community center 'maria aufnahme' in erbenheim.
in early april i made my way to erbenheim to visit a flea market dedicated to the 1950ies, 1960ies & 1970ies. i mainly went there to see if i could purchase a kidney-shaped table, or one of those super cool plant stands where you could shift around the movable racks to your likings. i've never been to that 'design market' before, always was too scared to go there alone, even though the interest was always there. well, it was good that i finally decided to overcome this stupid fear because i found what i was looking for, and for little money! when you usually pay almost 100 euro for one of these plant stands, i found one for about 40 euro! it had a few scratches and slightly rusty parts, but that didn't bother me at all, it made it even a little more interesting to me! there were tons of kidney tables around as well, some really funky, but then i thought, well, i only have so much space in my flat, and with the plant stand already taking lots of space, i decided against the kidney table. i stopped by a record player stand though and bought some, as well as a book about bauhaus. so i'd say my first time visiting a flea market was pretty damn successful! i wanted to revisit it this year as well to go look after a cute lamp ( just recently the ceiling lamp in my living room crumbled in my hands as i was trying to clean it ), but i seemed to have missed it, as it was on the first of march.
after i had this very positive flea market experience and packed up my new acquisitions into the car i decided to make a little walk around erbenheim. erbenheim is one of the eastern districts of wiesbaden, situated in the small region called 'ländchen' ( basically 'tiny country' in german ). there's lots of agriculture around, wide fields stretch out everywhere around it. some think of it as a boring district, but i disagree. if you look close enough you will find lots of cute places there. the old core is very pretty for example and there are lots of hiking routes around the former independent city. one of my favourite places in erbenheim is domäne mechtildshausen ( an agricultural farm open for the public - you can buy local produce here, dine out, have coffee and cake, visit the farm animals, stroll around the fields ). i can also recommend the gelateria casal here, which produces my favourite ice cream in the entirety of wiesbaden! my car's work shop is also situated in erbenheim, and i am very happy with their service and their friendliness ( yes, this is definitely worth mentioning! ).
i haven't seen all of erbenheim though, of course, so i encountered a small surprise when i began my little walk. i happened to stumble over a 1970ies building that was super colourful - the community center 'maria aufnahme', which belongs to the st. birgid parish. but before checking out this building a bit more closely i detected an interesting sculpture.
a strange jester is watching over the kindergarten of the community center, somehow absolutely incompatible with the religious character of the place! the sculpture is called 'narr und tod, lachen und weinen' ( jester and death, laughing and crying ). it was created by wolf spemann in 2003. i kinda like it because of course it shows us that life and death are close to each other, that one can't exist without the other one. the jester being a symbol for life, the skull being a symbol for death. it's a rather dark sculpture i think, and its position so close to where kids meet up everyday, it kinda is a bit bizarre. and that's also somehow a thing i like about it! the audacity of not sparing little people the hard facts of life! 😂
a close-up of course. the sculpture is made out of bronze. i do think that it is a bit creepy upon closer inspection.
so, the community center was completed in 1977 and inaugurated in 1978, the architect is unknown! this brutalist building is a little untypical for the genre, because first, colours, and second, linking brutalism with mid-century functionalism. brutalism often stares at you with grey facades and a certain kind of ennui ( for some people - not for me 😉 ). not this building, though, it's colourful and flamboyant! the use of all those warm colours from yellow to orange to beige, while also giving the white concrete a chance to shine - it's such a good combination! the window front absolutely reminds me of bauhaus architecture or neues bauen ( new objectivity in general ). i think the mixing of those two styles succeeded quite well.
am i the only one who is reminded of cross hairs here? in the cross hairs of the church, indeed 😂
walking under the colonnades ( with blue and white striped columns! ) you discover even more geometrical forms underneath the flat roof. i like how the dark concrete fits together with the yellow bit like a puzzle piece.
found some random happy mosaic people on one of the walls! i think they're really cute!
the bauhaus-y window front of the community center. the brightly coloured columns here are proof that the community center is also used as a kids and youth club! even the staircase was painted in many colours! i love that, it makes the building even more cheerful!
i couldn't refrain from taking a photo in front of this. this was the start of a not so official project of mine, self portraits in front of places i love ( i am open for suggestions on a cooler title for that project, so if you have an idea on what to call this, shoot! ). every now and then there will be these self portraits in the future, just for fun! this was also when i had long hair still, it's very short now!
another cross hairs at a different part of the building. here you can fully grasp the extent of the brutalist style.
on the other side this rotunda annex waves hello.
the construction year is still engraved in the concrete. this is also the entry to the chapel, which i wasn't able to get a glimpse of. maybe gonna check that out eventually another time?
my path continued through the neighborhood and i ended up outside the city limits. i wanted to enjoy the nature a bit, as it was getting greener and greener by the day, more lush and satisfying. it also got a little more red at times, a really fresh red, like this bush provided. it's the leaves of the red barberry.
they're the best colour, right?
back to blue and green and white! these white bushes are often hawthorn bushes.
every year they change nature into a white sea of petals.
after a little while i came by some train tracks and found a sheep flock with baby sheep nearby! i spent a good portion of time there, trying to cuddle them ( with moderate success, lol - there's always an electric fence in the way, i guess! ).
they were right beneath the train tracks! these train tracks are reserved for the ländchesbahn, a non-electrified railway line between wiesbaden and niedernhausen! that's probably something that makes the hearts of train lovers beat a little faster ;) it's still in use today, but not overly frequented.
the sheep at least didn't care about the train tracks at all.
an ewe with lamb trying to suckle milk. i think the breed is barbados blackbelly sheep.
they were all so peaceful, the lambs sometimes made little jumps and chased each other 💕
so tiny!
it was a joy to watch this baby relaxing in the sun!
hello, little curious one 😘
i had to part from the sheep eventually and continued my walk through erbenheim nature.
one last view of the ländchesbahn tracks.
a dream in white. i can never quite determine whether these are cherries or apples. i should probably take note of the whole tree and write it down somewhere 😂
those white blooming trees and bushes are surely some of the best things in spring!
i love when i meet equestrians on my walks! i like horses a lot, but i also have great respect for them. i always stand in awe and let them pass by quietly, trying not to make abrupt movements.
returning back to erbenheim i found these japanese quince blossoms. i love their crimson red blooming!
and for good measure, one last picture of the community center!
it was only a short walk, but it was a wonderful one, filled with animals, lovely nature, great architecture and design! so, a little advice, never forgo the small outer districts of your city, they often hide something special!
stay curious ❤
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