#Visit Strasbourg

[goingplacesfarandnear]

Time-Traveling through Strasbourg in France’s Alsace-Lorraine

The spectacular panoramic view of Le Petit France from the terrace atop Vauban Dam © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com Staying over in the historic city of Strasbourg in France’s Alsace-Lorraine region, means that you can go out in the early morning, before the daytrippers crowd the streets, and soak in the atmosphere. A…

[fredomotophoto]

Strasbourg

Photo : Frédéric Poirier

[postcard-from-the-past]

Members of the French Alpine Club on a visit in Strasbourg, Alsace region of France

French vintage postcard

[travelew]

[postcards-around-the-world]

Houses in Strasbourg, Alsace. I was very impressed about the architectural influences.

[myhouseidea]

Strasbourg Morning by @fcapparellii

Get Inspired, visit www.myhouseidea.com

[dwellordream]

Cats, the Black Death, and a Pope

“...Despite the popular perception of plague being a normal part of life throughout the Middle Ages, the era was actually marked by a centuries-long period where the disease was not seen at all.  After the major epidemic of (probably) bubonic plague in the sixth century there do not seem to have been any such plague epidemics until the visitation of the Black Death in the late 1340s.  As a result, few Europeans had any natural immunity.  The plague revisited Europe periodically from the 1340s onward – usually at generational intervals – and then the 1660s saw another major outbreak.  But increased levels of immunity meant that these re-visitations were not as devastating as the “Great Dying” of the 1340s. Obviously, no-one had any clear idea of what caused the disease and the Church certainly did attribute it to the wrath of God, the way natural disasters were then and often still are to this day.  This did not mean there was no attempt at natural explanations for the disease by churchmen and scholars, who accepted that while it may be a manifestation of divine displeasure, it was still a natural phenomenon.  In the absence of any understanding of germ theory, they fell back on the ancient Greek idea of “miasmas” or “bad air” as the cause.  While this was wrong, it resulted in the practices of quarantining victims and disposing of dead bodies quickly (even burning them en masse, despite religious taboos about cremation), which went some way toward containing the disease.  But, as with any such epidemic in the pre-modern world, there was little else anyone could do other than let the disease run its course.

…The group most often scapegoated were western Europe’s Jews, given that they were a separate, non-Christian community that was easily identified. Pogroms against Jews broke out mainly in the Rhineland, which had seen large scale murders of Jews in earlier manifestations of mass hysteria, such as the beginning of the First Crusade in the 1090s.  So hundreds of Jews were massacred or burned alive in Strasbourg in 1349, but there were similar pogroms elsewhere in Europe, including Toulon in France and Barcelona in Spain.   Of course, the meme above is keen to blame the Church for these massacres, but actually the Church spoke out strongly against them and instructed local authorities to suppress them.  Pope Clement VI issued two papal bulls – the first on July 6, 1348 and another on 26 September 1348 – condemning the pogroms and forbidding the persecution of Jews.  Modern Jewish accounts often claim that Jews were targeted because they had better hygiene than their Christian neighbours and so suffered much lower mortality in the epidemic, though this seems to be based largely on modern misconceptions about medieval hygiene.  

Contrary to popular belief, all medieval people washed their hands before meals, washed and bathed regularly if not daily and washed dead bodies before burial, so these practices were not unique to medieval Jews.  Clement VI’s first bull also counters any claims that Jews could have been responsible for the plague by noting that Jews were dying as rapidly as everyone else, which indicates that the Jews did not have some kind of lower mortality rate anyway. So the meme’s claim that certain people were targeted as scapegoats is correct, but the implication that this was due to encouragement by “the Church” is not. The group that is missing in the accounts of victims of these revenge attacks, however, is “witches”.

