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I've tried for awhile to get an Osprey close enough for a decent picture.I was hoping to see him fish but he just perched and stared down at the river.Maybe next time.Picture taken by the Snohomish River.
"Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
..............
Please keep Vivian in your prayers...
Re: Viv
27 Jan 11, 6.28PM JST (below is the message I received from Viv)
I know this is sudden, but I will be going for surgery again, Monday, I had my Cat Scan results and my primary Doctor wanted me to contact my surgeon right away, and he has decided to go ahead & do this surgery now.... Today this morning at 6:00 I will be at the hospital at the pulmonary. They found a polyp and they are considering a Bronchoscopy to remove it & sending to the lab for biopsy.
If all goes well, I will return home tonight.
Love you very much,
Viv
God listens and will help Vivian recover. Say a prayer for Bobby to keep his heart strong, too. Please take a moment and include Vivian and Bobby in your prayers.
To: Vivian and Bobby...
Love ya, heaps of hugs and prayers,
Chris and Yoji
PS if you get a moment... stop by vivsirena and leave some love, too!
HONEY: "I wonder where Emmet is? I haven't seen him since Halloween. The full moon is shining so beautifully today."
Thought I'd have a little fun with photoshop and create different scenarios and pose the question... Should I tell him now?
Click on the Album below to see the other scenarios that led up to this.
Scenario #7: A couple of weeks after we got back from the honeymoon I started feeling a little nauseous. Was it something I ate?
I told my girlfriend and she said I might want to go get a pregnancy test. I said "no way" but she convinced me so I did. Guess what - She was right!
When my husband got home from work that evening, I told him and he was so excited.
The next 9 months are going to be very interesting. I have to tell him at some point, right?
What would you do?
The funny thing is that we bought a book about tribes (Pokot, samburu, masai, etc) and..he was in the book! So we let it to him. The world is really small!
The Pokhot live in the Baringo and Western Pokot districts of Kenya and in Uganda.
There are two main sub-groups depending of their location and way of life. The first group consist of the Hill Pokot who live in the rainy highlands in the west and in the central south, and are mainly farmers and pastoralists. The second group is made up of the Plains Pokot who live in dry and infertile plains, with their cattles. A homestead is composed of one or more buildings for a man, his wife and children; eventual co-wives live in separate houses. The role of the community in teaching children ethical rules. Most of the Pokot are nomadic and thus have interacted with different peoples, incorporating their social customs.The Pokot are very proud of their culture. The Songs, storytelling, and decorative arts, especially bodily decoration, are very appreciated. They adorn the body with beads, hairstyling, scarification, and the removal of the lower central incisors. Pokot girls wear a beaded necklace made of the stems of an asparagus tree. Most Pokot have some knowledge of herbal medicine, so they often use these treatments along with those of the hospitals. They belong to the Kenya's Nilotic-speaking peoples. .
For the Pokot, the universe has two realms: the above is the realm of the most powerful deities—Tororot, Asis (sun), and llat (rain); and the below is the one where live humans, animals, and plants. Humans are responsible for the realm that they inhabit, but they rely upon divinities to achieve and maintain peace and prosperity. They worship many deities like the sun, moon and believe in the spirit of death.The Pokot communicate with their deities through prayer and sacrifice. They perform it during ethnic festivals and dances. Oracles are responsible for maintaining the spiritual balance within the community. They are superstitious and believe in sorcery, so sometimes they call on shielding lucky sorcery. They have prophets, either male or female, who foresee advise, usually by the means of animal sacrifices. His or her ability is considered as a divine gift. Clan histories recount the changes of location, through poetry and song, emphasizing the vulnerability of humans and the importance of supernatural powers to help them overcome hunger, thirst, and even death. Ceremonies mark the transitions in the people's social lives. Among these are: the cleansing of a couple expecting their first child; the cleansing of newborn infants and their mothers; the cleansing of twins and other children who are born under unusual circumstances; male and female initiation; marriage; sapana, a coming-of-age ceremony for men; and summer-solstice, harvest, and healing ceremonies. The most important rite of passage for most Pokot is circumcision for boys and clitoridectomy for girls. These rites consist of a series of neighborhood-based ceremonies, emphasizing the importance of having a good behavior. When boys are circumcised, they acquire membership in one of eight age sets. Women do not have age-sets. After excisions, for several months, girls have a white painting on their face and wear a hood made of blackened leather with charcoal and oil. This means they are untouchable until the lepan ceremony, that marks the passage to womanhood. Unlike other tribes, the Pokot keep the affiliation to their clan throughout their lives, there is no disruption with marriage. Surprisingly, the agreement before marriage is made by gift giving, from the groom and his family to the bride and her family, often over a period of years (and not the contrary). It often implies the gift of a combination of livestock, goods, and cash to the bride's family, and the allotment of milk cows and rights to land to the bride. The bond between a husband and wife lasts for 3 generations, after what marriages can take place again between the two groups. Polygamy exists but is not prevalent among men before 40. The spirits of the elder anticipate reincarnation in their living descendants: when a child is said to resemble the elder, the same name is given. Disputes are resolved in neighborhood councils and in government courts. Some of the sanctions include shaming, cursing, and bewitching.
