Beauty that heals; and some thoughts to ponder on

As luck would have it, I have been to a few places in the last few weeks that have filled my heart with a kind of joy that only naturally beautiful and old places and objects can give... First I spent a wonderful day in the beautiful north German town of Lübeck where the exquisitely beautiful hofs (inner courtyards) of many old but newly restored apartment complexes made me jump with joy... 

Following closely on that trip came a visit to the quaint little city of Hannoversch Münden, where the rivers Fulda and Werra join to become the river Weser. The beauty of the half timbered houses of that ancient city and the natural beauty of the area around the 'Weserstein' (the Weser Stone on which is inscribed a lovely verse about the rivers, more about that later)  are unparalleled. I have to write about those two places if only to show you some photos to prove my claim.  

The Holsten Gate, the signature symbol of Luebeck

First Lübeck in Northern Germany close to Hamburg: Home to quite a few German heavyweights like Günter Grass and Thomas Mann (as well as Willy Brandt) the old city of Lübeck is shaped like an island (formed by the river Trave and its canals) and the entire district has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While there are many bigger reasons for this, for example the very impressive Holsten Gate, and the many incredibly beautiful Gothic brick churches scattered all around the old town, what impressed me most about Lübeck was the amazingly pretty inner courtyards. 

This from the Lübeck tourism website: 

'The hidden world of the historical residential alleys runs like a labyrinth through the rear courtyards of nearly the entire Old Town and today forms part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site and the living urban culture. Once there used to be 180 inhabited alleys and courtyards, today there are around 80 left. Most of them are open to the public and freely accessible on a relaxed stroll through the Old Town, some are locked at night by a gate and a few immersed in their own private world behind closed doors. The small, lovingly restored alleyway houses today represent coveted living space in the heart of the town and second to none when it comes to idyllic romanticism. 

It was not always thus.

The first alleys and booths were built at the beginning of the 14th century due to a lack of space, as trade flourished in Lübeck and the population literally exploded. The living space within the city walls was no longer sufficient. So enterprising merchants and other clever homeowners came up with an idea: they built tiny one-storey and often windowless "stalls" in their backyards. The term "booth" derives from the Latin word "boda". A land registry distinction from a house (domus). They rented them out to servants, day labourers, craftsmen and simple seamen with their families. Almost 80% of the population lived in shacks.'

Beautifully restored and renovated into small but comfortable modern apartments today, the beauty of these clusters of homes located around a central common courtyard is to be seen to be believed. One enters through a narrow gate or alley from the road which quickly leads to to a narrow alley or central courtyard around which are little apartments are located. Some photos will help to explain what I mean. I wish I had taken a few more photos.... I was so grateful that it was even possible to enter these private courtyards of people's homes that taking photos seemed almost like a violation of their privacy.

For an example of what I mean check out

https://www.visit-luebeck.com/old-town/poi/fuechtingshof

As we walked around the old known and went in and out of one pretty courtyard after the other, I wondered that such an arrangement of small apartments around a common central courtyard would be an ideal design for an apartment-complex for senior citizens. There would be no steps, the central garden area would be taken care off communally but would still offer the possibility of doing some gardening to those who wish to and also to meet up and spend time together. And other common spaces could be built in as per requirement... a grill area, a little pavilion to hold little concerts or to play cards in summer evenings,... once let loose my imagination did not know where to stop... I could not think of anything better than spending my old age in a community like that...

The Weser-Stone at the junction of the rivers

Second, Hannoversch Münden is located in Lower Saxony (almost at the border with Hessen) and lies somewhere between the towns of Kassel and Goettingen. What had struck me on my first brief visit there was the feeling that there was something undeniably poetic about that place -- now after having spent two days there I can affirm that everything is poetry about that place.  

The ancient Stone Bridge over the Werra

Let me tell you why... first the three rivers -- this is the exact point where the rivers Werra and Fulda meet first to become the Klein Weser and then the Weser rivers. And at the point where they meet, under a huge chesnut tree is this pretty rock with an inscription -- the Weserstein -- on which is inscribed the verse:

'Where the Werra and the Fulda kiss/ Their names they must give up / 

And from that kiss is born/ The river Weser, German till the sea' dated 31 July 1899. That area around the Weserstone is the prettiest in the city... but there are others....

The imposing facade of the Town Hall, with the Glockenspiel on the top, and the area in front of it 

The very colourful and ornate
main portal of the Town Hall

There is an imposing and very elaborate Rennaisance Town hall dating back to the 14th century and an old stone bridge over the Werra, the oldest stone bridge still standing in Northern Germany. 

The Tilly Schanze on the hill
at the end of the road

Then there is the Tilly Schanze, a tower tucked up in the hills from where one gets amazing views of the city. But the best thing about the place are the half timbered houses, many more than 600 years old,  most of which have been lovingly and very carefully renovated now and have been converted into high end modern apartments from inside while keeping the outer facade intact. There are more than 450 of them in the little town and it was a real treat to look at them. 

Located at the junction of three rivers this city had a much more important function as a trading town in medieval times.And because of the rivers, it also had a lot to do with water, flooding and the like. And water is a theme that runs in the city -- to the many artistic water installations that were set up during the World Expo in Hannover in 2000, to the bustling city life that is seen along the banks of the rivers even today. 

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Dr. Eisenbart

My husband and I had visited this beautiful town briefly many years ago and then I had told myself that I would have to go back for longer. This time, I went to Hann Münden with my dear Assamese friend Ronjeeta. Originally from Dibrugarh on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra she now lives in the beautiful northwest German town of Bremen that stands on the river Weser. I am from Guwahati also by the Brahmaputra and my husband was also from Bremen, which like Hann Münden, is an ancient trading (Hanseatic) city. So both Ronjeeta and I had an interest in going to Hann. Münden to see the source of the Weser, which, as the verse on the Weserstone claims, is an all-German river in that it starts and ends in Germany. We stayed in a quaint ancient house called Petersilie Haus in the old town and had a whole apartment to ourselves. With beautiful furniture from the 60s and 70s our apartment itself was a testamant to the prosperous past of the city as a trading post. 

The best story about Hann. Münden last. The story/legend/myth/history of Dr. Eisenbart, a travelling ministrant and physician, who is supposed to have stayed in the city, performed many near impossible cures but then is believed to have died in the city. His achievements are to be seen in the Glockenspiel on the Muscial Clock on the top of the Town Hall three times every day. 

We also have an immensely beautiful river in Guwahati, we also have a long river front, we also have many interesting stories of people who have lived in our cities along the rivers, and also many lovely poems written about our mighty and vast rivers...But why do they all not come together in a melody like it did in that tiny little medieval city tucked away in the middle of nowhere somewhere in Germany. Rather than proudly try to preserve and protect our older buildings, why do we choose to destroy the beautiful old heritage bungalows to build ugly concrete monsters in their place? Why do we line our waterfronts with such monstrosities that the river can hardly be seen? And why do we fell all our ancient trees to make way for more and more roads so that more and more cars can ply on them and kill us all eventually with their fumes? Yes, we need development, but what is a city without a soul, without a past, without trees? And what good is our river if we do not celebrate it?