by Johnny Caito
In addition to the chestnut lined beer gardens that fill Munich’s city center, there is a history which runs so deep that one can nearly taste the metallic remnants of 70-year-old bombs. Upon mention of Munich, Germany, the image usually conjured up in the minds of travelers is full liter beer steins, lederhosen, and pumping brass bands under a giant canopy tent. However, those who dare to look deeper into the city will find traces of one of the darkest times in the history of the planet and a city so fascinating, that even the biggest history buff’s heads will spin.
Instead of carrying around a thick guide book which forces visitors to stare down at the tiny print and flip pages, a great option for those seeking to learn about the war-related history is to sign up for Sandeman’s New Europe, Third Reich walking tour. For 12 euro, my journey through the dark history began at the center of the city, at the beautiful Marienplatz. Immediately, the tour guide, who was a walking treasure chest of knowledge instructed the group of 10-15 people to look up at our surroundings. After explaining how the majority of the area was completely bombed out during World War II, he pointed to the main spires of the Marienplatz, and the giant green domes from the Frauenkirche. He explained how the bomber jets from the allied forces used them as landmarks in their bombing campaign, therefore they were spared and remained mostly intact. Chills immediately shot down my spine, as I felt the realness in which surrounded me. This was real, and these were not events which took place in the Dark Ages; this was a time that our close relatives could have lived through. It was a time in which the desperation of the German people gave way to the rise of a former painter from Austria, and allowed Adolf Hitler to guide his people, and the world into a conflict that took the lives of nearly 85 million people.
Walking through the streets of the 1,000-year-old city would lead most to believe that the surrounding buildings go back hundreds of years, but they would be greatly mistaken. Following the rise of Adolf Hitler in the early 1930s, Munich became the birthplace of the Nazi Party, and eventually one of the biggest targets for the allies during World War II. The result was thousands of bombs being droppedtact on the city, and to this day, an estimated 2,000 un-detonated bombs are still buried beneath the city. Since nearly 90 percent of the city was completely demolished, everything has been rebuilt, and reconstructed in the 70 years since to end of the war. While construction continues in the Bavarian capital, bombs are still discovered on a weekly basis, and teams have to come in to safely detonate the bombs which range anywhere from 4 lbs to 22,000 lbs. Our tour guide told stories how entire street blocks have to be closed, and entire apartment complexes cleared out when one is discovered. Life goes on, and the residents of Munich accept it as if it is nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Prior to the air-raids by allied troops, Adolf Hitler was well aware that Munich would be a major target, and knew the city would be leveled. Planning ahead, he ordered photos be taken throughout the city, so that when the war ended, the city could be built exactly as it was prior to its near destruction. Following the death of Hitler and the fall of the Nazi’s, the German people voted to restore the city to its old glory, resulting in a complete rebuild. Since everything has been rebuilt, it gives visitors a unique perspective roaming the streets, and ducking into beer halls and cafes that fill the city. While the history is thick, and I could nearly feel it hanging in the air, it also felt like stepping into a movie set. Along the guided tour, we were taken to places of historical significance, such as the world-famous Hofbräuhaus. We were taken upstairs into the beautiful beer hall, and shown the place where the Nazi leader once spoke. However, the reality is that the building is a complete replication of the original, somewhat taking away some of the powerfulness which stood before me. It is fascinating, yet saddening how such beautiful architecture and sights were destroyed, but in spite of the restoration, there is still the ghost of the German dictator that echoes throughout the halls.
A trip to Munich to soak up some suds is well worth the trip, but visitors who fail to look into the deep, dark part of history would be cheating themselves. The city is filled with beautiful sights, friendly people, amazing food and beer, but taking a step back to explore the underground of the Bavarian capital is a must for anyone visiting. George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and there’s no place where this statement holds more truth than it does in Munich, Germany.
If You Go:
♦ Sandeman’s New Europe Walking Tours: Other paid tours include: Dachau, Beer Challenge, Neuschwanstein, and a free walking tour around the city center. www.newmunichtours.com/daily-tours/third-reich.html
♦ The city is incredibly safe, so do not be afraid to explore a lot of it on foot.
