Impfpflicht, jetzt!

When I read today's Badische Zeitung online at 10 p.m. last night, I stumbled across an article titled Weitere Einschränkungen (More Restrictions).

©BZ

Red Baron started to study the table of Corona restrictions - in force from today on - and shook his head. Gastronomy in indoor places requires 2G (vaccinated or recovered), while outdoor Christmas markets are marked 2G+. Geimpfte or Genesene may dine in restaurants, while 2G visitors to Christmas markets also need a negative Corona rapid test result. Last Saturday, Red Baron visited Freiburg's Christmas market, accompanied by a cold wind that blew away any Corona aerosol clouds. 

With all the existing complications already, the market's attendance is only half this year compared to before Corona. The additional test requirement will kill Freiburg's Christmas market (see the recent development at the end).

The new Corona restrictions are illogical and too complicated. The Eiertanz (dancing around eggs) around stubbornly unvaccinated people must stop as soon as possible.

Further reading about Weitere Einschränkungen, I shouted, "Compulsory vaccination, now!"

©ZDF

Germany is riding on a towering fourth wave of Corona with no end in view, so the US told its citizens to avoid my country.

 

©ZDF, Die Heute Show

Jens Spahn, the wise guy and soon-to-be former Federal Minister of Health, said, "In January, the 3G rule will still be valid. It is only named differently: geimpft, genesen, and gestorben (vaccinated, recovered, and deceased)."

He wasn't wise when he later argued against compulsory vaccination: "Jabs don't help to break the fourth Corona wave." Dear Jens, everybody knows that immunization against Covid builds up over time, and a second jab is required two weeks after the first shot.

However, every day counts, so compulsory vaccination now! I want to live through something other than a fifth Corona wave in the winter of 2022/23.

With a Corona incidence rate of 1084, more than double that of Germany, Austria starts compulsory vaccination next year on February 1. Why don't we follow? 

Latest Information

This Wednesday evening, the organizer, the Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH (FWTM; Freiburg Economy Tourism and Fair Ltd.), and the exhibitors decided to close the Christmas market. 

Despite the market closure, FWTM has allowed artisans to continue operating their booths. However, the decorations must come off, as a Christmas market requires 2G+. Consequently, 50 of the 127 vendors of the aborted event will continue. 

With Christmas decorations removed, one of the arts and crafts vendors said, "We are now like a normal retail store, for which the 3G rule applies and not 2G+." Crazy!

Compulsory vaccination now!

**

The Sunset Effect

Note the fog in the valleys of the Black Forest (©Margit Anhut)

Look at this beautiful afterglow, a photo taken by my good Feierabend friend Margit at the Schauinsland, the famous mountain in the Black Forest.

 
The red colors of sunrise and sunset, and the blue sky, too, are explained by the scattering of sunlight.

The scattering of light by small particles compared to the wavelength is called Rayleigh scattering. Calculations show that light is scattered inversely proportional to the fourth (!) power of its wavelength. Thus, blue light is scattered much more than red light.

When the sun is high, the path of sunlight through the atmosphere is relatively short. Gas, dust, and water particles in the air scatter light mainly at short wavelengths, so the sky appears blue rather than black during the day.

When the sun is low, the path of direct sunlight through the atmosphere is much longer. Because of the scattering of blue light, the latter decreases considerably, so the red in sunlight becomes dominant.

A cloudless sky is blue during the day and red at dawn and dusk.

The more polluted the air is, the more impressive the sunsets are.

Too much fundamental physics? Let's change the subject. I'll tell you about the two operations on my left eye.

Around 2010, I noticed that my vision in my left eye was deteriorating. The diagnosis was epiretinal gliosis, a tissue layer that forms on the retina. This layer can be removed, but at that time, only the eye clinic in Offenbach, near Frankfurt, dared to operate on the open eye. I did not go to Offenburg because I weighed my ophthalmologist's question, "Does it bother you much?" against the risk of an operation.