Again, contrary to popular belief, the idea that alleged witches were regularly victimised by the Church in the medieval period is largely incorrect.  The heyday of the Witch Craze came much later, with its peak in the sixteenth century.  The position of the Church for most of the Middle Ages was that “witches” did not exist and even that it was sinful to claim they did. This changed in the last two centuries of the Middle Ages, but this change seems to have been, at least in part, a reaction to the Black Death and only came much later in the fourteenth century.  Fear of supposed witches does not manifest itself in any substantial way until long after the plague of the 1340s and there is no official Church acceptance of the existence of witches until 1484. So while there is plenty of evidence for pogroms against Jews in the wake of the plague and clear evidence of revenge against other marginal groups, there is no evidence at all that I know of that “witches” were blamed.  Which brings us to the claim about massacres of cats.

...did Gregory IX declare all cats evil or order their destruction?  Actually, no.  The “1232” reference seems to be to Gregory’s papal bull Vox in Rama, issued in that year, which addressed an alleged outbreak of devil worship in Germany.  This bull gives a description of the ceremonies of this group of “Luciferians”, which includes many standard tropes found in lurid medieval ideas about heretical practices. This involved visions of a giant toad, initiates kissing an emaciated pale man and finally a statue of a black cat coming to life and speaking with the initiates.  Nowhere does the bull associate this diabolical cat with cats generally, condemn all cats or call for their slaughter.  Yet the claim that this bull somehow did cause massacres of cats continues to be made, usually with no reference to any supporting evidence at all.  

…not only do we have repeated references to cats being kept as pets – especially by nuns, showing that unmarried “cat ladies” have a long history – but, as the illuminations above show, cats were actually prized because they were good at controlling rodents.  Medieval bestiaries talk about how useful cats are for catching mice and rats.  Isidore of Seville thought the Latin name for the cat – cattus – came from the verb “to catch (mice)”.  Most households kept cats both as mousers or simply as pets and etiquette books on how formal meals and feats should be conducted talk about how “dogs and cats” should be driven out of the hall before food was served.  The thirteenth century Ancrene Wisse – a guide for female hermits – advises “[you] shall not possess any beast, my dear sisters, except only a cat”.  Far from being “virtually eliminated”, medieval people rather liked cats.

…So where did this idea of a medieval cat massacre come from?  Like many myths that are projected back onto “the Middle Ages” (witch burning, an aversion to bathing), it seems loosely based on some much later incidents of killing animals as a reaction to other outbreaks of epidemics in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  And the targets of these examples seem to have been dogs more than cats, though they could include both.  One thing that was notable about the Black Death and later European manifestations of the plague is that it seems to have affected many animals and livestock as well as humans. This means it killed rats in large numbers (possibly causing their fleas to seek human hosts), but we also have descriptions of dogs, cats and cattle dying.  

As a result, the main mentions of cats and dogs in accounts has them as victims of the epidemic, not as its cause. Despite this, we do have some evidence that dogs and, sometimes, cats were killed in reaction to later outbreaks.  In Edinburgh in 1499 a city ordinance required stray dogs, cats and pigs be killed in reaction to an outbreak of disease, and this law was repeated in 1505 and 1585.  We find a similar reaction in Seville in 1581 and in London in 1563 and again in 1665, where the victims were again mainly stray dogs rather than cats.  The reason seems to have been the medical belief that stray animals spread the plague.”

- Tim O’Neill, History for Atheists 

[a-forbidden-detective]

A day in a life of RonToto: Germany & France (Part 1)

RonToto after their Vienna sojourn are finding themselves in Germany and for a while in France: (from top left) an old house and now a five-star hotel in Colmar, the St. Martin’s Cathedral, a boat ride along the Ill, at the foot of German poet Friedrich Schiller’s statue, the suite hotel where RonToto stayed, another timber house in Strasbourg, the Residenzschloss in Rastatt, and crashing at the wedding reception in a Stuttgart palace

After we solved the case in Vienna, and bc we did a lot of running here and there, unmasking our rich client’s long-lost lover, who happened to be a stage actor (I will tell the whole story soon, promise), he gifted us train tickets to Baden-Württemberg and the neighboring cities in France.

Ron and I visited the towns of Ludwigsburg, Stuttgart, Strasbourg, stayed a bit longer in Colmar, and then to a quaint little “baroque” city called Rastatt.

