up on a hill next to the little village seitenroda, only a few kilometers away from the university city of jena you can find a remarkable castle. the leuchtenburg's history spans over 800 years, it withstood wars and fires and has consequently been rebuilt and refortified time and time again, was a prison for many centuries - one of the most terrifying as well - and it was always a huge part of historical happenings ( such as being the headquarters of a youth movement called 'die neue schar' - one highlight of all the things i learned about on this visit ).
. these days the castle houses one of the most beautiful museums i've visited in my life - the porcelain worlds. the concept of old and new mixing together, of diving deeply into the universe of porcelain creation with experiments and beautifully curated exhibition rooms, it all made for a wonderful visit. i cannot even find appropiate words for describing it, as it is clearly something one has to see with their own eyes.
on the day we visited we had a mix of sunshine/rain/snow weather, which kind of added to the whole magical atmosphere that surrounds this castle. in one moment we were out and about to discover the castle areal in sunshine conditions and in the next a flurry of snow sent us in again to go look at history, porcelain or eat a delicious medieval meal inside the castle tavern. it was a day filled with great activities and i think we left the place more knowledgeable and inspired than ever before. at least in my case i know that for sure. it definitely rekindled my love for the pottery/porcelain handcraft.
you enter the castle through that tiny portal. in front of the castle a modern visitor's center was built in recent years, where you can buy entry tickets, delicious snacks, and lots and lots of porcelain knick-knacks and souvenirs. i didn't buy anything, but when i now think of that shop my heart bleeds a bit, because there were so many nice things on display.
like this great sideboard. 'i am grotesque', something that would totally fit into my appartment and is perfectly describing my personality :D there was also a wide array of minimalistic tableware with great and whimsical designs, little non-kitschy figurines and all kinds of gift souvenirs that weren't your typical tchotchkes that you can buy everywhere. it was a great little shop.
one of the many courtyards of leuchtenburg castle.
the little tavern provided us with a fantastic rustic meal while outside a strong snow flurry passed us by in a hurry.
in this picture you can see the snow clouds in the back. do you know that saying: april, april, der macht, was er will? ( april, april, he does as he pleases? ) because that certainly was one of the truest weather proverbs on this day :) while the trees were blooming and budding, winter did not want to let go of us yet.
inside one of the castle towers was a little prison museum, including this poor lad on the prison floor.
the sky was so dramatic that day, changing every second. i loved it.
a little insight into a warder's room.
we climbed up on the highest tower of the castle, the keep. you could look far into the land, even the city of jena was in sight. here you can see the little town of kahla.
and then it was time to enter the world of porcelain. the porcelain craft has a long tradition in thuringia, in fact the state in the middle of germany was really important in manufacturing porcelain for normal consumers, not only the kings and queens and the noblepeople of the world.
the museum was divided into several themes, which included the origins of porcelain ( in china ), the production of it in europe, the use of it in both aristocratic and middle-class households and several interactive rooms where you could participate in finding the right ingredients to create porcelain, or even write invisible wishes onto simple crockery to then throw from a platform to break, because, as we all know, if you break porcelain, you will find incredible luck coming your way ( or so they say ). it was really wonderfully curated and exhibited and every room was a feast for the eye.
porcelain bowls on a stick.
old chinese porcelain found in ship wrecks.
these figurines were creepy, but at the same time kind of funny-looking, too.
nice window niche.
the great hall was home to the gallery of ancestral portraits
in one room they repurposed porcelain that went awry in the production process into whimsical creatures!
illuminated porcelain jellyfish!
i loved the chinese puppetry play that told the story of a man that went out into the world to become a porcelain creating master. it was so fragile-looking and intricate and the music was so perfect.
a very beautiful nautilus goblet.
inside the blue themed rooms you could find all sorts of nice tapestry and luxurious lamps.
bone china.
this room was set up as a 18th century banquet table. it was my favourite! in the back you can see a part of a projection desk. they projected a feast onto it and you could see how many hands emptied all kinds of delicious plates, and the room would be full of chitter chatter and clinking and clanging. it imported me right into the world of decadence and luxury!
rose porcelain.
the museum also houses the world's tallest vase made by alim pasht-han. all shiny and glorious. please check out his website, he creates the most fantastic objects. i turned into a fan of his exceptional work right after my seeing this vase.
the skywalk of wishes. there was a dark room with blacklight where you could take dishes and write a wish on them. it was invisible by daylight but visible when you held it under the blacklight - which was like some kind of magic trick i found really cool. after your wish manifestation you could throw your wish crockery down into a pit. i did that. but my wish was not fulfilled yet, unfortunately. i probably want too many unrealistic things. still, this idea was really nice. and a perfect completion for the porcelain museum.
the castle garden. after the museum visit we explored some more parts of the castle.
droplets in plants aesthetic.
these little droplets are everything.
teeny tiny succulents.
looking at these white blossoms makes my heart open up. perfect whiteness.
beautiful coffeepots inside the shop.
the perfect picture to show the weather conditions. left side: spring. right side: winter.
we made a little walk around the castle as well and discovered a little exhibition about a youth movement called 'die neue schar' ( the new crowd ). a part of the 'wandervögel'-movement, it was founded by friedrich muck-lamberty, a visionary who wanted the revolution of the soul. it basically was a hippie movement, just way back before the hippies even were a thing. it began to form after world war one, many young people wanted to be part of something new, something better and they found their salvation inside nature and artisanry - basically, they wanted to return to their roots - just like the flower power generation in the 60ies. i noticed parallels with our modern world as well, as many people retreat back to nature and simplicity nowadays, too. ( organic/vegetarian/vegan movement, the search for individuality and the purpose of life etc. )
learning about this movement struck a chord inside of me, and while i think it's maybe a little too holistic and romantiziced for my taste, i do believe we all could do well with some of the teachings that this movement has to offer.
'the majority of contemporaries in big cities locked-in together and since adolescence accustomed to chimneys, the noisiness of the street and nights so bright as days, has no measures anymore for the beauty of the landscape, even believes to see nature when looking at a potato field and find their higher requirements already satisfied when in raw-boned avenue trees a few starlings and sparrows are chirping.' ludwig klages
i loved this photo of people doing dancing lessons and morning sports so much, that i made a photo of it :D
and this was my rather meager attempt to describe an interesting day that is now a very dear memory to my heart.
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