the hessenpark near neu-anspach is an outdoor museum par excellence. it's basically a huge medieval village with lots of different timber-framed houses and buildings that once stood in all kinds of places in hessia, but have been rebuilt for preservational and educational reasons. in every house there is an exhibition about a specific subject that relates to the state of hessia, for example an exhibit about world war two refugees in hessia, or the history of tourism in this state, or about the tradition of glass-blowers. and many many more things! we didn't see everything while we were there, the biggest reason for that was the live play that was going on that day. it was a play about hessian soldiers returning from the american war of independance, finding that life without them proceeded in all kinds of different ways that were not always in their favour and realizing that the once so familiar environment suddenly turned into one of distrust and anger and disillusion. it was a six hour play, so actually quite a massive spectacle that spanned over the whole area, embedded in the historical settings of various village squares, old wooden mills and on apple orchard meadows. i loved the whole concept of walking with the theatre, of experiencing the play as partaking bystanders, interacting with the actors and just being part of the whole happening. we took a few breaks inbetween to look into a few exhibitions a bit more closely and to eat, but you could always ask some of the actors what had happened so far, as they always were running around in all kinds of places, so you actually didn't miss out. unfortunately, it being already so long ago, i cannot quite remember the whole story anymore and therefore am unable to retell it more precisely.
i will hopefully return to this museum park in the future as there are all kinds of happenings going on throughout the year and all the exhibitions i haven't even seen yet still need to be explored. it's a fantastic place, especially if you're into ancient architecture, history and interactive plays.
on the main square.
our hosts and leaders of the day, two travelling merchants who passed through the little town to inform people about the return of the soldiers. they also commented on all the scenes and events with incredibly witty and charming remarks.
not all of the women in town were excited about the returning soldiers.
even graveyards were rebuilt to properly depict history in hessian localities.
beautiful metal crosses and graves.
this guy was actually introduced as a leprous stranger, but in the end turned out to be an allegedly missing soldier with bad intentions.
the villagers held court inside an apple orchard, and it was a really beautiful scenery.
they were musing about how to welcome the soldiers and how to reintegrate them into the changed society.
this dog was gloriously scraggy.
the miller inside his working environment.
the miller's assistant.
the inside of a little chapel standing by the roadside.
we finally decided to seclude ourselves from the play to take a look around the area.
a little roadside shrine.
quite a piece of work. roadside shrines can be found in europe everywhere, mostly on pilgrimage routes. they were erected for religious and commemorating use only.
a deer snuck inside the park somehow and hid next to lilac bushes. i do think of such encounters as a blessing :)
it is done! probably a shrine for workers coming home to their villages after a hard day's work.
these houses are typical for the region of the taunus mountains, my current area of residence.
inside there was an exhibition about glass blowing.
the backside of the taunus houses.
the museum also re-erected religious architecture, such as this beautiful little synagogue.
moat house. i wish i could move into this one, i'd feel like a little damsel in a tiny paradise. it's initial function was as a storage house, but in later years, before it was dismantled and then rebuilt in the park, it was home to workers.
timber framed work is probably my most loved architecture style. something about the minimalistic windows and squares that's aesthetically very nourishing to my eyes. it feels so cozy.
goats and sheep were grazeing everywhere. lots of baby animals were jumping around. spring is baby season.
this house was originally built in 1735, the inscription above the gate is basically a homage to god who helped the erectors build their home.
the mills are not typical for our region. it once stood in the north of germany, as mills in hessia are pretty rare. they also couldn't translocate any local mills ( i guess there were property issues preventing them to do so ), so they decided to rebuilt this mill. it was important to include a mill, otherwise the whole picture of a north hessian community would've been incomplete.
this very simple church was only used two times a year, for erntedank ( a religious celebration to thank god for the harvest ) and easter.
the inside was very plain, only the pulpit was a bit more intricate and elaborate. this is a erntedank setting, with the harvest crown hanging above the church attenders' heads.
there were also a few barns used as craft producing buildings. you could work with wood and create your own little souvenir. this cube was burn marked with a yoda slogan: much to learn you still have.
these rolls were used for making patterns on plain wallpapers. it'd be great if they still existed today. so many interesting patterns could be made.
such as this wood pattern. i'd totally decorate my whole appartment with this.
we returned to the play right about the time the leprous soldier finally revealed his true face. his wife cheated on him while he was away and now he took hostage of the guy. he doesn't look very concerned, though, about having to die. in the end they managed to de-escalate the whole event. i don't know how it ended, because we decided again to stray away and search for something to eat and look at more exhibitions. when we asked people after the play ended, they just said to us: it ended on good terms. so probably everyone was redeemed and got a fair treatment.
beautiful hessian pottery.
a mid-century living room. i loved this!
the park soon closed and we headed back to wiesbaden. we made a small stop on the highest mountain of the taunus, the great feldberg. the views were to die for, and the sun beams shining through thick and heavy clouds made me feel kind of celestial, just by looking at them.
all in all, this day was chock-full with history and theatre and learning about hessian history. an outdoor museum is a fantastic way to flee the everyday life and educate yourself about the place you are living in.
for german information the beautifully designed website of the hessenpark lets you in on all secrets of the park, happenings and events.
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