[The Würzburg Residenz] [History of German Immigration to Canada] [Universal Language: English in Germany]
(Thirty-six year old, female Frankfurt immigrant, A.N., speaks to interviewer Sabina Brennenstuhl...)
DU AND SIE:
SABINA: Explain the difference between "Du" and "Sie" in the German language.
A.N.: "Du" means "you" in the singular. "Sie" can mean "you" in the plural OR it can mean "You" in a formal sense as opposed to "du"/"you" in an informal sense.
"Sie" is meant to impart a certain amount of formality and respect in written or vocal communications. {eg. students might refer to their instructor as "Sie" as a sign of respect.}
SABINA: In German, "Du kannst zu mir "du" sagen" conveys that the speaker wants to dispense with the formality of "sie" in favor of the more affectionate and bonding "du".
Sometimes even native speakers are unsure of what is correct in unfamiliar social contexts.
A.N.: "Du" signals inclusion in a group of social equals with overtones of affection and intimacy.
It is used in this sense with family members, close friends, school-mates, students {aquainted or not} and colleagues with whom one has explicitly agreed to use "du".
SABINA: Outside of such contexts, its use can connotate affectionate condescension. Thus it is considered appropriate when addressing children under 14 or so {as strangers].
A.N.: Using "du" correlates in most cases with using the first name. Ich HeiBe Wolfgang, is indirectly conveying the message "Lets's use "du" with each other.
Germans use first names much more selectively than do Americans, and it is not uncommon for co-workers who have spent years together in the same office to remain on a last name and therefore "sie "basis. Pupils use "Sie" when referring to their teachers.
SABINA: "Sie" is used for all social situations in which "du" would be inappriopriate.
It is the default mode of address among adults who meet for the first time, and conveys a respect for privacy and social position by implying a polite distance.
A.N.: While "Sie" is grammatically plural, it is used to address one person as well as a group.
Just as "du" correlates in most cases with first-name use, "Sie" is associated with the last name.
In some circles, adults will use first names and "Sie", perhaps indicating a compromise between relaxed attitudes toward formality and a desire nontheless for some social distance.
SOCIAL DISTANCE:
SABINA: Is this need for "social distance" perhaps a manifestation of so many people living together in such a small space? {eg: 60 million people living in the same spacial dimensions of what could be Vancouver Island.}
A.N.: Yes, I believe that could have something to do with it...
PUNCTUALITY:
SABINA: Are German people as punctual as their stereotype.
A.N.: Oh yes! German people expect punctuality. Canadians are so easy going. Germans might come early. Too early...
GOSSIP:
SABINA: What sorts of what we might expect to call "unusual behaviors" occur in Germany that we do not see in Canada?
A.N.: It goes on through the window. Lots of gossiping about the neighbors. This gossip spreads rumours. Old people sit at the window, and just watch...from their balcony.
Sometimes I don't know what's going on in Canada. In Germany, everybody knows their neighbours.
FASHION:
SABINA: How do German people dress?
A.N.: They dress to be fashionable. After all, they are close to the fashion center of France and are therefore more exposed to it. They dress for first impressions and respectability.
In Germany, as in most of Europe, women shave their legs or not. Armpits are not shaved. Presumably this is to please men, who find it erotic. In Canada you are expected to shave your legs. More people in Canada use deodorant also.
Leather jackets are readily available because the Germans are so close to Italy. Leather goods are affordable. There are big jewelry departments in Germany and not so big perfume departments. In Germany, umbrellas are the fashion statements, not Gortex.
RELIGION:SABINA: What major religions are German people involved in.
A.N.: Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran.
MARRIAGE:
SABINA: How do Germans get married?
A.N.: When they get married, men wear rings when engaged. The man wears an engagement ring, first on the left, then on the right side, after marriage. Rings come in matching pairs. Women wear just one ring and then switch hands - left to right. The diamond is not as important. In Germany there is more selection in jewel design.
"Polterabend" is a celebration before marriage. All the guests bring something breakable . They greet the couple and drop the stuff in front of them for good luck. It is a substitute for a bridal shower.
People usually get married at the justice of the peace. Then they get married at church; here it's all in one. Weddings vary in wealth as they do in Canada . In churches, women wear white wedding dresses as they do here. No bridesmaids, only the witnesses and the flower girl. In the olden days, the guests strung empty cans on the back of the car.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES:
SABINA: In general, what are the greatest differences in culture between Germany and Canada.
A.N.: Generally, the culture is more competitive in Germany and there are more rules to follow. Also, in Germany, every house has a fence. It's unthinkable that someone might step on your property. {...Here there are actually suburbs with no fences...}The Germans like their privacy.
FASCHING:
SABINA: Do you have a holiday approximating Halloween in Germany?
A.N.: Our version of Halloween in Germany is called "Fasching" - making fun of politicians and celebrating life in a funny way. It starts November 11 and is finished Ash Wednesday. People dress up. Adults have presentations and stand-up comedy. It is based on an old tradition of getting rid of the witches of winter.
CHRISTMAS:
SABINA: What about Christmas?
