The Philharmonie in Berlin is an early example (perhaps even the earliest?) of a modern concert hall with the orchestra in the middle and the audience seated in irregular blocks on all sides. It was built from 1956 to 1963 by the architect Hans Scharoun (1893-1972). The German author Gerwin Read More …
When I go to art museums I am always glad to see paintings on themes that I ‘know’ because they have also been made into operas. I noticed four of these at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Bordeaux. (Have I overlooked any?) The one in my first photo is Read More …
The National Theater in Mannheim was founded in 1779, but the current building is a modern one that was built from 1955 to 1957. It has a large glassed-in foyer on the ground floor, with stairs going up to the large and small performance halls on the right and left. Read More …
Since the name of this theater means ‘Theatre of the Old Pigeon-House’, I used to think the theater building was just that, an old pigeon-house (dovecote) that somebody decided to re-purpose after a sharp decline in the demand for pigeon meat. Considering the size of the theatre, I thought it Read More …
This small street near St. Mary’s Church, the Pfarrgasse, was well-known in the Middle Ages as the narrowest point on the trade route between Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig, a distance of 133 leagues (or 400 km as we would say today). For this reason, the width of this street Read More …