© Eric Lafforgue
Photo from the Albert Kuhbandner collection, scan kindly provided by him for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
1985
G-BRJS
British Aerospace BAe-146-100
E1004
Dan-Air London (basic RAF colours)
Information from airhistory.net - thanks to Richard Vandervord:
The fourth 146 built started life as BAF demonstrator G-OBAF then served for eighteen months with the RAF as ZD695, hence the inherited livery adopted by Dan-Air. Later G-OJET with Manx, PK-MTA with Merpati (lease), G-DEBJ with Debonair and lastly VH-NJA with National Jet; b/u ADL 5.09
Registration details for this airframe:
www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-BRJS/422999
Detailed history of this airframe:
aussieairliners.org/bae146/vh-nja/vhnja.html
This airframe as G-OBAF with BAF at DUS in 1982:
www.flickr.com/photos/coptercrazy/31048457400
This airframe as ZD695 with RAF at Brize Norton in June 1984:
www.flickr.com/photos/105925977@N03/31838598207
This airframe as G-OJET with Manx Airlines at LHR in September 1991:
www.flickr.com/photos/66737297@N06/52075172173
This airframe as PK-MTA with Merpati Nusantara at ADL ca. 1996:
www.flickr.com/photos/singapore269/15375898038
This airframe as VH-NJA with QantasLink at BNE in June 2001:
www.airhistory.net/photo/335412/VH-NJA
This airframe as G-DEBJ with Debonair at BCN in March 1999:
www.flickr.com/photos/jordi757/16016740918
This airframe as G-DEBJ with Debonair at LTN in May 1999 (later colours):
www.flickr.com/photos/pslg05896/40596588521
This airframe as VH-NJA with National Jet Systems (NJS) at ADL in April 2007:
cdn.jetphotos.com/full/1/82460_1193094556.jpg
Scan from slide (unknown brand):
That is, fire him first, before he has the Constitution go completely up in flames.
I wanted to get this sign, but it wasn't until I got home and edited it on my computer that I noticed how the flags in the shot worked so well. This was shot not long before 11:00 AM. So things were just getting more interesting by this time.
Riding Hood & Bad Wolf - Issue #3 "Shoot the Messenger"*
In the past...
The man thought they were his, an old hookup of his that had consequences. He felt obligated to take them in out of the cold, maybe it was the alcohol messing with his head again. The bitter resentment made him regret taking them in, but nevertheless he raised them anyway. Once the boy said his first word he would become independent, watched the TV in the background through the stairs banister, sneaked into school, listened to phone calls. He even named himself and his little sister...
________________________________________________________________
Riding Hood: "Followed? By who?"
*RH draws his pistols looking at the door. Bad Wolf shrugs smelling the air cautiously as he gets to his paws standing in front of RH who peeks under his armpit at the door. Suddenly a white blur shakes through the it vibrating intensely. RH fires his pistols at the blur only to see it speed away past them.*
Riding Hood: "Oh F me in the A. It's a Spe-"
*Before RH can finish his sentence the figure zooms past RH striking him across his jaw making him stagger back against BW who swipes at the empty air with his huge paw*
Riding Hood: "As I was saying! It's a Speedster."
Bad Wolf: *Growls* "I hate them."
Riding Hood: "Yeah they cheat at cards, trust me."
*The white blur circles them like a tornado speeding around, drawing the oxygen out from their lungs. RH knows this trick though, he nods at BW who has a mutual understanding of what to do. BW holds out his paw and RH fires a round between his claws, the blur slows down ever so slightly avoiding the oversized paw only to be shot in the shoulder by the hidden gun. A bright red patch stains the blur as it comes to a skidding halt against the wall dropping on its hands and knees.*
Riding Hood: "Yeah take that speedy!"
*RH grins under his visor as he aims his pistols at the White costumed figure who groans clutching his shoulder trying to get up. RH's pistols auto-lock onto the target just in case he decides to speed away this time. He's about to shoot until BW holds out his furry arm looking down at RH.*
Bad Wolf: "Wait... that's E-Race. He's a hero."
Riding Hood: "Who cares?! Last time I checked we were villains."
*E-Race quickly gets to his feet, his injury fully healed. RH mutters a curse but sees that E-Race is standing still. RH laughs to himself how easy killing him is going to be but BW steps in front of him gently nudging RH's pistols down. He grits his teeth angrily lowering them down.*
Riding Hood: "What?!"
Bad Wolf: "I don't think he wants a fight."
E-Race: "You're friend is right, I've come to warn you both. A source of mine is saying that a team called the 'Convicted 5' are after you, they want blood. Mainly Riding Hood's."
*RH snorts and rolls his eyes under his visor*
Riding Hood: "Tell them to get in line."
E-Race: "These guys are serious though. All psycho's and sociopaths. It would be wise if you just surrendered and came to A.N.G.E.L. to face punishment and avoid them."
*BW looks down at RH meeting his gaze, silently agreeing to surrender, RH cocks his head gripping his pistols*
Riding Hood: "Seriously?! No. We've handled worse. Sorry hero, why not just try and take us in yourself?"
E-Race: "That's what worries me. All heroes have been told not to engage with you both if seen, just to report back about the location."
Bad Wolf: "Which is what you have already done."