Lots of train rides, which fascinated me most of all as Germany and France in this region is only separated by a river in between, the Rhine. But wowza! The number of people who wanted to cross France on our third day was a lot. People were seated on the stairs and the hallways. It would be either be a disaster and a blessing. Just imagine if it were the time of COVID-19. Well, I am not a doctor but a police officer and I dare not to think about the possibility. Japan was in trouble when they pursued hosting the Olympics in 2020. I just read that the water quality of the river Seine was so terrible that they cancelled the triathlon the other day.

Anyway, we crashed a wedding reception in Stuttgart. Was not our intention though. The groom mistook me as a friend from middle school in an international school in Tokyo. Ron was so amused we had been offered a table and got to toast with the newlyweds for the new chapter in their lives. Two young women tried to flirt with Ron, which sort of ruined my day, but became hilarious though. Bc as soon as Ron deduced them they couldn’t wait to get away from him. Heh!

As soon as we reached Colmar while we waited for our hotel suite to be ready, we decided to go for a boat ride along the Lauch, which is connected to the Ill River that also flows in Strasbourg. Ron was also able to tick a box on his wretched list of what he wanted to do. Want to know what that is? Sitting on top of one of the half-timber roofs and sipping his black sugar syrup. I was so embarrassed but the owner let him get away with it. Lucky him.

On our second and final day in Colmar, there was a scheduled city trip around the town. Colmar is the city that is supposed to be the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki’s “Howl’s Moving Castle’s” Ingary. It was a charming little town with the half-timber houses. So picturesque. That’s the word I learned from Ron. Stemmed from the 17th century it wormed its way to English language that could mean that the scene resembles a picture, evokes aesthetics and vivid. The old town feels like a museum, but many of them are still used either as a hotel or restaurant or both.

Rastatt is near the famous Baden-Baden. A small town that houses baroque palaces. It was a Monday when we visited it so not too many people were strolling around as museums were closed. Haha! That’s so nice to know.

Ron said we are going to make another stop in Europe until we are back to Tokyo for another client request. This is the first time I heard Amamiya was actually happy on the phone when I talked to her. Though one could never be sure.

[josefavomjaaga]

(Sorry to bother folks with yet another non-art post about non-popular guys but I was so excited to find this I just have to tell somebody!)

The "Revue du Rhin" from September 1937 published a letter from Eugène de Beauharnais and another from Jérôme Bonaparte to Eugène. And the letter scribbled written by Eugène is the earliest I've come across so far - his dad is still alive at that point and still at the head of the army (while he has already failed to defend Mainz).

The letter is directed at one Louis Apffel, an obviously somewhat older friend, as he seems to be already with the army. It's undated, but the recipient has noted on top that he believes to have received it in August 1793, which would fit the events mentioned in the letter. The translation, including random capitalization and lack of punctuation, reads:

- Dear Friend, I saw with pleasure that you have already made a campaign but I would have had much more Pleasure to learn that Mayence was not under the power of the Austrians, bad news one says in Strasbourg that my papa is in Wissembourg that the army of Ferrière is surrounded and the vanguard of Houchard is also surrounded a letter of Macé says that we had 2 hundred men killed in Vorth is of the number tetrel is wounded, the republic should sound the tocsin of legality and each citizen would put himself under arms would acquire glory and the trade which since the revolution was destroyed would come back more beautiful - Chairoux, henrion and Lestranges will write to you when they have time. Monsieur Rivage told me that I would be going to see my papa during the holidays. Adieu a thousand times, love me as much as I love you Beauharnais

-

Eugène at this point is 11 years old, and as the article states, him talking about events in the war in such detail and especially him considering the effects on trade are somewhat strange for a boy his age. What Eugène obviously does not suspect yet is the consequences the loss of Mayence would have for his father, who would soon leave the army and try to make himself forgotten, before being arrested and, not quite a year after Eugène wrote this letter, executed.

The article continues to describe Alexandre de Beauharnais' military record in not exactly flattering terms 😋 and to identify the generals, classmates and teachers Eugène mentions.