As the layer thickened over time, my eyesight deteriorated further, even though the decline was not too noticeable due to physiological compensation. However, eventually, I could read small print only with the help of a magnifying glass.

In the meantime, the eye clinic at the University of Freiburg has gained experience and successfully performs surgery on epiretinal gliosis. So, in spring 2021, I decided to undergo the operation, entailing a two-night hospital stay.

The surgery first involves removing the vitreous body (vitrectomy) and then carefully ablating the layer with a micro scalpel. The missing vitreous body is then replaced by a saline solution and air. As a result, I had a water surface in my field of vision during the following two weeks. Because the eye's lens reverses the image, the water level appeared to protrude into my field of vision from above. After 14 days, the eye's interior was filled with natural body fluid, and I could see clearly.

I also learned that after removing the vitreous body, the lens is no longer nourished, leading to a rapidly developing cataract. Again, the vision in my eye was diminishing over time. An artificial lens can be inserted during an outpatient surgery within a quarter of an hour.

Red Baron got his lens replaced on November 9, Germany's day of fate. After some initial adaptation, I now see better with my left eye than with my right.

Here, the physics explained above comes into play. I see a clear, slightly bluish image with my left eye, while my right, non-operated eye shows a reddish image, i.e., cold light versus warm light.

The explanation is that of a sunset. In my operated left eye, natural daylight hits the retina without scattering through a cloudy lens or an old vitreous body; in the right eye, daylight is scattered by a lens that is no longer young and an old vitreous body. Mostly, the red part of the solar spectrum reaches the retina and is perceived by the brain.

The more the lens and the vitreous body are clouded, the "warmer" the vision becomes.

At the moment, I use my old glasses, as a necessary adjustment can only be made in the new year. According to my ophthalmologist, the operated eye must first get used to the new condition.

**

At Freiburg's Christmas Market

Corona incidence in Baden-Württemberg (©ntv)

Corona infections in Germany are reaching new record highs every day. Today's 7-day incidence is 420. That's why I went to Freiburg's Christmas market late this afternoon before it was closed down. All Christmas markets are canceled in other states like Bavaria and Thürigen, where Corona cases are more common than in Baden-Württemberg.

Germany, like many countries, has an Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz). When our federal government recognized the scope of the Corona pandemic in early spring 2020, it declared an epidemic emergency.

This epidemische Notlage involves severe restrictions on the fundamental rights of every citizen. The government prohibited public assemblies and imposed contact bans, curfews, and lockdowns. Parliament (Bundestag) was not consulted on these urgent measures and could only approve them after the fact with the required two-thirds majority.

With the adverse developments of the Corona pandemic, the time-limited epidemische Notlage was not only frequently prolonged, but the restrictions were tightened, sometimes significantly.

Currently, Germany is in a dramatic situation. While the old government, which was voted out of office, is just managing its official business, Olaf Scholz, the candidate for chancellor of the traffic light coalition of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals, wants to present himself to parliament for the chancellor election only before Nikolausabend (St. Nicholas Eve). What a present!

This pending situation must be seen against the dramatic increase in Corona incidence. In addition, at the beginning of September, Jens Spahn, Minister of Public Health, sounded, "The epidemic emergency will expire on November 25."

©Der Spiegel

Urgent mending was needed. The potential traffic-light government hastily cobbled together a new Infection Protection Act, primarily giving the states more authority in epidemiological emergencies. Since Germany, like the United States, is a federal state, this bill indeed represents a significant step forward. On the other hand, the Christian Democrats, now in opposition, complained that the toolbox of possible actions against epidemics did not go far enough.

A heated debate ensued in the Bundestag, during which the new coalition partners finally pushed the bill through. 

Yesterday, the Senate (Bundesrat) voted. And here, national cohesion took precedence over party interests. Thus, although grudgingly, the Christian-democrat-governed states voted for the new law under one condition: On  December 9, a conference of the state governors on the epidemic situation will advise on further actions and, if necessary, tighten the law.

