Synagogendenkmal

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Synagogue Memorial by Sebastian Helm and Anna Dilengite, 2001
Gottschedstraße / Zentralstraße
Leipzig, September 2024

“On the site of the Moorish synagogue stands today the Holocaust memorial. This powerful installation is made of 140 empty bronze chairs, representing the 14.000 Jews who once prayed there and outlining the floor plan of the destroyed synagogue.” (Leipzig, The Cultural Guide to Jewish Europe) “The site of the former synagogue had served as a parking lot and the site of a transformer station for decades. After the city of Leipzig acquired the property only in 1997, it launched a Saxony-wide, anonymous competition in 1999 in collaboration with the Jewish Religious Community, inviting ten international artists. The design by Leipzig artists Sebastian Helm and Anna Dilengite, which had only made it onto the shortlist for implementation, was ultimately chosen. Following a majority vote by the Leipzig City Council in October 2000, the site was transformed into a large-scale memorial. Inaugurated on June 24, 2001, the memorial traces the floor plan of the destroyed building on an area of ​​12 × 12 meters. The interior is a field of 140 empty bronze chairs, intended to convey a tangible sense of the loss of the architectural shell. The western boundary of the site is formed by a wall of exposed concrete, with texts in English, German, and Hebrew on three bronze plaques each.” (Große Gemeindesynagoge, Wikipedia)

Loggia dei Carraresi

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Loggia dei Carraresi (Lodge Carrarese)
Via Accademia
Padua, May 2025

“The Loggia dei Carraresi is a historic building in Padua located in via Accademia. It is the last surviving part of the Reggia Carrarese, the large residence of the Da Carrara family, lords of Padua. Since 2021 it has been included by UNESCO among the world heritage sites in the site of the 14th-century fresco cycles of Padua.” (Loggia dei Carraresi, Wikipedia)

On a drunken donkey

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“Bacchus auf einem trunkenen Esel reitend” (Bacchus riding on a drunken donkey) by Georg Wrba, 1910
(The original statue of 1952 was cast iron)
Rathausplatz
Dresden, September 2024

Four hooded crows

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Four hooded crows
Piazza Savonarola
Florence, December 2024

“The hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix), also colloquially called just hoodie, is a Eurasian bird subspecies of the carrion crow (Corvus corone) in the genus Corvus. Widely distributed, it is found across Northern, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East. It is an ashy-grey bird with black head, throat, wings, tail, and thigh feathers, as well as a black bill, eyes, and feet. Like other corvids, it is an omnivorous and opportunistic forager and feeder.” (Hooded crow, Wikipedia)

Goethe-Institut

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Goethe-Institut
Masarykovo nábřeží, Nové Město
Prague, September 2024

“The Goethe-Institut in Prague has been located in a building on Masaryk Embankment since 1991. This Art Nouveau building was built between 1903 and 1905, thanks to the renovation of previous houses. These were from the 15th century – the Šandovský house (At the Three Wild Men) and part of Nové Lázně No. 228. The current building was designed by Jiří Stibral, the sculptures on the facade were designed by sculptor Ladislav Šaloun. The investor was Fr. Schaffer. It was built for the First Czech Insurance Bank, which had its headquarters here. However, it was nationalized in 1945 and closed down in 1958. Between 1945-48, the building was used by the Bulgarian Embassy, and between 1949-1990, it was used by the Embassy of the German Democratic Republic. Since 1991, the building has been the seat of the Prague Goethe-Institut.” (Goethe-Institut Czech Republic, Wikipedia)

Arco dei Gavi

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Arco dei Gavi
Corso Cavour
Verona, May 2025

“The Arco dei Gavi is an ancient structure in Verona, northern Italy, situated at the beginning of the Via Postumia, just outside the Roman walls of the city. Built to celebrate the gens Gavia, a noble Roman family who had their hometown in Verona, the Arco dei Gavi is a very rare example of a privately funded monumental Roman arch. During the Renaissance the arch was one of the most admired monuments in Verona, being described by humanists and antiquarians, who studied in detail the proportional relationships and decoration of the structure. The arch served as inspiration for many architects and painters, such as Andrea Palladio, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Sebastiano Serlio, Giovanni Maria Falconetto, Michele Sanmicheli, Giovanni Bellini and Andrea Mantegna. It had a particularly pronounced influence on the architecture of Verona itself, serving as a model for the construction of portals, altars and chapels in the churches of the city. The arch no longer stands in its original position, as it was demolished by French military engineers in 1805, however, the numerous surveys that had previously been produced made it possible to reassemble it by anastylosis, a process completed in 1932. Subsequently, it was relocated to the small square of Castelvecchio, where it is still located today.” (Arco dei Gavi, Wikipedia)

Hohenzollern Bridge

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Hohenzollern Bridge by Franz Heinrich Schwechten, 1911
Kennedy-Ufer
Cologne, September 2024

“The Hohenzollern Bridge (German: Hohenzollernbrücke) is a bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne (German: Köln). It crosses the Rhine at kilometre 688.5. Originally, the bridge was both a railway and road bridge. However, after its destruction in 1945 and subsequent reconstruction, the bridge has been only accessible to rail and pedestrian traffic. It is the most heavily-used railway bridge in Germany with more than 1,200 trains crossing daily, connecting the Köln Hauptbahnhof and Köln Messe/Deutz stations. The bridge was constructed between 1907 and 1911 after the demolition of old bridge, the Cathedral Bridge (Dombrücke). The Cathedral Bridge was unable to handle the increasing rail traffic imposed by the inauguration of the Köln Hauptbahnhof. The new bridge was named after the House of Hohenzollern, the rulers of Prussia and German Emperors. (At the time, Cologne formed part of the Prussian Rhine Province.)” (Hohenzollern Bridge, Wikipedia)