The second letter is one of recommendation, written four years later, in 1797, by Jérôme, most likely for the same Louis Apffel who had come to visit his former classmate in his college of Saint-Germain (probably in order to get in contact with Eugène's new stepfather), only to learn that Eugène three months earlier had left for Italy as general Bonaparte's aide-de-camp. Apparently he was going to follow him there and wanted to make sure he would be allowed to approach the general's family.

And if you thought Eugène's handwriting was bad, here's Jérôme:

Translation:

My dear Eugène One of your close friends, as he tells me, came expressly to St. Germain to see you, but on learning that you had left 3 months ago for Italy, they asked me for a letter for you, fearing that they would not be able to see you. In the name of your friend I gave him a letter and would have given him everything I hold dearest in this capacity. Farewell, I embrace you and I am your faithful friend. Jérôme Buonaparte -

I like how Jérôme is obviously not stupid (your friend "as he tells me" - who however doesn't know your whereabouts). And as he speaks of several people who wanted to get in touch with Eugène, now that Eugène was the stepson of the most famous army general, I wonder if this may have been the whole family of Louis Apffel, trying to take advantage of the fact their son had once been in school with Eugène.

[fredomotophoto]

Strasbourg

Photo : Frédéric Poirier

[francebonapartiste]

En cette journée du 5 mai, intrinsèquement liée à Napoléon Ier, nous vous donnons rendez-vous au Café des Invalides à Paris pour rendre hommage à l’Empereur des Français.

Avant de nous retrouver autour du Tombeau de Napoléon, sous la coupole des Invalides en fin de journée, nous vous proposons une conférence animée par Maxime LARAVINE, Guide-Conférencier à Strasbourg, ayant comme thème :

La Campagne d’Egypte de 1798-1801.

Causes, déroulé, conséquences, citations de protagonistes, batailles épiques, dilemmes, émotions des soldats

Maxime Laravine est un guide-conférencier diplômé proposant des visites guidées sur mesure, en Alsace, en France et à l’international. Afin de travailler avec des clients internationaux, il a obtenu sa certification du test « Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English-Grade C1 » en 2022.

Événement gratuit - réservation nécessaire par courriel : francebonapartiste-cerb@mailo.fr

[nancypullen]

The 23rd

I haven't posted here since September 5th because, quite frankly, my life is just a yawning canyon of nothingness. Dramatic much? Seriously, Monday is just like Tuesday, which is just like Wednesday, and so on. You know I'm a big fan of creating happiness where you are, and I'm killing myself trying to do that. No one likes to read the blog of a sad sack, I know I don't, so there's just not a whole lot to write about. I miss who I used to be. Because it's nearly the end of September, and because the 22nd was officially the first day of autumn, I decided to go all in decorating the porch. I'm not finished, but it's a start. Surely if I build it, fall will come. No more red gingham and pink roses, I'm all about pumpkins now.

I bought one of those $1 pumpkin trick-or-treat buckets and covered him in ModPodge and fall napkins. SO stinkin' easy. After popping a little battery powered votive in him, he glows at night. Cute!

The front steps are a hot mess right now. They need to be power washed, but I went ahead and put a few things out. I still have to get the garland above the door and swap some of that stuff around until it looks right.

Would it have killed the builder to center the damn door? It makes my left eye twitch. Of course I threw down my "Hey there, pumpkin" door mat.

I've only purchased two small mums so far ( and you know how much I love mums) because we're leaving town in a couple of weeks and they'd likely die while we're gone. A neighbor will check on the cats, but she's not a plant person so I don't ask her to water anything. I'm sitting on my hands to keep from filling the steps with pumpkins and mums. It's hard. This is my season and I want to enjoy every minute of it. And by enjoy it, I mean buy all of the pumpkins in the county.

I need an intervention. As much as I'm channeling autumn, Mother Nature seems determined to ignore me. As I type this I'm sitting in my craft room, burning my favorite fall candle - a yummy spicy, warm patchouli fragrance.

It smells like fall in here. Maybe I should crank down the a/c and pretend. Last weekend the Edgewater gang came over and we all took the Little Miss to an alpaca festival. LIke most festivals here, it wasn't much. A dozen or so skittish alpacas in a pasture, a store selling expensive alpaca goods (not even local), an ice cream truck, a handful of vendors selling their wares, a small bouncy house that needed more air, $10 pony rides, $8 face painting, and a free train ride. This was the train.