Riding Hood: "And are now saying this to stall us."
*E-Race's eyes widen through his mask at how fast they both caught on. RH aims his pistols at E-Race who phase shifts through the wall he's pressed against and winks leaving them both alone. RH fires his guns at the wall in a rage.*
Riding Hood: "Son of a bi-"
Bad Wolf: "RH, language."
Riding Hood: "I was going to say biscuit, jeez!"
*Bad Wolf sniffs the air raising his head and snarls pouncing at RH, he uses his whole body to shield him as the door suddenly flies off its hinges smashing off BW's shoulder. He turns his head growling and stands helping RH gets to his feet. They both look at the doorless entrance, a white bunny suited figure stands there swinging his sledgehammer around giggling crazily*
Riding Hood: "Can nobody use doors?!"
We rescued Bradley from the Downey shelter and took him to a neurologist.
The doctor had only sad news for Bradley...
We agreed he should go to sleep and not suffer this severe hydrocephalus. (as you can see, his head is weirdly shaped due to a lot of fluids in his head / brain).
I didn't want to let him go yet, so from the vet I took Bradley to the beach, I sat with him, played with him, and I fed him many cheeseburgers and fried chicken.
We sat there for two hours, and after that I took him to the vet's office right on the beach, and he went to sleep forever :-(
It was such a sad day... I couldn't stop crying... this little guy was just a baby.
Please visit our website and help us save more animals. All I am asking is for people to buy the book about our rescue work... this will help us pay the medical bills and all the expenses involved in animal rescuing.
You can buy the book here:
http://www.hopeforpaws.org/store/show_product/?product_id=41369834
Please don't put it off for later, and buy the book now so we can save more animals.
Thanks,
Eldad
p.s. people keep asking me: "how come you didn't have the vet put a shunt in his brain like they do for kids?"
The answer is that it was too late... I took Bradley to the neurologist, and she said there is nothing we can do at this point. He was already blind from the pressure in his brain, he was in severe pain... she was talking about having a miserable existence, and it's just not worth it... death is NOT the worst option. Life with pain is.
The Cody Local heads through the short Himes Canyon along the Bighorn River. No roads here, hike in only. I first discovered this canyon while on a hi-rail trip shortly after hiring on with the BN at Billings as a dispatcher in 1988. Met my wife there. Don't take much for me to go back to visit my in-laws!
the father always watching over his son
always playing around with him, just to keep him going
they stop playing for a minute, just to look at each other
and to share their love in a hug
like the son is saying I love you dad
Jaimie Wylie Photography
November 21st, 2042
A couple of hours after getting taken away by the Court of Owls, Batman awakens in a cell at an unknown location. Before he’s able to recover from the effects of the sedatives he got hit with and regain his strength two people dressed in black clothes, wielding sharp and gold-colored weapons, enter his cell and order him to follow them. As he struggles to stand up he notices that the exoskeleton from his suit has powered down, making it much more difficult to move around at all and leaving him in no shape to stand up against them. He complies and follows the one figure as the other one takes position behind him. After walking for a short while they end up in a long hallway, with a red carpet on the floor, expensive furniture on either side of the hall and large paintings hanging from the walls. Batman takes a look at the wall decorations and notices that every single painting features a person holding a strange owl-shaped mask in front of their face. There’s a door at the end of the hallway, guarded by two people wearing the same outfit as the ones escorting him. They open the door for them, giving way to a spacious and empty courtroom. Behind the judge’s desk stands a giant wooden statue of an owl, decorated with gold accents and lit with candles around it. On the sides of the room are several giant windows, all covered with dark red curtains which prevents any natural light from entering the place. Only Helena is sitting in the room, tied to a chair at the defendant’s table.
Batman gets escorted into the room and forced to sit on the chair next to Helena as he gets restrained as well. Before he can ask his daughter if she’s okay, the gates of the courtroom swing open as a group of masked individuals march into the room. They all silently take a seat on the public benches behind the two right as the jury enters the room as well, conveniently all wearing the same owl-shaped mask too. As they all sit down at the exact same time Helena begins nervously looking around her, intimidated by the situation she is now in. A door inside the giant owl statue opens, out of which a judge appears. Batman notices the judge seems to be the same person who appeared in the Wayne Tower and ordered them to come to the Court in the first place. He takes a seat, breaks the silence by slamming his hammer on the table and demands order in the courtroom, starting their trial against Batman and Robin.
The judge starts by telling about the Court of Owls, explaining how they have been around since Gotham was established decades ago. For years they managed to rule the city from the shadows, killing anyone who found out about their existence or opposed them using a group of specifically trained assassins called the Talons. When a certain masked vigilante began running around Gotham they didn’t see him as a threat at first. Finding that having him assassinated by the Talons would be a bit excessive they instead opted to orchestrate a series of events which would lead to a deranged serial killer by the name of Zsaz escaping from Arkham. Knowing that the Batman would take it upon himself to go after him, they hoped that he wouldn’t stand a chance against the killer and get killed while fighting him. However, they found themselves astonished as Batman managed to defeat Zsaz with ease, something they had not taken into consideration. Realizing the danger of him running around Gotham they considered ordering the Talons to murder him, but changed their mind after he coincidentally started targeting several of their opponents. The Court then decided to willingly let Batman fight the criminal world of Gotham without interfering, only stepping in if he accidentally stumbled upon them or started targeting them. All the while, the Court continued to influence the city from the shadows.