This preface was quite long, but Baden-Württemberg hasn't even spoken yet. After yesterday's Senate meeting, Governor Winfried Kretschmann considered the Corona situation in the Länd dramatic. He is pushing for more stringent countermeasures. "The situation is as serious as ever in this pandemic," he said.

He announced further restrictions beyond the Alarm level measures if the situation did not improve. These measures could include limiting the number of people at events and confining unvaccinated people in hotspots. In bars, clubs, and discos, the 2G plus rule would apply, meaning those who have been vaccinated or recovered would also have to show a negative result on a recent Corona rapid test.

Panic is settling in Germany. Red Baron was mistaken. He didn't expect many visitors at Freiburg's Christmas market.

I approached the Kaiser-Josef-Straße from the north.
The view of the Siegesdenkmal from the south is hidden
by Freiburg's highest Christmas tree.
Note the tent on the left for a Corona testing station.
It's twilight time.

People are standing in line on Franziskanerstrasse to get
the infamous wristband at the entrance to the Christmas market.

The Rathausplatz is crowded.
Impossible to keep distances.
It is dark by now.

Somewhat less traffic on Turmstraße.

The Colombi-Park and the illuminated Schlössle

To cheer my readers up, here you may read the satirical essay in today's Badische Zeitung:

 

Florian Kech's Newsreel

Despite advance warnings, and unlike many other cities, Freiburg has opened its Christmas market. Many guests will enter the Flaniermeile (promenade) with an uneasy feeling in their stomachs. Before Corona, it was different: Stomach complaints appeared only afterward.

But now, a "famous aerosol researcher" is exuding confidence and says that it's good to get people outside.

Now we're just waiting for the famous alcohol researcher to finally prove that the viral load in the throat drops with every sip of mulled wine.

Red Baron says, Prost! And keeps his fingers crossed.

**

Alarm Level

Baden-Württemberg's Corona ordinance provides for three levels:

©Landratsamt Bodenseekreis

Basic level: The hospitalization incidence* is below 8.0, and COVID-19 patients occupy no more than 249 intensive care (ICU) beds.
*The number of people per 100,000 in intensive care

On October 28, the state switched to the

Warning level: The hospitalization incidence is higher than 8.0, or COVID-19 patients occupy more than 250 ICU beds.

Everywhere in Germany, the Corona incidence rates are soaring. So on November 17, The Länd had to declare the

Number of people in IC in Baden-Württemberg
showing Warning and Alarm levels (©BZ)

Alarm level: The hospitalization incidence is higher than 12.0, or COVID-19 patients occupy more than 390 ICU beds.

Alarm level red means that the 2G rule (fully vaccinated or recovered) is applied throughout. For unvaccinated people, there are no longer any cultural and sports activities. They are also excluded from visiting restaurants, i.e., they are in a partial lockdown except for visits to doctors, pharmacies, and supermarkets.

In some critical institutions like hospitals, retirement, and nursing homes, the 2G+ rule applies, i.e., for any access, all fully vaccinated people, in addition, need the negative result of a rapid Corona test.

The deteriorating Corona situation has dramatic consequences for Freiburg's Christmas Market, which opened yesterday.

This year, the market spreads across the city center, intending to avoid crowds. Visitors may keep their distance. It takes place without barriers - although masks are compulsory for everyone. In addition, visitors need a wristband for buying and consuming food and drinks. Thirty "scouts" sell these ribbons for one euro apiece.

A scout is checking the vaccination certificate of a visitor (©BZ/Thomas Kunz)

These persons will also be responsible for checking the necessary 2G certificates, wearing masks, and keeping distances.

In two languages:
Without a wristband, no mulled wine

In the area of the Christmas market, posters give the necessary information.

Will all these regulations inspire Christmas feelings?