All that matters is that the grandgirl had fun and she did enjoy most of it. It was too hot and muggy for me. I'd planned to make dinner for everyone, but we just ordered pizza instead. I call that a win. I'm lucky enough to have a sweet daughter-in-law that is an incredible cook and baker, and she brought my favorite cake. It's called Bienenstich Kuchen, or Bee Sting Cake. Honey and almonds, need I say more? It's to die for! So we had a little early birthday celebration and their thoughtful gifts brought me to tears. My sweet grandgirl made a bracelet for me with her own little hands. She chose the beads and made it herself! She's crazy about mermaids, so this is indeed an honor. How precious is this?

Anywho, that's what's been going on here. Days and days of nothing, with lovely sprinkles of sweetness now and then. Did I mention our upcoming trip? We'll leave Baltimore on the 7th and fly to Paris.

We'll grab our bags and clear customs before hopping a train to Strasbourg. That will be our base for most of the trip. From beautiful Strasbourg we'll explore the Alsace region. It's the spot where France, Germany, and Switzerland bump noses. We'll visit Colmar and Riquewihr. Riquewihr (pronounced Rik-a-veer) is the town that inspired Beauty & the Beast and supposed to be one of the most enchanting villages in France! We'll probably take a train to Basel, Switzerland as well. If time and energy permits we can also take a quick train to Heidelberg, Germany - it's just a couple of hours away. Eventually we'll make our way back to Paris for a couple of days before flying home on the 17th. It'll be a whirlwind, but a beautiful one. Since the Alsace region is considered the "wine route", they may be very disappointed in the two of us.

I know I'll sound like, "Dee loo, see voo play." I hope they appreciate the effort. Time for me to sign off. It's 5 o'clock and I've got brown butter carrots in the crock pot that need me. We grilled chicken this weekend and have leftovers, so this meal is simple and quick. The mister has a photo meeting at 6 o'clock and I'll probably sit at my desk and make a few Halloween cards. Still trying to make fall happen. That's it from me, dear friends. I hope that you are all well and happy. If not, trust that it won't last. Good or bad,nothing is forever (except for the fat on my thighs, that's apparently permanent). Sending you lots of love, hope you feel it. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[teacherstudiies]

July 19 2023 | ☀️

I went to Strasbourg with my politics course from the teacher seminar. We visited the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. I'm a democrat (not the USA type lol) through and through, so I love seeing all these important institutions. There's a part of me who would be really intrigued working there (Fun fact: I actually am active in party politics). During the lunch break, I had a stroll through the city and had a look at this really breathtaking cathedral.

[myhouseidea]

Strasbourg Morning by @fcapparellii

Get Inspired, visit www.myhouseidea.com

[hisdhampir]

"I Want to Explore...History!"

PART I OF THE "I'm Bored" SERIES

Hello everyone! And welcome to part I of the "I'm Bored" series I made in collaboration with @alvaconsumesmedia!

Below you will find a list of different historical content I personally recommend you research and consume if you find yourself bored and wanting to explore the world of history!

If you have any questions about this list, want more information about a person or event than is listed, or wish to make a recommendation as to what should be added, send me a message to my ask box!!

HISTORY TOPICS TO RESEARCH:

[LIST] The Sumerians, Reading Recs.・located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia, emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC were the Sumerians - the oldest recorded civilzation in the entire world....also they invented writing, literature, and beer, so you know they were fun.

The Sedlec Ossuary・also known as the Church of Bones, the Sedlec Ossuary, located in the Czech Republic, is one of the most unusual chapels you will ever see as it is decorated with the real bones of some 40,000 people.

The Great Molasses Flood of 1917・if an inescapable tsunami wave of molasses charging 35 miles per hour toward you seems impossible...you should have been there to see it in Boston in 1919.

The Mouse Utopia Experiments・if you ever wondered what the horrifying real story that inspired The Rats of NIMH was...well you've found it here.