Roughly 5 years later, a long series of unfortunate events led to the Dark Knight retiring. With the Batman no longer being a possible threat to the Court, they decided to start spreading out their influence more while making certain their existence was kept a secret. Over the decades, dozens of wannabe vigilantes hoping to step into the footsteps of the Dark Knight started to make their way onto the streets. As rumors of a secret underground society who are secretly controlling Gotham started leaking, many of them started to seek them out and found their way right on the doorstep of the Court. In order to preserve their secret they were forced to murder everyone who stood in their way, having to cover up the assassinations to not arouse any suspicions. After decades of doing this the Court of Owls decided they could not continue covering up the disappearances of teen vigilantes, deciding to take action by making a statement by taking down the Dark Knight. Upon discovering his identity and tracking him down using the help of a deranged Edward Nigma and a frail Hugo Strange, they began orchestrating a long plot in order to get him to put on the suit again. One of the Talons assassinated Selina and left behind evidence to make him suspect the Joker, knowing this would motivate him to return to Gotham to investigate. By using a tiny improvised explosive device hidden within the playing card they hoped to detonate it while he was holding it within Arkham. However, they did not account for Batman giving the card to Joker himself, which allowed him to survive the blast and only killed the Clown Prince of Crime along with the other Arkman inmates. After so many years, they decided enough was enough; it was time to put him on trial in front of the Court of Owls for standing in their way too much.
Batman barely has any time to process what he just heard as the crowd and jury start shouting how they think they are guilty. There’s no way they would win a case against a kangaroo court like this; their decision was already made way before the trial started. The judge slams his hammer down again, silencing the chaos as he prepares to read his verdict. Due to being found guilty of interfering with the plans of the Court of Owls, Batman and Robin get sentenced to death at the hands of the Talons right now. The judge asks if he has anything to say about his verdict, but cuts him off right as he is about to speak up. The spectators and jury start cheering and clapping as two of the Talons walk into the courtroom, each entering on opposite sides of the room. They take their positions in front and behind the two, unsheathing their golden weapons to prepare for battle. One member of the Court gets ordered to untie the Dynamic Duo in order to make the odds more fair as the rest of the crowd prepares to watch as the Batman finally gets taken down by the Court of Owls after so many years.
The Talon behind Batman strikes first and stabs him in the back, but his armor prevents the blade from piercing through his skin. He manages to reactivate his exosuit and turns around, ready to fight again as he pulls out a Batarang from his belt. His enemy strikes again, aiming for the exposed skin around his mouth instead, but Batman manages to deflect it with his own weapon. He uses the opportunity to slice the Talon in the arm, although this doesn’t phase him. Batman holds his hand in front of his face and casts a glance at the spectators, seeing they are all silently toasting for their demise with expensive drinks in their hands. His short distraction gives the Talon an opportunity to successfully hit him, but Helena deflects the attack at the last moment with her own weapon stick. He compliments her for being able to stand her ground against their opponents before continuing the battle. The Talon starts attacking more and more fiercely, slowly managing to weaken Batman’s defenses while coming closer to getting a successful strike on him. He tries his best to keep up with him, but Batman slowly starts to become weaker and weaker with every attack. Right as he is about to slash the Dark Knight in the face, the leader of the Court suddenly commands the assassins to stop attacking. Unsure of what to do, the Talons lay down their weapons for a moment as they watch what their leader’s intentions are right now. He mutters something about hearing a weird noise outside as he walks towards the window and lifts up the curtains. Batman tries to get a glimpse of the outside world to locate their hideout if they manage to get out, but he soon picks up the sound outside too; he hears the loud revving of an engine in the distance slowly coming towards them, accompanied by the sound of a car horn. The crowd gathers around the window to see what the commotion is about, but quickly runs away in terror as the Batmobile crashes through the wall at full speed.
Pieces of debris rain down everywhere as the vehicle comes to a screeching halt right in front of Batman and Robin. Chaos ensues in the room as each member of the Court desperately tries to make their escape, terrified of the imposing black vehicle which just crashed through the wall of their hideout. The door opens as the person driving the Batmobile beeps the horn, prompting them to jump inside. Batman kicks the Talon in front of him to the ground and hits the other one in the chest with several batarangs to give them a window to escape. He and Helena jump inside the Batmobile as he takes control of the steering wheel, closing the door right before the Talons can make their way inside. He puts his boot on the gas pedal and activates the rocket booster in order to make their escape from the Court. As they are driving through the streets of Gotham early in the morning, Barbara appears on one of the screens of the console, asking if they are alright. She explains that she left the Wayne Enterprises building for a short moment to check up on her case at the GCPD, but when she returned she saw the camera footage of them getting abducted. Although it was impossible for her to track them down at first since the Court of Owls covered up almost all of their tracks, Batman reactivating his high-tech suit set off a GPS signal which allowed her to pinpoint their location. With the help of a new modification to the Batmobile she was able to remotely control the armored vehicle for a while to reach the place and to help them escape.