♦ Use public transportation. S-Bahn and U-Bahn is very inexpensive and will take you anywhere you want to go in the city.
♦ Bavarian people are very friendly, but learning a couple of words will help make the experience even more enjoyable.
About the author:
Johnny Caito is a writer, travel, and craft beer fan from San Diego, California. When traveling, he finds nothing more exhilarating than meeting locals who can help him explore the areas beyond the guide books, and give him a glimpse into their world.
All photos by Johnny Caito.
The delightful medieval town of Narni in Umbria would perhaps have gone almost unnoticed, apart from being considered to be the exact geographical centre of Italy, if it hadn’t been for C.S.Lewis. While examining a Latin atlas of Europe, he came across the name Narnia, which soon took on a whole new meaning. Although Lewis never visited Narnia, or Narni, as it is now known, it may not be pure coincidence that the tomb of Blessed Lucy of Narni can be found in the town’s impressive cathedral. Images of mythical beasts in stone and iron decorate the ancient buildings and streets. The lion features prominently.
Guided tours of Narni Underground nowadays begin in the church, which was consecrated as “Santa Maria delle Rupe”, although the discovery of a copy of a fourteenth century contract revealed the church’s original name as being Chiesa di Sant’Angelo or S. Michele Archangelo (St Michael The Archangel). Although the church has sustained considerable damage, due to water infiltration, beautiful frescos of Christ on the Cross and symbols of the evangelists still adorn the walls and the ceiling is painted with stars and a symbol of The Lamb of God. The Archangel Michael features fighting a dragon and weighing souls. Several skeletons were found in tombs in the floor of the church, which has still not been completely excavated.
Convinced there was still more to discover, in May 1979, the young potholers, whose efforts to draw attention to their discovery were largely ignored, found a blocked up door in a garden on the other side of the wall. Being denied permission to try and open the door, the friends took advantage of boisterous festivities, during the local medieval celebration the “Corsa all’Anello”, to cover noise while they made a hole in the door. They were stunned by what they discovered. A short passage led to a large windowless chamber, which later came to light had been used by The Court of the Inquisition to “extract” confessions from those accused of polygamy, blasphemy, witchcraft and adultery- crimes which labelled them as heretics. “The Room of Torment” now contains models of gruesome torture instruments used on these ill-fated souls, including the rack and Judas cradle. Beyond the chamber, the group came across a tiny cell, completely covered in mysterious graffiti. The inscription “Santo Uffizio” (Holy Office), was the key to leading them to understand the area had been used by The Inquisition.
The graffiti in the prison cell appears to have largely been the work of one desperate prisoner, Giuseppe Andrea Lombardini, whose name is inscribed on the wall under the date 1759 and the remains of the word “Innocent”, which was erased by his guards. Lombardini left a series of cryptic messages and mysterious symbols ,made from a mixture of brick dust and urine, that seem to have a peculiar mixture of origins. Masonic symbols, such as a triangle with a dot, symbolising the eye of the Grand Architect of the Universe merge with strong Christian symbols such as crosses, religious monograms and a representation of the legend of St Nicolas. An image of a tree surrounded by doves is thought to symbolize the tree of life. A sinister falconer catching birds under the tree may represent the church, or the Inquistion itself, destroying freedom. The sequence 7, 24, 42, 70 is repeated in 3 areas within the cell. The sum of the interior numbers is 66, whereas that of the exterior numbers is 77, therefore implying the battle between good and evil. It is interesting to note that the graffiti artist deliberately replaces the letter D with the letter T in his inscriptions, which is believed to express hatred for the Dominican order who ran the Inquisition. Suns, moons, ladders, Jesuit and cabalistic images leave secret messages that have still not been completely deciphered.
In 2004, it was discovered that Trinity College, Dublin housed a number of important documents referring to the Inquisition including transcripts of the trial of Domenico Ciabocchi, confirming the existence of The Inquisition in Narni. Following this discovery, Robert Nini, one of the intrepid potholers and now president of Narni Underground, wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XIV) who granted him permission to consult the secret archives in the Vatican.