A.N.: In Germany Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ . "Christ Kindel". There is no Santa Claus as there is in North America.
St. Nicholaus comes on the night of the 5th of December. Children put their boots out at night; in the morning they are filled with nuts and oranges. People often go to church or midnight mass depending on their religion. Presents are opened on the eve of the 24th of December.
There are real candles on the Christmas tree, and it is decorated on Christmas eve.
MATERIALISM:
SABINA: Are Germans as materialistic as Canadians?
A.N.: More materialistic than Canadians.
For more information, consult the HandbuchzurdeutschenGrammatik by Jamie Rankin & Larry D. Wells. {pages: 210-211} copyright@2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
THE WÜRZBURG RESIDENCE PALACE
Germany is a country that has many fantastic castles and palaces. One of the most famous and lovely is the Würzburg Residence Palace.
"...this must surely be the most beautiful {castle} in Germany. The staircase is magnificent.
Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth {pp.3, Bachmann}
Unlike other castles or palaces which evolved over a longer period of time, the Residenz was built almost within a single generation. It has a homogeneity of style, a coherence of artistic vision.
The building encorporates the foremost trends in Frence chateau architecture, Viennese Imperial baroque and the architecture of northern Italy. No palace or castle, either in Germany or the Latin countries, can surpass this work of art of astonishing universality.
The Würzburg court architect, Balthasar Neumann, was entrusted to work with some of the leading artists, painters and sculpters of the time, including the greatest fresco painter of the 18th century, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
These artists decorated and furnished Balthasar Neumann's rooms, Vestibule, Staircase, the White Hall and the magnificent Imperial Hall. This joint creative achievement was called "Würzburg rococo" and it surely could only have occurred in Franconia.
THE PRINCE-BISHOPS:
The Prince-Bishops of Würzburg lived in the Marienberg castle {on the hill above the town} until the beginning of the seventeen hundreds. It was during the reign of Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn, {1719-24}, that the court was transferred into the town.
At first, a modest castle was erected on the site of the present Residenz. But this turned out to be inadequate for the splendid tastes of the Prince-Bishop. In the first year of his reign, Philipp Franz von Schönborn obtained 600,000 florins from a lawsuit. He then began building The Residenz.
THE ARCHITECTS:
The two talented rivals, Balthasar Neumann and Lucas von Hildebrandt, disagreed over the plans for the Würzburg Hofkirche {the Court Chapel}. In the end, Balthasar Neumann's brilliant polyphonic spatial concept was victorious. Architectural planning in the baroque era was usually collective - apart from interference by patrons and gentleman architects.
Most of the great buildings were joint efforts. In the case of the Würzburg Residenz, not even Balthasar Neumann had absolute power. Despite opposition in various phases of planning, Neumann finally realized his concept, although not without considerable alteration.
THE PATRONS:
The Residenz is a work of art in its own right, not a conglomeration of disparate concepts. The origin of Würzburg rococo is due to the joint achievement of Balthasar Neumann and magnanimous patrons Johan Philipp Franz von Schönborn and his brother Friedrich Carl.
The Prince-Bishop Philipp Franz von Schönborn recognized the outstanding talent of Balthasar Neumann, an almost unknown architect who was 32 years old. Neumann had just completed his training as an architect after considerable circumlocutions.
THE PALACE:
Balthasar Neumann connected two closed, four winged buildings by a transverse block. He then obtained a horsehoe-shaped complex specifically baroque in character. The charm of that brilliant conception lies in the faces of its aspects - the palace assumes a different face from every side - in other words, it is a complex of various types of palace.
There were three stages in the building of the Würzburg Residenz. The foundation stone was laid on the 22nd of May, 1720, before the plans had even been completed. The Prince-Bishop would die before the building was completed. The north-west pavilion on the town side would be finished by 1723.
DEATH OF THE PRINCE BISHOP:
Work continued incessantly while Balthasar Neumann was in Paris consulting with architects and artisans. No sooner had he returned, when his ruthlessly active patron died suddenly. Poison was suspected. The death of the Prince-Bishop Philipp Franz von Schönborn was greeted with rejoicing, for he had been hated throughout the country.
The learned and modest Christoph Franz von Hutten {1724-29} was elected as the new Prince Bishop. A bare fifth of the vast project was at this time roofed. The elector of Mainz, Lothar Franz von Schönborn protected Balthasar Neumann, who continued to be responsible for directing the building.
DEATH OF VON HUTTEN:
After Prince-Bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten died an early death, Friedrich Carl von Schönborn {1742-46} succeeded him as Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. This time Balthasar Neumann no longer had to deal with other architects except Lucas von Hildebrandt, at the time the leader of the Viennese Imperial baroque movement. In December 1744, 24 years after the laying of the foundation stone, the skeleton of the building was complete.
BALTHASAR NEUMANN FALLS OUT OF FAVOR:
In 1746 the Prince-Bishop and patron died and Balthasar Neumann fell out of favor and was dismissed. However 3 years later in 1749, this unhappy situation ended and with the establishment of Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau as the new Prince-Bishop, Balthasar Neumann was reinstated into his old office. He then turned his attention to the interior design and layout of the gardens.
