Rotes Rathaus was built in Berlin in the second part of the 19th century, in the style of High Renaissance. I found it particularly interesting that this town hall was inspired by two buildings. First, the architect was inspired by The Old Town Hall of Torn (Toruń in Poland). Second, the towers of the Rotes Rathaus are built in a similar style, as the cathedral towers of Notre-Dane de Laon in France.
The Neuruppin is also called Fontanestadt, from the name of Theodor Fontane who was born there. We had a very pleasant walk along the lake and the town, though the weather wasn’t perfect at all. This photo was taken just before a storm, which surprised us, and we were unfortunately soaked. I was pleased, however, as I was able to capture the impressive structure of the clouds before it started to rain.
It was funny to discover that the name “Sächsische Schweiz” comes from 17th Century. In 1766, two Swiss artists Adrian Zingg and Anton Graff joined Dresden Academy of Arts. These two artists wrote many letters comparing landscape – back then named Meissen Highlands – to their homeland. The name gained broad audience and soon enough the entire area was recognized this way.
The original name of this tower was “Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm” (Emperor William Tower) and was built between 1888 – 1889 to mark 100 years after the birth of the German Emperor Wilhelm I. The tower was built in a Gothic Brick Reviewal style, which you can often see around Berlin. The name “Grunewaldturm” was given after the name of the surrounding forest, in the period following the Second World War.
I really fell in love with Swiss Saxony and I can’t believe it took me so long to visit it for the first time. The interesting thing is that for most of my life, I only lived just a few hours’ drive from this place. Sure, some areas get really crowded and busy but, you can easily find other areas that are very serene and silent.
