HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-04-24, Page 20eisure. features and
Serving over 20,000 homes
in Ontario's heartland.
From Stork Tower
This is the fourth in a series of arti-
cles by Marion I. Duke, editor of The
Listowel Banner, who participated in a
Canadian Community Newspapers As-
sociation study tour of Canadian Forces
in Europe, NATO's military head-
quarters at Mons, Belgium, and the Ca-
nadian embassy in Bonn.
For anyone keen on history the most
fascinating building in Lahr, the
southern German city that is home to
approximately 10,000 Canadian ser-
vicemen and women, their dependents
and civilians, is a construction known
as the Stork Tower.
Located on Kreuzstr., between
Marktstr. and Bismarckstr., itis within
easy walking distance of our gasthaus
(Hotel zum Lowen) .
Turning left on Kreuzstr. I'm almost
on top of the historic landmark before it
registers.
The Stork Tower, the last remnant of
an ancient castle, is hemmed in on
three sides by modern buildings. The
only open side faces Kreuzstr.
While the site is disappointing, the
tower isn't. It is far better preserved
than I expected it to be.
The Stork Tower is one of the original
four corner towers of a huge moated
castle, belonging to the Lords of
Geroldseck, built around 1220.
It contains a small mus
facts of the founding and
the city, but on this aft
seum is closed.
In the courtyard is
pulley well and behin
through a deeply r
dow and beneath
been a door, but
walled -in French
Leaning agai
dition to the tow
a concrete ca
and I take a pi
On this ch
one else aro
stone wall o
site, I take
t
entertainment
r
F
Wednesday April 25, 1985
to Bacra Bar By prion Duke
eum with arti-
the founders of
ernoon the mu -
the remains of a
d it the light pours
ecessed upper win -
it, what must have
what now looks like
windows.
nst the wall of an ad-
er is what appears to be
ting of an ancient seal
cture of it.
illy afternoon there is no
and and sitting on the low
n the street side of the tower
out the brief history of Lahr
The Storchenturm (Stork Tower) stands in the city
centre of Lahr, Germany. It is the northeast tower
and the last remnant of a huge moated castle
belonging to the Lords of Geroldseck, built around
1220. The castle was destroyed in 1677 and the ruin
_was__.bxoken_away .from :_the ..Stork ...To_w_er_in__1.754.
that has been supplied by the DND
Office of Information Europe. I' had
read it back in Canada before coming
over, but somehow the details have
been overprinted with military facts
and figures.
SETTLEMENT
Archeological finds of the presence of
settlers in what is today the City of Lahr
point back to prehistoric times; how-
ever, the first permanent settlement
dates back to the Romans. The name
Lahr did not exist until the Middle
Ages.
A Roman settlement existed In pre-
sent-day Dingligen (the western section
of Lahr) during the first and second
century AD. Much later the tribe of the
Alemanns settled on the slopes of the
hills surrounding Lahr, especially those
at Burgheim (the northern section of
Lahr) .
Dinglingen was first documented in
961 and Burgheim in 1035. Lahr itself
was first mentioned in 1215 in connec-
tion with the knight, Heinricus de Lare.
The nucleus of the present City of
Lahr was the large castle, belonging to
the Lords of Geroldseck.
On the northern side, immediately in
front of the castle, a small settlement of
peasants and craftsmen came to live
during the construction of the castle.
This settlement was named Lahr and
was documented as a village in 1267 and
as a town in 1299.
East of the castle, Walter 1, Lord of
Geroldseck, founded a hospital in 1259
and a monastery for Augustine monks.
Although the monastery is long gone,
its church, called the Stiftskirche, or
Collegiate Church, with a remarkable
Gothic choir, still stands.
Later in the afternoon I walk to see it
as well as an impressive walled -in Pro-
testant church that covers about half a
city block and then in the opposite di-
rection, the twin -towered St.Peter and
Paul Catholic church to the west of the
Stork Tower.