*

November 10

©ZDF

Neither am I writing about November 9, Germany's Schicksalstag (day of fate) …

    

In the early morning of November 11, 1918, representatives of the
 German Empire, France, and England signed the armistice
in this railroad car in a clearing near Compiègne.

… nor about November 11, Armistice.

I want to comment on the sandwiched date, particularly on Jerry Coyne's blog of November 10. It lists, as usual, the birthdays of notables, and I was astonished to find the following famous names united on the 10th:

1483 – Martin Luther, German monk, and priest, leader of the Protestant Reformation (d. 1546)
1759 – Friedrich Schiller, German poet, playwright, and historian (d. 1805)
1871 – Winston Churchill, American author and painter (d. 1947)

"Author and painter"? That's how Wikipedia characterizes him!

Here are my observations as Jerry continues his blog commenting on Luther:

He was a rabid anti-Semite, as the quote from Wikipedia by Tovia Singer, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, shows: "Among all the Church Fathers and Reformers, there was no mouth more vile, no tongue that uttered more vulgar curses against the Children of Israel than this founder of the Reformation." Because of this, he, and the entire religion he founded, should be canceled.

Jerry's first statement is utterly true. I commented on Luther's antisemitism in my blog Judenhüte, but a subtler treatment is necessary.

As the Reformation gained momentum in German territories, Luther sought new followers and sought to win over the Jews to his side.

First, he reminded Christians of the chosen people: "The Jews are of the blood of Christ, are blood friends, cousins, and brothers of our Lord, are the greatest race on earth. Through them, the Holy Spirit has revealed all the books of the Holy Scriptures to the world. They are the children; we, the Christians, are only guests and strangers. In truth, like the woman of Cana, we should be happy to be like dogs eating the falling crumbs from their masters' table."

In 1523, in his paper, "Das Jhesus Christus eyn geborner Jude sey," Luther pointed out in his crude way that in the Middle Ages in the Old Church, there had again and again been religiously motivated pogroms against the Jews, "Our fools and donkey heads, popes, bishops, sophists, and monks, have acted against the Jews in such a way that a good Christian would out of shame rather want to become a Jew. If I had been a Jew and had seen such a rule of scoundrels and gangs teaching the Christian faith, I would have become a Jew before becoming a Christian."

"The popes have behaved toward the Jews like a whore mistress who teaches a girl fornication and then accuses her of not behaving like a virgin. They acted against the Jews as if they were dogs and not men; they have nothing more to announce than to scold them and take their goods ... I hope that if one deals with the Jews in a friendly manner and teaches them correctly from the holy scriptures, they will become true Christians and return to the faith of their cousins, the prophets and patriarchs [who foretold the coming of the Messiah]."

When Luther's hopes did not materialize, he uttered his vulgar curses against the Children of Israel, but canceling Luther's religion would mean canceling all Christian faith.

Mind you, in Germany nowadays, antisemitism is driven by a few ewig Gestrige (people living in the past) and quite a few Muslims residing here. Some of them go so far as to push for the eradication of Israel, the Jewish state. "Push and drown  the Jews in the Mediterranean Sea."

Friedrich Schiller indeed was a genius. He was a poet, playwright, and historian. We call him the Dichter der Freiheit, a poet of freedom who wrote The Robbers and William Tell.

On Winston Churchill, Jerry got it all wrong when he wrote: 

"Author and painter"? That's how Wikipedia characterizes him! But he did paint a lot to relax, and he wasn't a bad painter for a Prime Minister. Here's his "Studio Still Life," from about 1930:

Churchill Winston Spencer, Studio Still Life (CR National Trust, Chartwell)

There are four Winston Churchills on Wikipedia! Jerry confused Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (November 30 1874 – January 24 1965) with the American novelist Winston Churchill (November 10, 1871 – March 12, 1947)

Later, Jerry noted the blunder, and in an update, he wrote, "Oops; I didn't read 'American author and painter,' so I assumed that this was THE Winston Churchill, who did paint as PM. Anyway, here's a work by the REAL Churchill: the British one, and as you can see, he wasn't a bad painter. He was a good bricklayer, too."

