An ode to the wine...
It's all about the wine in this area - especially in summer when we have the wine festivals in all the different towns in the Rheingau and Wiesbaden as well. This fellow is part of the facade decoration of a house in the pedestrian area. I don't know who he impersonates - might be "Bacchus the Wine God". A mystery to be solved...And then, looking closer, there is again one of these faces above him... I'm not sure what it is about them but I noticed them on several houses in the downtown area. Remember that I posted a picture of a door with one of them a while ago. Some of them show their tongue some of them don't - another thing I have to find out about...
This said - PROST! or ZUM WOHL! or CHEERS!
P.S. Since I was asked: This is the original color of the stones! I did not color it or anything like that!
posted by Nicola @ 6:23 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
Thanks a lot Karine! You'll see for yourself when you come to visit! We can make a special then - Buenos Aires DP meets Wiesbaden/Rheingau DP :).
Is the rock/material really that reddish? nice color and photo...cheers.
Salud - amazing how he can still keep his balance.
wisconsin pics - Thank you!
maya - I'm glad that you ask... yes, that's exactly the color the stones are in! I know it looks a bit reddish like this but that's how it is!!
bob - I'm sure they fixed him properly :). He's also covered with a net so the birds don't sit on him - maybe that helps a bit, too...
Cheers!
Great shot - the colors are so warm and the carvings are interesting!
Prost ;-)
Looks really interesting, especially because the figure is colored.
Sad thing is, the moment I saw this pic, the first thing that came to mind is that it looked like Burger King's new King. Take a look:
http://photos.sleestak.net/albums/userpics/10001/burgerking.JPG
Nicola, that was lovely! I can imagine you taking a bottle of white and partaking in a Mendoza bottle of red in Argentina!
(I'm drinking a glass of Argentine Malbec-Syrah as I write)...
I love the pink stones. And the Teutonic version of Bacchus. Prost!
Thats really nice, and I must say, I LOVE wine :)
Great photo! I think the little head up top could be a jester?
sam & philipp - Thank you! That's what caught my eye.
daniel - thanks for sharing the link. Unfortunately, I have to agree, there is some resemblance...
lagatta - let's see what we come up with. :)
dia - you should come and visit then - there's plenty of wine here ;).
wolf - yes, that's what it looks like, doesn't it. I have decided to participante next time I see a tour guide showing around toruists in Wiesbaden. I'm sure I can learn a lot... And maybe they can tell me what the origin of these faces are...
Very beautiful
You ask about the face above Bacchus (which you also depict in several other photos, including one on your Rheingau photo blog at Schloss Vollrads). It is a figure known as the Greenman (Blattmaske auf Deutsch). Foliate head sculpture motifs are ancient but were particularly popular in medieval European cathedral construction though the figures are often located in obscure locations. You know the famous Bamburg Reiter statue? It sits atop a pedestal that features a marvelous greenman image. There are also Greenman carvings in the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden. What the Greenman symbolizes is, of course, subject to a variety of interpretations: the author William Anderson suggests it symbolizes human beings' connection to nature; others say it indicates that nature has consciousness. Many consider it a Pagan "god/goddess" (there are Greenwomen, too, though not as frequent) related to Bacchus (hence the one in this photo). Keep your eyes open and you'll no doubt see more and more of them in Wiesbaden.Thanks for sharing your photos!
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