Li OCCUPATION
When the Geroldseck domains were
divided in 1277, the Lords of Moers-
Saarwerden and later, in the 15th cen-
y6,4y, those of Nadu a the, ru-
lers of Lahr: From i� Lahr and
a few surrounding villages became
Nassau possessions, then part of the
Baden Grand Duchy.
Dujing the wars of King Louis XIV of
France, Lahr was occupied and in 1677
almost totally destroyed.
One of the few buildings to survive
the destruction was/ the Old Town Hall,
built in 1608.
With a distinctive tower, open stair-
well, arcade, and painted a pinkish -buff
shade, the Old Town Hall is on the cor-
ner of Obertorstr. and Friedrichstr.,
about half a block south of Hotel nun
Lowen. I decide I'd better save my last
pictures for it on the way home.
The City of Lahr was an important
centre of trade and commerce and had
its most flourishing period about the
middle of the 18th century.
It lost some of its commercial impor-
tance in the early 19th century, but then
developed industrially.
In 1804 the village of Burgheim was
annexed to Lahr. Later -in that century,
in 1897, a large garrisowas founded in
Lahr.
�•x
r :.. s of
cted the reWarrior's
?°Wer is IO the squat 14th
centurye
e Stork construction, of the 14 II with th
West of the
c°npeginnin9 a town wall ter trough in
another
r b,�it toweh connected
°n tletcan h. The
wsolid rock.
Thsquare Well of the hots is hewn
e
outsice�� e of the P
the After World War 1, Lahr was no lon-
ger agarrison and the former barracks
were used as factories.
In 1933 the village of Dinglingen
bsf joined LahY. Following World War 2,large industries settled in the western
part of the city.
In order of commercial importance,
4 ` major industries today include :a-
' rettes, machine and metal manufa r-
ing, printing and book publishing, lea-
ther processing, manufacture of car-
tons and packaging material, textiles,
electrical and mechanical measuring
instruments and wood products.
In 1972 seven more villages joined the
City of Lahr. They included: Hugs
weier, Kippenhei.mweiler, Kuhbach,
During the wars of the French Kitg Louts XIV, Lahr was occupied and in 1677
almost totally destroyed. One building. which urvived was the Old Town Hall,
built in 1608. Its arcades and open stairwell have been preserved.
RICHARD COLLICUTT :
The remaining northeast tower of the ancient castle, with walls approxi-
mately four feet thick 'is remarkably well preserved and contains a small
museum.
Langenwinkel, Meitersheim, Reichen-
bach, and Sulz.
The \population increased from 4,416
- 1804; ,to 13;527 in 1900, to around 38,000
today, not including the' 10,000 Cana-
dians.
A NIGHT OUT
It's been a long afternoon. I've put in
about two and a half hours of walking.
After visiting the historic sites I've
been able to find out about, I tour the
section to the west of the marketplace.
By now the shops have been closed
for a couple of hours and only a few
Germans are still sweeping and mop-
ping the street and entrances in front of
their businesses. There isn't a piece of
garbage to be seen anywhere.
Along Turmstr. I have passed one of
those modern outdoor playgrounds fea-
turing wooden apparatus for climbing,
etc. It's the same equipment enjoyed by
many Canadian children and here in
Lahr the youngsters are taking advan-
tage of it.
Now turning unto E'ichrodtstr. off
Goethestr., I come to a park with out-
door sculpture and a number of green
benches, Some of the benches have do-
nation plaques on them and I see some
have been donated by Americans.
On the way back to the hotel, I can't
help noticing an elderly couple out
walking. They are both dressed in that
old heavy, woollen khaki.
She is -wearing a large top -coat -and he
is wearing a jacket, knickers, and socks
in the same khaki color. They are mov-
ing slowly across the Marktplatz and he .
carries a cane with fluorescent green
bands. I regret I've used up my day's
supply of film.