Helena sighs of relief, tired of the confrontation they just went through when she says that they must’ve escaped the Court by now. However, right after she says this the two feel something landing on the roof of the Batmobile. Before they can react, one of the Talon’s golden weapons cuts through the armored material like butter, making an opening for himself to enter the vehicle. Batman stands up from his seat and orders Helena to drive despite her not having any driving experience yet as he deals with the Talon standing in the cramped open space in the back of the Batmobile. He makes his way towards him, feeling the cold morning air cut through his skin while he begins punching his enemy. After hitting him a couple of times the Talon catches his fist inside his hand, landing a couple of strikes on his face and damaging his cowl before Batman kicks him right in the stomach. The impact of the kick makes him land hard on the cold floor of the Batmobile, but before he can recover Batman leaps on top of him and starts pounding him in the head. He stops for a short moment to charge up his exosuit for a bigger punch, but the vehicle suddenly making a sharp turn to get outside of Gotham, makes him miss the Talon and denting the floor instead. While he recovers and tries to get another punch in, the other Talon lands on the front of the car and begins damaging the engine. Helena makes a couple more sharp turns in an effort to get him off the car but all it does is make Batman lose his balance, giving him a disadvantage in the fight. As smoke begins coming from the engine Helena loses control of the vehicle, prompting Batman to abandon the fight to prevent them from going off the road. However, he is too late; before he can do anything, the Batmobile crashes through the guardrail on the ride of the road, sending them all tumbling down a hill.
When Helena regains consciousness, she feels herself getting dragged out of the wreckage which was once the Batmobile. Pieces of wreckage are scattered everywhere as the smell of smoke fills her nose. Once she is at a safe distance away from the wreck, she is able to properly see the damage; the Batmobile is laying upside down with a fire having erupted in the engine as several important components of the car have been damaged or broken off. Suddenly, she notices one of the Talons crawling away from the wreck. His outfit has been torn and burned, with him being unable to walk because of the crash. Batman sees him too, and begins slowly walking towards him. The Talon notices this and for the first time he hears one of them speak as he begins pleading for him to put him out of his misery. Batman stays silent for a while before telling him to go back to the Court. He wants him to relay a message to them, warning that it will take much more than this to take down Batman. They tried their best to get rid of him, and they failed. If they try this again, he won't be taken by surprise like this time and warns that he will do whatever it takes to take down the entire Court by himself. The Talon begins crying out that the Court of Owls will just murder him for this fiasco, but Batman ignores him and turns around leaving him on his own. He calls Barbara to pick them up as he puts an arm around Helena, complimenting her for what she did today as the Batmobile continues to burn down behind them.
Roughly a week has passed since the incident with the Court. Despite Bruce and Barbara’s best efforts, they haven't managed to track down the Court again; upon returning to the place where he was taken to to be put on trial, he only found an empty and abandoned building with all of the furniture and decorations taken away. Barbara has taken the wreckage of the Batmobile back to the Wayne Enterprises building, developing plans to rework the vehicle into something else instead of simply rebuilding it.
During a boring evening at the Wayne Building, the regularly scheduled tv programme gets interrupted by a newsflash; A terrorist going by the name of Bane, suspected to be the person responsible for getting a majority of Gotham addicted to Venom, has attacked the Gotham Stock Exchang. In a publicly broadcasted video he revealed to have gotten his hands on a decaying neutron bomb which is set to detonate this Christmas Eve. In his video he directly challenged the Dark Knight, saying that he is only willing to stop the bomb from exploding if he manages to defeat him. Confident that he can save Gotham once more, Bruce suits up and sets out to bring down Bane. Helena offers to join to help take him down, but Batman declines as he fears not going to him alone could have severe consequences. Without being able to use the Batmobile to get around for the time being, he climbs to the top of the building and decides to make use out of his new experimental cape glider. He leaps off the structure as he spreads out his cape, which folds out in the shape of the wings of a bat allowing him to glide to the financial district.
After gliding for a while, Batman lands on top of the glass roof of the Stock Exchange building giving him a good look at the situation. Right below him he can make out the figure of Bane, surrounded by several of his goons, all guarding the neutron bomb. He uses a Batarang to cut a hole into the glass to grant him access into the building. After jumping down the hole he lands right in front of Bane, quickly alerting him of his presence. This is the first time he has gotten a good look at the terrorist; before him stands a very big and muscular man, wearing a black luchador-esque mask which conceals his face. Batman catches a glimpse of a big tank filled with Venom on his back with tubes attached to it, all injected straight into his skin and mask. His goons, all having taken some of the strength-enhancing drugs as well, point their guns at the Dark Knight but Bane tells them to lower their weapons. After telling them to step back he stretches out his arms, challenging the Dark Knight to a one-on-one fight. Batman agrees, taking off his utility belt and preparing for the fight. He laughs, his voice muffled by the mask, asking himself if he will be a match to him or if he will go down as easily as his other opponents as Batman charges towards him.
