This past weekend wanting to get out of the Wonung (apartment) and do something, I took out the map and started looking up the towns that are around Nuremberg. The ones most people don't talk about. Jack Pot. The town of Ansbach intrigued me.
The most interesting thing was a story of a young boy, Kasper Hauser. I had never heard this story but apparently it is quite well known and the phrase " a real Kasper Houser" has been used many times to convey the meaning of a mysterious child with an unknown past. hmmm He is mentioned quite often even on our side of the pond; In the book Fahrenheit 451, the show Smallville and even Susan Vega wrote a song in 1987 about him. Thousands of books, poems, studies and songs have been written in German as well.
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| The monument, dedicated in 1981, shows the “European Child” in two different versions: Once as the person that surfaced in Nuremberg in 1828, and once as a young gentleman who was murdered in the castle gardens in Ansbach in 1833. A small boy was found wandering the streets in Nuremberg in 1828 carrying an unsigned letter addressed to the captain of the Calvary. The letter talked of his upbringing in solitary confinement and secrecy. He was later brought to Ansbach to live...mystery surrounded him all his life and he died a very mysterious death. Many believe it was from a self inflicted chest wound other and assassination attempt, he was believed to be the crown prince of Baden and legitimate son of the grand duke Charles, kidnapped and lead off to secure succession ob the crown to the offspring of the morganatic wife of the grand duke, the countess of Hochberg. To really understand the story have a look http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Hauser. I spent hours reading all the accounts. Who doesn't enjoy a real mystery? |
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| the letter he carried with him |
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| the spot in the Hof Garten where he was mortally stabbed; the inscriptions "On this spot an unknown was murdered by an unknown" |
Despite DNA tests and numerous books and studies, his real origin will remain an enigma, and probably will stay a mystery with no answers.
Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon, wandering the streets where this mysterious child lived. I myself think he was a fabulous storyteller (a hem...liar). Okay maybe a bit of doubt.
The town of Ansbach itself is full of History and one could spend more than a day wandering the streets and gardens.
We visited the Hof Garten to see where Kasper Hauser "did himself in " and found an amazing Orangery and gardens. I think I need to have a Orangery when we return the US of A!
The Herb Garden caught my attention right away. I do love gardening and the art of the perfectly arranged shrubbery and herbs of the old English Gardens has always been of great interest. Who knew that right her in this garden We would find the Good Ole Dr. Leonhard Fuchs. He was the personal doctor of the Margrave Georg von Brandenburg right here in Ansbach from 1527-43. At that time medicine were based mainly on what was found in nature. He did extensive work on healing and his information was collected and put together in a book, which made him the 'father of botanic" In the year 1696 Charles Plumier the royal botanist to king Luis XIV discovered a plant in now Haiti and named it after Fuchs...Fuchsia! hmmm good to know.
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| Fushia plants for Dr. Fuchs |
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| The Orangery forms the Architectural focus of the Court Gardens Built in 1726. an orangery was a building frequently found in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th -19th centuries. Very similar to a greenhouse or conservatory, the name reflects the original use of the building as a place where citrus trees were often wintered in tub under cover, surviving through the harsh winters. Here there is an assortment of lemon, Seville orange, olive, pistachio, and laurel trees all in the white tubs. |
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