Churchill Winston Spencer, Studio Still Life (CR National Trust, Chartwell)

Red Baron likes the bricklayer, but aren't we lucky that Jerry didn't mix up Friedrich and Phil? 

 **

It Is Five Past Twelve

"Meine Damen und Herren, Es ist fünf nach zwölf," were Professor Robert Wieler's introducing words during a press conference that started at 10:30 a.m. (!) last Thursday.

©dpa

The President of the Robert-Koch-Institut (RKI) showed a map of Germany where the high Corona incidence of the fourth wave is painted in various reds over most of the country.

©BZ

We now learn the hard way that vaccination coverage of 67.5% is not sufficient for herd immunity against the aggressive Corona delta variant.

©dpa

Germany's incidence rate is soaring with new record values daily.

©phoenix

In July, the RKI had made projections of Corona incidence rates for fall and winter and recommended more vaccinations in Germany. Note that the projected onset of Covid cases starts earlier, but the calculated incidence rates are lower than the actual values.

©phoenix

Here are the projected incidence rates for a vaccination coverage of 85%. Indeed, countries with higher coverage, like Spain (77.9%) or Portugal (79.2%), with Corona incidence rates of 67 and 86.6, respectively, are better off than Germany.

At high noon today, Red Baron participated in a rally Don't belittle Corona on the street and in administrations at the Square of the Old Synagogue. The tonus was threefold: more jabs, more jabs, more jabs. My Facebook friend Sebastian had applied for and organized the rally. The evening before, I wrote to Sebastian, following Professor Wieler, to start the rally at five minutes past twelve (not so funny 1).

Sebastian is in the back with his loudspeaker.

We weren't many, but mind you, we had to wear masks and keep a distance of 1.5 meters during the rally. To pass his messages, Sebastian was seconded by intensive care staff. 

It wasn't raining. The yellow umbrellas are Grandmas Against Right-wingers' trademark. They are a friendly group in Freiburg and joined us in our protest against conspiracy theories and Querdenker (contrarians).

This lady had an intelligent massage, "Think clearly, instead of queerly." Sorry, but the German pun is not translatable.

Die Partei is Germany's Spaßpartei (fun party). On the yellow sticker, they demand, "Jab objectors, no thank you," on the black-white-red sticker, one reads, "Forced vaccination now, the Kaiser would have wanted it that way." What a contradiction! (not so funny 2).

 

Listening to the speakers at the rally, I learned that in one of Freiburg's hospitals, 50% of all intensive care beds are already occupied by Covid-19 patients, and rising. So if the trend of increasing infections is not broken in Germany, we risk a surcharge of the intensive care units.

In an interview a few days ago, virologist Isabella Eckerle almost casually stated, "And what has probably also not been considered: The age of corona patients in intensive care units has dropped significantly. But the younger ones occupy the beds much longer than the older ones, sometimes for weeks or even months before they recover or die."

Here are some facts about the Corona situation in The Länd, where Red Baron lives, but first, a message from my Facebook friend Mayor Martin Horn:

Stay home, protect yourself and others, and don't attend soccer games.

©BZ

Looking at the distribution of Corona incidence in Baden Württemberg, Freiburg, located in the southwest corner, has a "low" rate of 170.

©BZ

In the ranking of vaccination coverage among the 16 German states, the Ländle only comes in eleventh place, according to the graph. With a coverage of 67.2%, Baden-Württemberg is below the national average of 69.2%. Discussing why Mayor Horn's figure is only 64.8% is fruitless. All values are simply too low.

My conclusion is the one of the rally: More jabs, more jabs, more jabs.