Batman strikes first, getting in several powerful blows, but it doesn’t even seem to phase his opponent. He pauses for a short moment and tries to continue the fight, but Bane catches his hand before it can hit him. Batman hears something crack when he clenches his fist, feeling that his glove has been damaged. Before he can recover, Bane grabs him with both arms and headbutts him with a lot of force. The blow almost makes him lose his balance, but his opponent grabs him by the throat before he falls to the ground and punches him right in the face several times. Batman starts to taste blood in his mouth but is unwilling to give up so easily. He releases himself from Bane’s grip and tackles him to the ground, using all his strength to kick him in the face several times. Again, his opponent is unperturbed by his attempts to fight back, simply taking the blows without flinching. As Bane doesn't fight back Batman becomes overconfident for a moment, not noticing as his arm reaches out for his leg. He grabs a hold of it and janks it towards him, making him fall to the ground again.
‘’You know, I used to admire you. Hearing all about your heroics back when I was growing up motivated me to be better than I already was. But now that I am not a bright-eyed and naive child anymore, I’m finally able to see you for what you really are; A pathetic elderly man, having to rely on some high-tech suit to even attempt to compete with me!’’
Bane raises his fists in the air, bringing them down with full force on the chest of the Dark Knight. Although his suit absorbs most of the strike to prevent his ribs from breaking upon impact, Batman still feels the pain from his attack and notices the armor on his chest having shattered.
‘’Over the years, I've dreamt of being the one who would kill the legendary Batman. However, I have recently come to the conclusion that killing you would only end your agony and silence your shame.’’
He attempts to fight back again and gathers his strength to reply to his opponent’s comments, but Bane silences him with a nasty kick in the gut before he can do so.
‘’I don't think you quite know who I am. I’m not some scarecrow or a riddler. I’m not a jester or a clown! I’m not a flightless bird nor a cryogenic scientist! And most importantly, i am not some rich guy playing dress-up!’’
Bane begins continuously stomping Batman in the face, slowly cracking open his mask more and more with each kick. By the time his cowl has been completely destroyed Batman has been knocked unconscious, having collapsed after all of the attacks.
‘’ I AM BANE! AND I WILL BREAK YOU!’’
As his goons cheer him on, Bane picks up the defeated body of the Dark Knight and raises it over his head. He slowly spins around like he’s showing a trophy to his friends, reveling as the realization that he has become the one to truly break the Bat begins to set in. Batman regains consciousness, but only just in time to feel himself getting driven down towards the ground as he collides with Bane’s knee.
With one nasty snap, he quickly finds his body in anguish as his spine has completely shattered. Bane drops him to the ground and commands his henchmen to take the bombs and go away, taking the broken mask of the Dark Knight with him as a trophy before leaving himself as well. Batman tries to move, but becomes terrified when he notices that he is unable to even move. With this one attack, Bane has paralyzed the Bat.
Quite some time passes before someone arrives to pick up the wounded Bruce. He gets taken to the Wayne Building instead of a hospital in order to preserve his secret identity, where he gets hooked up to some medical equipment to keep him alive. As the days pass by, Gotham begins to decay more and more into chaos as the threat of a neutron bomb decimating the city gets closer. Each attempt made by the police force to disarm the explosive has led to nothing, leading to many of the city’s residents deciding to get out while they still can. Despite Bruce being in no state at all to fight back against Bane, he stubbornly refuses to leave the city as he believes his back will he recovered enough before the bomb is set to go off. Along with this he also feels personally responsible for letting this happen and does not want Gotham to fall under his watch.
Less than a week is now left before the bomb is set to go off. Bane had taken his bomb to the city centre, where his henchmen are guarding him all day to prevent anyone from interfering with his plan. With no sign of his spine recovering in the slightest, Helena and Barbara are urging Bruce to leave the city with them, as they know nobody else is left to stop him. Barbara is close to converting the damaged Batmobile to an airborne vehicle and tells him it could be fit to get them out of there. However, he does not want to hear any of it and keeps insisting that he can find a solution. In an old scientific report about the Venom drug he read some time ago, he noticed it stating that taking the drug can completely heal severe wounds within moments. With his mind set on this new opportunity to save Gotham he asks Barbara to get him a sample of the substance, hoping this will put him in a position to fight back again. Despite her hesitation she agrees to do so, although she warns him that this is only a short-term solution for a permanent problem for him.
When she returns, Bruce has removed the armor from his arms and prepared a new suit to help him control himself while under the effects of the drug. Barbara reluctantly hands him a syringe filled with Venom, but before she does so she tells him that the scientific reports he read left out some important details. It's true that taking Venom can heal severe and permanent injuries in a matter of moments, but the catch is that once the drug’s effects have worn off the injuries will just return, sometimes getting even worse as a result. Bruce tells her he is more than willing to sacrifice himself if it means that he is gonna be able to save Gotham once more as he grabs the syringe out of her hand. Before any of them can react, he slams the needle into his skin and presses the plunger down allowing the substance to enter into his bloodstream. Bruce feels the effects hitting him almost instantly, and before he knows it he finds himself able to stand on his own again. While he struggles to keep himself from succumbing to the drug’s effects he puts on a new suit; an outfit plated with a gold-colored metal and with a reinforced cowl and cape. Ready for battle, he makes his way to the newly designed Batwing to take himself to the city center to face off against Bane.
----------------------
The steps of Trinità dei Monti and the "Barcaccia" in Piazza di Spagna which I shot on an early July morning several years ago with only one human presence who unconsciously posed for me! You rarely see it so deserted...