THE EMPEROR'S APARTMENTS:
The "Kaiserzimmer" or "Kaisersäle" were furnished for the Emperor and kept in readiness for his visit. In Würzburg, the Emperor's apartments had a real significance. Each Emperor stopped regularly on his journey to Frankfurt to his coronation. The iconography in these rooms represented the medieval history of the episcopal principality of Würzburg.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO:
The fresco genius Giovanni Battista Tiepolo came to Würzburg for a princely sum in December 1750, and worked for two years until July 1752. He painted several frescos including "The Marriage of Barbarossa and Beatrix of Burgundy" and "Apollo Driving the Bride to Emperor Barbarossa in the Sun Chariot." He then conceived the largest ceiling fresco ever painted, "Homage to the Prince-Bishop as Patron of the Arts and the Protection of the Sun God Apollo".
Tiepolo was never to paint rooms of such vast dimensions and dynamic conceptions again. Tiepolo left Würzburg in November 1753. Balthasar Neumann had died shortly before, and the last patron Prince-Bishop von Greiffenklau died one year later.
LOUIS XVI ERA:
The reign of Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim {1755-79} brought the Louis XVI era to the Residenz. Ludovico Bossi executed classically designed stucco decorations in the staircase in 1765/66. The Hofgarten was finally completed.
With the advent of secularization, the episcopal principality of Würzburg was undone. In 1802 it came into Bavarian hands. In the course of the 19th century, Crown Prince Ludwig and miscellaneous kings of Bavaria resided in the Würzburg palace.
RESTORATIONS:
In the 1920's, restoration work was done on the interiors and furnishings. On the 16th of March 1945, most of the town of Würzburg was destroyed and with it the interiors of the Residenz.
Only Balthasar Neumann's sequence of rooms and the paintings of Tiepolo survived. This was due to the technical genius of Balthasar Neumann who spanned the immense spaces in the vestibule staircase and Kaisersaal with a single unsupported stone vault. This vaulting survived the fires of 1896 and 1945 and is still intact today.
One of the greatest achievements was the restoration of the Hofkirche in May 1963. But the Spiegelkabinett, the most perfect of mirrored rooms, is irretrievably lost.
FORBIDDING SPLENDOUR:
The Residenz is for Germany, an aspect of forbidding splendour. A great square, vastly empty, emphasized the towering remoteness of the Residenz beyond, The facade shows four storeys, a ground and main floor with mezzanines.
The Vestibules spatial impression is crypt-like and determined by the contrast between the low elevation of the vaulting. Yet a coach could turn in the spacious unsupported hall. The oppressively low proportions of this area was intended to provide architectural contrast to the lofty stairwell.
The Treppenhaus {staircase} is architecturally and artistically one of the most magnificent spatial creations ever achieved. The design provides for three flights of stairs with landings. There is a gallery on the upper story. The whole great five-bayed staircase is spanned with a single unsupported vault.
According to a story told by Balthasar Neumann's son about his father's rival, Lucas von Hildebrandt, the great Viennese architect declared that he would "have himself hanged at his own expense" under the vault if it should hold, whereupon Balthasar Neumann countered by offering to have a battery of artillery fired off under it. {pp.35, Bachmann}
The magnificent spaciousness is most impressive. The vault withstood the disastrous air-raid of March 1945. The vast hall is a display of flights and counterflights, rising and falling balustrades, and terraced landings - a spectacle of wonder.
The Treppenhaus.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo contrived a fitting decoration for the vault in lightness. The ceiling is 30 x 18 metres and covered with a single painting. Apollo is revealed ascending the zenith, radiant in golden light above a circular temple.
On Apollo's right on the cloud banks, the Hours harness the steeds of the Sun.
On his left are representations of the four seasons leading on to Mars and Venus reclining at the foot of the sun God on a grey cloud heavy with rain. The signs of the months are depicted on the Zodiac.
THE HOFKIRCHE:
The Hofkirche {the Court Chapel } is one of the most perfect religious buildings in Germany. While initially the chapel's position in the building was changed many times, it was built in the south-west corner of the Residenz.
The decorations, executed during 1735-43 are Lucas von Hildebrandt's design. The architectural concept, however, was by Balthasar Neumann. The scheme of pilasters fills the entire height of three stories, stretching to the transverse oval.
Over the High Altar, a second altar was placed for the celebration of daily Mass. The stucco decorations are by Antonio Bossi. The chapel is decorated with variously colored marbles and elaborate gold and silver giltwork.
The Hofkirche sufferred severe damage by bombs and moisture in 1945. The restoration, completed in 1963 was an outstanding hallmark in the field of monument conservation.
The Würzburg Residenz is altogether a supreme example of the magnificent artistry and architecture of baroque-era Franconia.
To see more palaces of Franconia, link to www.schloesser.bayern.de
Special thanks to Eva Gerum of the Bayerisch Schloesserverwaltung, Fotothek, for the rights to reproduce photos and illustrations from: The Würzburg Residence And Court Gardens by Erich Bachmann 1973, copyright@ Bayerische Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlosser, Garten und Seen, Munich {close summary: pp. 3-69}