Subtropolis・SubTropolis is a business complex located 150 feet underground in an artificial cave in the bluffs north of the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri made out of an old mine that was, at one time, supposed to be an amusement park.

The Dancing Plague of 1518・a plague that hit the town of Strasbourg in 1515 that caused as many as 400 people to dance until they died.

The Demonic Possessions of Loudun・The best-known case of possession in Western European history took place in the French town of Loudun at the Church of Saint Peter where no nun was safe from demon possession.

The Tower of Silence・A dakhma, also known as a Tower of Silence was a structure built by Zoroastrians made to store decomposing dead bodies to keep them away from the city as to avoid contamination of the soil.

The Game of Hounds and Jackals・a popular game played in 1805 by the Egyptians. A copy of the game can be found today in The Met.

The Bloody Bender Murders・in the 1870s the Bender family opened an Inn in Labette County in Kansas and began murdering people who came to visit.

ART HISTORY TOPICS TO RESEARCH:

The "Le génie du mal" and the "L’ange du mal"・the St. Paul Cathédrale de Liège in Belgium, once upon a time, hired two artists both to make statues of the Devil to place in their church and, unfortunately for the nuns of St. Paul Cathédrale de Liège they were done just a little too well.

Albert Kahn's Archive of The Planet・It was Kahn's dream to document the entire world via photography, from 1909 and 1931 his team dispatched to accomplish this goal. However, when the great depression hit his dreams were smashed.

HISTORICAL FIGURES TO RESEARCH:

Carvaggio・Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome, disliked by many during his time for his arrogance, his rebellious nature...oh yeah, and he was a murderer.

Violet Jessop・Violet Constance Jessop was an Irish-Argentine ocean liner stewardess and nurse in the early 20th century who managed to survive THREE shipwrecks in her time, including the titanic!

Kate Warne・Kate Warne was none other than the first female detective in the United States, who worked for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency - the same agency that inspired many of the original Sherlock novels.

Hatshepsut・Hatshepsut was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and, after his passing, was made the first ever Queen of Egypt...so why has no one ever heard of her?

Ching Shih・Zheng Yi Sao, also known as Shi Xianggu, Shek Yeung and Ching Shih, was the leader of the largest recorded pirate fleat to ever exist from 1801 to 1810 in China...also the pirate queen in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies was based on her...not really important but I think that's pretty cool.

Marie Vigoreaux・Marie Vigoreaux, was a French fortune teller and an active part of the famous Poison Affair of the 1670s.

Olga of Kiev・Olga was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 957 who is famously known for taking revenge on entire city by mass murdering them and then, after the deed was done, converted to Catholicism and becoming a patreon saint afterward...and, yes, she is still honored as a saint in Ukraine to this day

Wu Zetian・Wu Zetian, personal name Wu Zhao, was the first and only Empress of China, who ruled from 660 to 705 and she would do anything to ensure that she stayed in charge.

Julie D'Aubigny・Julie d'Aubigny, better known as Mademoiselle Maupin or La Maupin, was a French opera singer....but what's more exciting is that she was a bisexual, cross-dressing, swords-woman, and murderer.

Alexander the Great・Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia (336–323 bce), who overthrew the Persian empire, carried Macedonian arms to India, and laid the foundations for the Hellenistic world of territorial kingdoms.

HOLLYWOOD HISTORY TO RESEARCH:

The Ava Gardner, Barbara Payton, Lana Turner Love Affair・known as the most scandalous love affair in Hollywood, Gardner, Payton, and Turner were secretly sleeping together for years....and Frank Sinatra was not happy about it.

NONFICTION HISTORICAL BOOKS TO READ:

[LIST] Medieval Religion, Reading Recs.・my list of reading recommendations to help you learn more about religion during the medieval ages.

ARTICLES TO READ:

"What Does God Smell Like?" by John Last・Unusual smells have been a distinguishing mark of holiness since the earliest days of Christian worship, so what is the smell of God?

That's all for history exploration! I hope that this helped you in curing your boredom! if you have any questions regarding anything discussed here or if you'd like to make a request to be added to the list, please send an ask to my ask box! I appreciate all comments and questions!