#YBS24Urban
We will never forget him or the thousands of others murdered in Egypt for their passion for freedom and Justice.
On 2 February 2018, about fifty people gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in London for a vigil to mark the second anniversary of the discovery of the horrificly mutilated corpse of Cambridge university student, Giulio Regeni, at the edge of the Cairo-Alexandria desert road in Egypt.
Within hours of the discovery of his body, his family knew that he must have been the victim of the most appalling sustained violence. His corpse was so terribly disfigured that his mother explained he was virtually unrecognisable. She could only identiy him from the tip of his nose.
But what was equally striking was the location where the body had been dumped, on one of Egypt's busiest highways close to the watchtowers of a security services base.
On 25th January 2016, the fifth anniversary of Egypt's 2011 uprising, a thirty year old Italian national Giulio Regeni disappeared from the streets of Cairo.
He was a student of one of Britain's most prestigious universities - Cambridge and was researching the crucial role of trade unions in relation to Egyptian political power and workers' rights.
During his research he managed to cultivate contacts with numerous key individuals within several Independent trade unions which the Egyptian government planned to make illegal. He often expressed fear to his friends that he might be detained by Egyptian authorities.
It was not until 3 February 2016, nine days after his disappearance, that Regeni's half-naked and battered corpse was found dumped by the roadside. His mother remarked that Giulio's disfigured face carried "all the evils of the world."
A senior Egyptian police official, who it was later discovered had a prior criminal record for both torture and murder, announced that Regeni had been the victim of a road traffic accident.
However an Italian autopsy indicated that he had been tortured to death over a period of approximately one week and had suffered over 24 bone fractures, multiple stab wounds, numerous cigarette burns and sharp razor cuts and that all his finger and toe nails had been yanked out.
On 21 April a Reuters correspondent reported that he had received confirmation of Regeni's arrest and detention by Egyptian security services in January from no fewer than six sources in Egypt's police and intelligence services but Egypt's Interior Minister angrily denied the report as having "no basis in truth."
The Regeni case is not an isolated incident - every month dozens of Egyptians, from among those who either dare to criticize the government or dare in anyway not to conform, are forcibly disappeared from their homes or from the streets and many of them either die in detention or eventually appear months later in court charged with offences, such as protesting without a license or spreading false information against the state.
Recent estimates put the number of political detainees in Egypt's prisons at approximately 60,000.
The Italian government have been infuriated by the lack of any honest attempt by the Egyptian authorities to discover and punish those responsible for Regeni's murder. Although some Italians have been disappointed by the very limited scale of Italian diplomatic and economic reprisals - they have at least gone further than the British government - withdrawing their ambassador in April 2016 for consultations and on 30 June the Italian senate voted to halt aviation supplies for Egyptian military aircraft including F-16s.
Meanwhile the British government has done virtually nothing - except issue a brief statement after it was embarrassed into action by an online parliamentary petition - prior to which I'm unaware of any statement on the issue by British diplomats who appear to wish to prioritize profit and trade over human rights.
More information about the Regeni case and the human rights crisis in Egypt can be found from
The Egypt Solidarity Initiative at
egyptsolidarityinitiative.org/
and also on Facebook or from Amnesty International at
www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/press-release-me-let-me-go/truth...
Update April 2020 -. If anyone is interested in the forgotten history of British imperialism and how it impacted the lives of millions of people around the world including Egypt from the 1700s until today - I've posted over 600 short articles on the following website. roguenation.org/ including the following page where you can select from over 600 pages according to country - roguenation.org/choose-by-country
Aidin: "And for his next feat of magic, the great Aidini will make Fluffy the bunny disappear!"
Einin: "I'll get Fluffy back, right?"
Aidin rolling his eyes: "Yes, just put put him in the box already!" Poor tender hearted Einin is worried her brother will make Fluffy disappear forever!
Photo taken by Theo Kastner and kindly provided by him for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
ca. summer 1972
12+04 (1)
Convair 440-0 Metropolitan
472
Luftwaffe (West German Air Force)
Note: 12+04 (2) was Canadair CL-601-2B16 Challenger c/n 3049 flying for Luftwaffe from January 1987 to September 2011.
12+04 is lined up for take-off on runway 25 with an interesting assortment of vehicles in the background (note the Fire Department Unimog).
Information flickr - thanks to Guido Allieri - and airhistory.net - thanks to Derek Gaynor:
CV-440-0 c/n 472 was initially delivered as N8471H to General Dynamics Corp. Sold to Luftwaffe as CA+031 in February 1959, re-registered as 12+04 in January 1968. Went on to Nor-Fly A/S as LN-MAM in February 1975. Acquired by Gulf Air Transport and returned to the US in July 1980. Subsequently used by string of operators before transferring to the Mexican register in 1996 as XA-NAU and XA-TFY. Still listed as stored in 2021.