*

Here I Stand

Indeed, my spellchecker keeps correcting me:
Worms are a city on the Rhine  (seen on Facebook)

On the occasion of the Imperial Diet at Worms in 1521, Martin Luther stood before Emperor Charles V and the electors at the bishop's court on April 17, at 4 p.m. Martin was hesitant to speak about his writings and asked for a period of reflection.

The decisive scene painted by Anton von Werner in 1877,
reproduced on a wall on the way to the exhibition

The following day, he refused to revoke and ought to have ended his argumentation with the words, "Here I stand; I can do no other." The 21-year-old emperor was not impressed by Luther's performance and said, "He doesn't make me a heretic."

This was based on reciprocity. Luther judged young Charles, "He sat like an innocent little lamb between sows and dogs."

As a result of this second hearing - you may read the full story in German - Luther stayed not only banned by the pope but became outlawed by an Imperial Edict. That meant everybody in the Empire could capture Martin and even kill him without punishment.

An exhibition, "Hier stehe ich. Gewissen und Protest – 1521 bis 2021 (Here I Stand. Conscience and Protest - 1521 to 2021)" at the Museum in Worms' Andreasstift commemorates the 500th anniversary of the event regarded as the trigger for the schism in the Church.

The entrance to the exhibition

Luther is all over the place.

With the Reformer in focus, the exhibition concentrates on the question of conscience. Other personalities are commemorated, like Michael Servetus, William the Silent, Anne Hutchinson, Moses Mendelssohn, Georg Büchner, Sophie Scholl, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela.

Taking photos at the exhibition was not allowed, so I will present some lesser-known facts about Luther and his Reformation.

The vast Lutherdenkmal from a distance.
It places Luther at the center but also shows his supporters and precursors.

Worms has the largest Reformation monument in the world. 

The monument was conceived and
partially executed by Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel.
Luther and his wife, Käthe, take the Lord's Supper.
Luther gives the chalice to his wife, Käthe.
The Reformer's wedding.

The Elector of Saxony protects Brother Martin well.

Emperor Charles V had promised Luther's sovereign, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, that he would grant the Doctor free passage from Wittenberg to Worms. In his politely worded citation, the Emperor wrote that at the Imperial Diet, learned and highly respectable persons shall interrogate him.

Jan Hus

Luther received the imperial invitation on March 29, 1521, and was warned. Hus was also promised safe conduct, but he was burned at the Council of Constance in 1415.

Girolamo Savonarola

Savonarola had suffered the same fate in Florence 23 years earlier.

Brother Martinus, however, threw all misgivings to the wind, "Let them make a fire that reaches to the clouds between Worms and Wittenberg. I will kick the Behemoth* in his mouth between the teeth and confess Christ."
*Hippopotamus-like animal in the Book of Job 40:15

When Luther entered Worms on a horse-drawn cart on the morning of April 16, trumpets sounded from the cathedral's tower as if the people were expecting the new Messiah. When he, accompanied by a cavalcade of Saxon nobles, finally arrived at his domicile, the city's Johanniterhof, he said, "Hus was burned, but not the truth with him. I want to go in, even if as many devils are aiming at me as there are tiles on the roofs."

Throughout German history, Luther was instrumentalized politically.

Against Rome in the past and now

Luther was abused at the beginning of the Second Reich on the occasion of the inauguration of the Hermannsdenkmal. The monument glorifies the fact that the Germanic Prince Arminius defeated the invading Romans in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.

As Arminius stood against the Roman invasion, Luther stood against the Pope in Rome. Remember: the inauguration of this symbol of conservative German nationalism took place during the Kirchenkampf, Bismarck's struggle against the Catholic Church and its Party, the Zentrum (the Catholic Center Party).

Exhortation to hold out
from the third strophe of Mein feste Burg:
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.

And Luther was also abused at the end of the Second Reich on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation, when the war was already lost.

