dem er nach einer dreijährigen gemeinsamen Studienreise durch Europa ein Architekturbüro gründete. Eduard van der Nüll nahm sich am 4. April 1868 das Leben.
August von Sicardsburg Geboren am 6. Dezember 1813 in Budapest. Prägte mit van der Nüll die Baukunst des Wiener Historismus der Gründerzeit. Gemeinsame Bauten: Sophienbad, Carltheater, Arsenal, Haashaus am Stephansplatz, mehrere Adelspalais und die Wiener Oper. Sicardsburg starb am 11. Juni 1868 in Weidling bei Wien, nur zwei Monate nach dem Selbstmord seines Partners.
Waves kicking up as one of Hurricane Helene's feeder bands comes through. This photo was taken just south of
Vero Beach, Florida on the east coast of Florida. Our thoughts are with those on the Gulf Coast of Florida where the conditions are far, far worse.
Here is the almost sole efforts of my bus restoration work for the last 18 months, ECW bodied Leyland Olympian, B503FFW. This bus was purchased by the Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society (LVVS) from Johnson's of Hodthorpe near Worksop in late 2014. Ihad previously been operated by Stagecoach East Midlands, who inherited the vehicle from original owners Lincolnshire Roadcar.
I have a personal attachment to this bus as it was new into service on my 11th birthday, and is also one of the few preserved buses that I have driven in service. It is seen here on Station Street in Nottingham, I had driven the bus there from Lincoln and dropped myself off. Fellow LVVS member Andy Moore took over the driving, and the bus was later on display at an event at Ruddington.