Registration details for this airframe:
www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/12+04/765353
This airframe as CA+031 with Luftwaffe at HAJ in May 1966:
www.flickr.com/photos/60580721@N06/50762285376
This airframe as LN-MAM with Nor-Fly at MMX ca. 1975 (basic Luftwaffe colours):
www.flickr.com/photos/154191970@N03/46714924145
LN-MAM with Nor-Fly at GLA in July 1976 (full colours):
www.flickr.com/photos/75122977@N05/31623816325
This airframe as N411GA with Liberty Airlines at MDW in 1982:
www.flickr.com/photos/twa1049g/12074503764
N411GA at MIA in November 1986:
www.flickr.com/photos/145798423@N07/52562766417
N411GA with Sunbird Air at FLL in August 1988:
www.flickr.com/photos/guidojet/51630610950
N411GA with Laredo Air ca. early 1990s:
www.flickr.com/photos/154191970@N03/35536750576
Scan from Kodachrome slide.
Photo taken by Herwart Schneider and kindly provided by him for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
April 1991
5B-DAY
Boeing 707-338C
19622 / 660
Avistar Airlines
Information from flickr - thanks to Guido Allieri:
5B-DAY (c/n 19622 l/n 660 series -338C) was delivered to Qantas in January 1968 as VH-EAB. In December 1977 the plane was sold to ITEL for immediate leasig to Young Cargo as OO-YCL. Returned to the lessor in May 1979, the plane was then leased in July to Air Niugini as P2-ANA. It remained with Air Niugini until April 1984 when it was sold to TRATCO Leasing and sent in July to Air Artic as TF-AEC. In August 1985 it was sub-leased to Surinam Airways and then in December sub-leased to Air Maldives. In February 1986 the aircraft went to ZAS Airlines of Egypt as SU-DAE and remained in Egypt until July 1988 when it was sold to Nile Safaris Corp as ST-ALL. In May 1990 the plane was sold to Avistar as 5B-DAY and sold in May 1995 to US Air Force to be modified as E-8 in the Joint Stars program (92-3289).
The US Air Force retired 92-3289 on 11 February 2022:
www.acc.af.mil/News/Article/2933089/georgia-air-national-...
Registration details for this airframe:
www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/5B-DAY/492436
This airframe as VH-EAB with Qantas at MAN in February 1974:
www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/6053728855
This airframe as OO-YCL with Young Cargo at OST ca. 1978:
www.flickr.com/photos/154191970@N03/31496773488
This airframe as P2-ANA with Air Niugini at Port Moresby ca. early 1980s:
www.flickr.com/photos/154191970@N03/34688107200/
This airframe as TF-AEC with Air Arctic Island (leased to Surinam Airways) at AMS in 1985 (basic Air Niugini colours):
www.flickr.com/photos/154191970@N03/48322599021
This airframe as SU-DAE with ZAS Airline of Egypt at MST in 1986:
www.flickr.com/photos/steelhead2010/51106268467
This airframe as ST-ALL with Nile Safaris Aviation ca. 1989:
www.flickr.com/photos/brunogeiger/20525277858
5B-DAY with Avistar Airlines at FRA in January 1991 (no logo):
www.airhistory.net/photo/261384/5B-DAY
This airframe as 92-3289 with USAF at Nellis AFB in November 2017:
www.flickr.com/photos/ianossy/38683050832
Scan from Kodachrome slide.
I don't know who was more surprised, him or me, when this bird hopped onto the wooden rail in front of me when in Zambia last year. I am delighted he did, as I had my camera to hand and fired off a quick shot. I entered him into a club print competition as was awarded a Gold.
For months, this cardinal only showed up when I didn't have my 35 with me. Every time I had my camera, he fltttered about too far away, even for my telephoto lens....as if he knew. Finally, I was sneaky enough to catch him close up!
I had a lunch in the diary with Darryl from NZ, and since he hadn't brought the sunshine with him, it really was nearly just a lunch and a cider. Just before leaving home to meet him at Paddington however, I discovered that the traction for the delivery run of 701033 for SWR was rather more interesting than usual. Fortunately Darryl was up for one of my scurries across London, luggage and all, and we just made it in time to Acton Central by tube and bus to catch 5Q10 09.15 Derby Litchurch Lane-Eastleigh T&RSMD led by 56098 and with 50007 on the rear. The 56 has worked very few trains since its heritage re-paint by GBRf and with it's call up for becoming a class 69 still looming it was good to capture it despite the weather.
Some heritage traction in the bag, it was time to then resume the lunch and cider plan!
Unboxing him made me realise how really unresolved the doll's costume is. The sleeves are separate from the jacket, and the material used for the costume is adequate at best. But worst of all, the head is plopped on a very disproportionate, small body.
The plus points are the very nice face paint on the doll, as well as the surprisingly nice gold boots on him!
P.S I only wanted him for the head, so all's well!
It has been cold enough this past week to freeze a lot of the river so the eagles are staying above the ice jams.
You let him closer , in order to understand what kind of man is he.He worries you because only evil comes from him and you look into his eyes trying to see something good in, but you don't understand until the end what kind of person is he...
I need you more than words can say
You save me in ways that I can't explain
Always been there for me, now I'll do the same
I need you more than words can say
On quiet nights, like the Fourth of July, I miss our Sweet Pea.. he was a big Maine Coon, who if he was feeling rambunctious would run through the house chasing after the sounds of the fireworks as they dark invaders that he could easily subdue …. I let him live with illusions and I suspect he let me live with mine, too.
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]