On October 31, 1917, the German Protestant Church Committee had the following proclamation read from the pulpits, "Just as our fathers in the faith were worthy of the heroism of the Reformer, so we also want to show ourselves worthy of our lost sons and brothers and confess: Our God is a stronghold*; the Reich must remain with us."
*Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott

Hitler's Struggle and Luther's Teaching,
are the German People's Good Defense

Luther's 450th birthday in 1933 fell together with the Machtergreifung (takeover) of the Nazis, an occasion to make Luther one of their own.

**

Freiburg's Bronze Medal

Unexpectedly, the 2022 edition of the Lonely Planet travel guide attributed the bronze medal to Freiburg on its ten top travel destinations list.

Only Auckland, New Zealand, and Taipei, Taiwan, jumped higher and ran faster, while Atlanta in the US came in fourth. Lagging far behind in ninth place is Florence, Italy.

Here is what you can read on LP's website: 

Sitting plump at the foot of the Black Forest's wooded slopes and vineyards, Freiburg is a sunny, cheerful university town, its medieval Altstadt a story-book tableau of gabled townhouses, cobblestone lanes, and cafe-rimmed plazas. Party-loving students spice up the local nightlife.

Blessed with 2000 hours of annual sunshine, this is Germany's warmest city. Indeed, while neighboring hilltop villages are still shoveling snow, the trees in Freiburg are clouds of white blossom, and locals are already imbibing in canal-side beer gardens. This eco-trailblazer has shrewdly tapped into that natural energy to generate nearly as much solar power as the whole of Britain, making it one of the country's greenest cities.

What an ornate and yet affectioned description.

Freiburg's mayor Martin Horn regards the distinction as a wonderful tribute to our wonderful city, "Congratulations, Freiburg!" and continues, "But don't worry - we're not resting on our laurels. We continue to see a lot of potential for improvement."

The guide continues: 

The charismatic, environmentally conscious Black Forest metropolis can show many of us a few more tricks on how to live responsibly. Freiburg is a "pioneer of the German environmental movement."

And then there are the Bächle and the Lange Rote being served in a bread roll, although the grilled wurst is best when cuddling on roasted onions in a bed made of a halved, sliced, and crusty baguette.

There are no cars in the old town, but cyclists everywhere, not to mention that they are also cycling in places they should not.

The managing director of Freiburg Tourism Promotion said, "We are all the more pleased that Freiburg is getting such international visibility."

"It is expected that the mention will have a measurable impact on tourism," she added.

What is good for the economy could be bad for the Freiburgers. Already now the city gorges with shopping tourists on Saturdays. People move elbow to elbow on Kaiser-Joseph-Straße. In times of increasing Corona infection rates, you better wear your mask.

Sorry, I shouldn't be too pessimistic, but the distinction is a mixed blessing for me and many other Freiburgers.

*

Stones Are Talking History

Steine, die Geschichte erzählen was the title of an excursion to Worms that the Catholic Academy Freiburg had organized on October 9/10.

My readers will be spoiled with a blog trilogy dealing with

- Worms and its churches,

- the exhibition "Here I stand" commemorating the 500th anniversary of Luther appearing in front of Emperor Charles V and the seven Electors at the 1521 Imperial Diet at Worms,

- the Jewish life in Worms, a place that belonged to the three SchUM cities.

Around the time of Christ's birth, Worms was a Roman military base that remained in use until 85 AD. An associated civilian settlement developed urban structures and came to be known as Civitas Vangionum.

Still visible today: The old city wall

The actual starting point for Worms was the construction of a city wall and a cathedral in the Romanesque style.

Bishop Burchard of Worms. Statue near the cathedral.

Bishop Burchard had the old cathedral from Merovingian times demolished and built a new, much larger structure on the old foundations. Following the collapse of this Worms cathedral, it was quickly rebuilt. It was consecrated in 1018 in the presence of Emperor Henry II, still during Burchard's lifetime, 

But Burchard's new cathedral had structural damage. 

