The law passed (one of the last of the 'Holy Roman Empire') was called, in usual German form, Somethingreallyawfulandlongandcontaining10subwords. That is, the ``Reichsdeputationshauptschluss''. The summary of what this meant:
``Based on a plan agreed in June 1802 between France and Austria, and broad principles outlined in the Treaty of Lunéville of 1801, the law established a major redistribution of territorial sovereignty within the Empire, to compensate numerous German princes for territories to the west of the Rhine that had been annexed by France as a result of the wars of the French Revolution.''The solution was to take dominion over the church-owned properties. Monks became homeless, bishops lost their diocese(s?), etc. And! Hamburg tore down their Dom, circa 1804.
Wikipedia has a somewhat bumpy-English commentary on it:
''Hamburg's Senate, then holding the ius patronatus to all other Lutheran parish churches had no usage for an additional church, which did not even have the parishioners to maintain it. So the Senate, always upholding the city's vital mercantile interests, decided to demolish the proto-cathedral completely in the years between 1804 and 1807.''Well, there's still a thing called ''Hamburger Dom''. Since 1329, there's been a fair of sorts held in front of the Hamburg Dom, on holidays and such. With the demolition of the Dom itself, the fair itself was (still?) called ''Hamburger Dom'' and has since relocated twice, to its current location. It's now a fair that happens three times a year, each for a month. Think of a standard American migrating carnival, but a bit bigger.
Here's a map (pdf) of the current layout.
The things I took pictures of are the things that stood out for me and made the place somehow typically German. For instance, you can find booths like these at winter markets, sometimes in UBahn stations, and just kind of around at fair-like things:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
The hearts are an example of 'Lebkuchen' (made of gingerbread), and are somewhere between a decoration and something you eat. The booth is also selling a big pile of dried, sugared fruit. A related booth will sell the same Lebkuchen, and then varying sorts of licorice(Lakritz). The UBahn station by the Uni smells like licorice (delicious). The only caveat I'd give is to be careful of the salty licorice.
[Aside about salty licorice:
I've heard that Finns love salty licorice, so I figured, hey, I should try this. In the grocery stores, you can get this things by the brand Katjes called 'Salzige Herringe' (Salty herrings). Strange, but tasty. The trick is to keep chewing. Well, at the Dom they had some salty licorice stars for sale. Tried some.
I really hope that these were a mistake or not what the Finns eat.
The taste...when the salt melted, it tasted like how ammonia smells. It was acrid, disgusting, and lingered in the mouth. Ew.
Ok. Quick internet search (or here)tells me the following:
``Salty liquorice, also known as salmiakki or salmiak is a variety of liquorice flavoured with ammonium chloride, common in the Nordic Countries, Netherlands, Baltic States and Northern Germany. Ammonium chloride gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste (hence the name), which has been described as "tongue-numbing" and "almost-stinging".Salty liquorice is an acquired taste and people not familiar with ammonium chloride might find the taste physically overwhelming and unlikeable. Salty liquorice candies are almost always black or very dark brown and can range from very soft to very hard and may be brittle...The words salmiak and salmiakki are derived from an archaic Latin name for ammonium chloride, sal ammoniacus, meaning "salt of Ammon". "Ammon" in turn refers to the temple of Ammon at Siwa Oasis, where ancient Greeks found ammonium chloride... In Germany there is a variety available that is silvered by a metal powder that, as a side effect, makes it electrically conductive. '' ]
There were also a collection of sort of German imitation of stereotypical German pub-things. You'll know what I mean when I show you. The Mill was the first that I saw:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
And then this, German + Hamburgish (lots of nautical themed stuff):
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
and this:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
Oh, and the rides. I'm not a big fan of riding theme/fun-park rides, but they were fun to look at. Some flashbacks to the 80's:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
They also had a very large rollercoaster (''Acthterbahn'', basically '8-path/road/track'):
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
I did not crop out Mr Olderhamburger to the right there so that I could point out his hat. I have seen a fair number of older Hamburgerish men wearing these sorts of sailor hats.
Apparently, this is the largest moveable rollercoaster in the world. Or it was when they printed this out:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
Translation: Grundfläche ~ footprint/space it takes up on the ground,
Gesamthöhe = total height,
Schienenlänge = length of tracks, 1250 m ~ .77 miles
Geschwindigkeit = speed, 100km ~ 62mph
and the bottom line says ''to assemble (this) requires a 300-ton crane".
Also, yes, those are lederhosen.
There was also a sort of...animatronic train-conductor angel (with a giant mug of beer it swung back and forth):
On the topic of stereotypes...apparently Germans have a history of thinking that this is what Native Americans look like (I find the exaggerated nose kind particularly weird):
Gesamthöhe = total height,
Schienenlänge = length of tracks, 1250 m ~ .77 miles
Geschwindigkeit = speed, 100km ~ 62mph
and the bottom line says ''to assemble (this) requires a 300-ton crane".
Also, yes, those are lederhosen.
There was also a sort of...animatronic train-conductor angel (with a giant mug of beer it swung back and forth):
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
On the topic of stereotypes...apparently Germans have a history of thinking that this is what Native Americans look like (I find the exaggerated nose kind particularly weird):
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
Here's one of the many ''funhouses''. Looked cool. Staffed by people in white overalls. If you check the fence at the bottom of the picture, it is in fact straight. So, that's how skewed it really is:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
...and nearby was the following corn-on-the-cob stand (complete with American flag, for some reason). Mais = corn:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
There are a fair number or rides that just circle around, speed up, slow down. This one was different. It's called ''Die Raupe'' (the caterpillar), and at regular periods, the announcer guy would warn you, and this fabric thing would open up and over for a bit. So you can make out with the person next to you if you want to. If your lunches are both in place, still:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
They also had an area labeled ''Drachenmarkt'' (Dragon Market).
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
I was told that this would be something like a ''Middle Ages Market''. Sadly, no. Maybe 1 or two booths selling clothes/costumes of the period, one where you could shoot a bow and one where you could throw an axe. An animatronic dragon (with dates/times listed when a person would come by to ''fight'' him). Sure. But at least 80% of it was just random stuff being sold, albeit in rough-hewn wooden stalls.
In closing, here's a random Asian food booth I saw. In retrospect, maybe I should've eaten there to try it out:
In closing, here's a random Asian food booth I saw. In retrospect, maybe I should've eaten there to try it out:
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| From Germany 2012-2013 |
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