Wenceslas Square, one of the most legendary squares in Central Europe, in Prague, Czech Republic, has played host to a number of fitting names as well as false names. In tandem with the Czech people daily traversing its dark cobblestone, political subjugation in the 20th century led to cultural suppression and the great Wenceslas Square- named after a beloved Czech Saint and hero- was known momentarily by other names. Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske Namesti in Czech) was victimized by names and ideals forced upon it first by Adolf Hitler and then by Josef Stalin.
I imagine Saint Wenceslas Square to be like a Czech person itself. She is (for I see her as a woman-elderly and strong) as much a part of Czech history and cultural identity as any other momentous figure- like say Saint Wenceslas himself, or King Charles for whom the oldest bridge in Europe was constructed, or the famously brilliant and brave Vaclav Havel.
I am writing this brief tour of the Icelandic Poetry Tradition from a loft in New York, where I am being visited by a poet I met in Iceland, HEK. He is also a musician, and was just signed yesterday. Not bad for five days in New York. The assessment of the current poetry scene in Iceland comes from HEK. The summary of the tradition comes from careful Googling.
Icelandic Skaldic poetry tradition was written by skalds, which referred to Icelandic poets. Skaldic poetry was sung to honor nobles and kings, and to recall historic events or battles. Many are satirical and witty, using employing quirky language and humor. These poems are known for their complexity. Each has eight lines, each with six syllables and the lines are rhymed utilizing, alliteration, half rhyme and full rhyme.
Before Skaldic poetry there was the Eddas, which is an Old Norse word that means great-grandmother. These were written in the 10th century and are a collection of poems of Norse mythology and legends.
But in the 19th Century the romanticism that was invading the world arrived in Iceland and poetry returned in full force to the elf swept lands. The tradition in this period developed from the Old Icelandic Poetry before it. These poems utilized alliteration, steadfast rhythm, and a coherent length of line and stanza. Imagery comes from old mythology and medieval literature.
On the climb to the entrance of Font-de-Gaume, we are told Cro-Magnon man was not so different from us. If he was in a suit and got on a bus today, you would not think twice about it, the guide delightedly relays. In the cave, one of the last in France with polychrome paintings still open to the public, the guide constantly reminds us to not touch the walls or brush against the paintings. Many have deteriorated with age and some are marred by graffiti. It’s dark and damp but when the lights shine on a frieze, there are audible gasps of appreciation at the vitality, colours, and exactness of scale of the animals. Some outlines are engraved while others make use of the rocks’ curvatures to give depth. Bison, reindeer, mammoths, and little black-brown horses are mixed with a variety of undeciphered symbols. Some figures are static and others portray motion quite effectively. A favourite scene features a long-antlered reindeer licking the head of another kneeling opposite in a moving display of tenderness. After leaving the darkness of Font-de-Gaume, we meander northwards along the Vézère River to Lascaux II, a cave near Montignac.
Grotte de Lascaux’s streams of ochre and black bison careening over its walls are the classics of cave paintings. They are the earliest known examples of representational art at a mind-boggling 17,000 years old. Access to the originals is highly restricted as the cave was closed to the public in 1963 to protect the paintings from further deterioration caused by visitors’ body heat and breathing. The French government built Lascaux II nearby, a precise centimetre-by-centimetre replication of two galleries of the original cave. The public can again browse the tableaux detailing the story of a hunt. In some places, entire sections of the walls and ceiling are teeming with stampedes of stags, horses, ibexes, and long horned bulls. As stunning as the display is, it is difficult to forget we are not in the original and the visit feels somewhat stilted. I want another “real” cave to visit.
We head for Grotte du Pech-Merle by the Lot River. Photo 2 On our way south, we pass through towns perched precipitously on hilltops; golden-stoned Turenne and the pilgrimage destination of Rocomadour. Photo 3 & 4 The region is known for truffles and foie gras so food is elevated, as only the French can, to almost impossible culinary standards. Even small country restaurant menus have one or both of those luxurious ingredients prominently featured. Did our prehistoric relatives hunt for truffles to garnish their bison?