Af the had h. head for the dining
room, order a cup of tea and settle down
to go, over notes. The tea is bitter and . table, with the men kidding our wait -
expensive -. five ma -11 or just about ress,'an efficent; goodliumoeedianil at: –
$2Canadian. tractive woman. "
By the time I' finish, I just have time The fellows guess her age in the 20s
to dress for dinner at Gasthaus Hirsch, and are surprised to learn she's over 30
'the favorite eating place of Frank Koh- and the mother of two.
ler, editor of Der Kanadier. Mr. Kohler is saying something about
Besides Mr. Kohler'and his wife Mar-' the Tiffany cabaret and we pick up our
garet, we are joined for dinner by our ears.
He is recalling an irate telephone call
escort officer; Capt. Philip Anido; .our ;
driver, Cpl. Leo Landry and his wife, hes received from a woman just after
Shirley. the story broke about the resignation of
Mr. Kohler is a soft-spoken, urbane
gentleman with an interest in good
wines, as well as good restaurants. His
wife Margaret is pencil thin, fashion-
ably dressed in a beige knit suit and
mink jacket, and has an amazing facili-
ty for small talk.
Shirley Landry tells me she works at
the Salvation Army centre downtown.
The Sal& Ants runs a small restaurant,
"thehamburgers are good",and a gift
shop with reasonable prices.
Mrs. Landry also finds time to attend
aerobic dance classes three or four
times a week, and it shows. She's in
good shape. A thoroughly modern
young woman, I think. Clever and at-
tractive.
On the bus ride up to Gasthaus Hir-
sch, located about 10 miles or so from
Lahr, the radio director of our group,
With the.exception of a brief meeting
with Rick James of Bownianville
around noon, Collicutt is the first one of
the group I've spoken to all day.
Before leaving Tiffany, he tells me,
he established the place was something
more than a strip joint.
Mr. Collicutt had separated himself
from the rest of us in order to do a little
investigative journalism. The girls at
the bar, he said, didn't know he was a
news reporter.
They certainly do carry on business
on the side, he said.
"The guy behind the bar is their pimp
and the going rate is 300 marks."
Another member of our group says he
learned the same thing from the girls.
Mr. Collicutt says he's including the
information in his first broadcast to be
telephoned back home.
A FEAST
Frank Kohler hasn't exaggerated the
quality of the food, or the hospitality at
Gasthatis Hirsch. The menu includes
everything from snails to wild game to
beef, pork, lamb and fish.
It's in German only and Mr. Kohler is
kept busy translating for us, although it
isn't difficult to figure out the various
categories.
I settle on the Lamb Medallion, said
to be the specialty of the house. It's me-
morable. But the small first portion is.
enough- for me. -My- second_. helpings -----
served unrequested on a fresh plate,
goes to Rick James who is seated
beside me and eyeing the dish hungrily.,
After tucking into it, he declares it's
better than what he ordered, and he
didn't think'.that was `possil le.
It's a jolly bunch at our end of the
the Canadian defence minister, Robert
Coates. '
The woman has heard the ,cabaret
has prostitutes and criticizes Der Ka-
nadier club.
Mr: rKoh er said he told the Woman
that if he advertised Tiffany in Der Ka-
nadier, it couldn't be a house of prosti-
tution, that it was an entertainment
bar.
"We've carried advertisements for it
for years, and this is the' first -complaint
I ever received," Mr. Kohler said.
Mr. Collicutt leans down the table.
"Have you checked it out?" he asks.
"The girls are prostitutes."
Mr. Kohler apparently doesn't hear
him and goes on to tell us that at one
time an enterprising German estab-
lished a house of prostitution near CFB
Lahr.
Rick Collicutt of Nova Scotia, fills me in "It died for lack of business," Mr.
Kohlersays.
on what he found out at Tiffany, the ca-
baret we had visited the previous night. (Continued on Page 10)
I