The new, "new Worms Cathedral" in Romanesque style

So his successor, Bishop Burchard II, had the cathedral of Burchard I demolished and began a completely new building from scratch in 1130.  

Our guide explains the details of the cathedral standing behind a bronze model.

This construction was consecrated in 1181 and still impresses the visitor.

The visitors' south entrance

The mighty west choir from the outside

The west choir from the inside

Reliefs from the demolished cloister now adorn the north wall of the nave.

Annunciation of Our Lady. God the Father above all. On the left is St. Paul.
On the far-out right, carpenter Joseph, the Child's foster father

The Tree of Jesse with Mary and the Child on top.
St. Peter, Bishop Burchard, and St. Paul venerate the messianic tree.
Note: Most of Jesse's descendants wear crowns and no Jewish hats.

The Nibelungen portal

A pivotal episode from the Saga of the Nibelungs occurred at the north portal of Worms Cathedral with the Queen's Quarrel. According to the legend, the rivals Brünhild and Kriemhild were arguing over which of their husbands held higher rank and which queen was allowed to enter the cathedral first.

Entrance to the St. Nicolas chapel
The tympanum shows scenes of the saint's life.
Still today, many children expect their treats on Nicolas Eve.

The altar of the chapel.
St. Nicolas to the left, and the man with the gridiron,
St. Lawrence to the right are framing St. Mary with the Child.
Note the modern stained glass.

Here is another modern stained glass window
showing examples of human sinfulness.
At the bottom, two pivotal scenes from the Book of Genesis are shown.
The two windows above address
the dance around the Golden Calf on the right-hand side, and
mankind plays with the nuclear fire on the left-hand side.

There is no medieval stained glass in Worms Cathedral or elsewhere in the vicinity. The reason isn't the last World War but a national disaster known as the Oppau explosion.

Published in Popular Mechanics

100 years ago, on September 21, in the early morning, approximately 4,500 tonnes of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate fertilizer stored in a tower silo at the BASF plant in Oppau, now part of Ludwigshafen, exploded.

According to official figures, 559 people were killed or remained missing due to the explosion, and another 1977 were injured. The detonations damaged buildings as far as 75 km from the accident site and could be heard as far away as Munich and Zurich. In terms of the number of victims, it was the most significant accident in the history of the German chemical industry to date and the most significant civil explosion disaster in Germany.

During the nuclear age, some people looked at the stained-glass window and took offense at its depiction of the nearby Biblis nuclear power plant (now decommissioned) as a modern "Tower of Bablis."

St. Martin in the evening sun.

In the evening, our group visited St. Martin, another Romanesque church. There we were treated to an organ concert performed by Freiburg's Minster organist, one of the participants in the excursion.         

Via Sancti Martini

Red Baron knew about the Pilgrims' Road of St. James but learned about the Via Sancti Martini at Worms. Allegedly, St. Martin of Tours, when he, facing the Roman emperor, refused military service.was incarcerated at Wormatia in 396. 

Aren't there any churches built in the Gothic style at Worms? 

Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche)

Way out in the vineyards - the Liebfrauenmilch (Beloved lady's milk) is one of the cheap sweet German wines - we visited the Church of Our Lady, built as a pilgrims' church and finished in 1465. The French Wikipedia calls the building the most important Gothic church between Strasbourg and Cologne. 

The tympanum shows the death and coronation of St. Mary.

The sanctuary

Modern stained glass (see above) showing
the multiplication of the loaves.

No, this is not St. Mary with the Child but Anna Selbdritt
(St. Anna with daughter Mary and baby son Jesus)
The baby got lost.

On the outside

A weathered pieta on the war memorial for the fallen of the First World War. The inscriptions read,  "They became strong and were prepared to die for their laws and homeland" (2 Macc 8.21) and "They receive great honor and an everlasting name" (1 Macc 2.51 and not 8.7).

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori? Never again.

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