Cycling in Germany #14 – Shades of Gaudi on the Elbe: Hundertwasser

“I mustn’t forget to show you something before we leave Wittenberg tomorrow”, says Jean Michel, “a modern building, the Martin Luther Gymnasium” (which means high school).

Wow, I am bowled over when I see it, tucked away behind the vegatation in a side street. It’s Sunday so there is no one about. What an inspiring place to go to school.

According to the official website, the architect, Hundertwasser, a visionary and reponsible creator, mobilizes the power of his art in order to spread his message for a life in harmony with nature and individual creativity.

He is a symbolic figure for a non-conformist way of life, a forerunner of environmental protection and an ambassador for a self-determined alternative existence.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Regentag Dunkelbunt LiebeFrau was born in Vienna on 15^th December 1928 and died on board the Queen Elizabeth 2 on 19^th February 2000 on his way back to his home in New Zealand.

He was an artist, thinker and architect or, as he claimed in his manifesto of 24^th January 1990, a doctor of architecture with a passion for water and colours. His deeply environmentalist message was expressed early on in everything he created: paintings, posters, postage stamps, houses, buildings, books.

Our next stop is Magdeburg, It’s already 31°C. We park just in front of the Green Citadel, in the middle of the city, another work by Hundertwasser, and said to be his architectural masterpiece.

For me, it’s love at first sight: golden globes on top of towers, “tree tenants” looking out of “dancing windows”, meadows of wildflowers on the roofs, “foot melodies” taking strollers through the inner courtyard.

We go round the other side and discover there is a restaurant inside, along with a hotel, shops and private apartments. The courtyard is cool and shady.

For a total of twenty euros, we have a glass of Riesling and the dish of the day brought by a friendly waitress speaking excellent English. We take our time to soak in the atmosphere of the courtyard with its little fountain.

Even the pay-for public toilets are part of the decor. The waitress gives me a token.

Reminiscent of the colourful works of the Gaudi in Barcelona, Hunterwasser’s buildings are quite unique. My photos do not do them justice.

OTHER POSTS ABOUT CYCLING IN GERMANY

Cycling in Germany – Tips & Tricks

Cycling in Germany #1 – Kobern-Gondorf on the Moselle

Cycling in Germany #2 – Rhine from Saint Goar to Lorch

Cycling in Germany #3 – Cochem to Zell on the Moselle

Cycling in Germany #4 – Koblenz where the Moselle meets the Rhine

Cycling in Germany #5 – Bad Schaugen to Pirna along the Elbe

Cycling in Germany #6 – Bastei Rocks, Honigen and over the border to Czech Republic 

Cycling in Germany #7 – Dresden: accommodation & car trouble and Baroque Treasure  

Cycling in Germany #8 – Dresden Neustadt: Kunsthof Passage, Pfund’s Molkerei, a broom shop & trompe l’oeil

Cycling in Germany #9 – Country roads around Niderlommatzsch on the Elbe

Cycling in Germany #10 – Meissen on the Elbe

Cycling in Germany #11 – Martin Luther Country: Torgau on the Elbe

Cycling in Germany #12 – Martin Luther Country: Wittenberg on the Elbe

Cycling in Germany #13 – Wörlitz Gardens and the beginning of neo-classicism in Germany

Cycling in Germany #14 – Shades of Gaudi on the Elbe: Hundertwasser

Cycling in Germany – Turgermünde, the prettiest village on the Elbe

Cycling in Germany #16 – Celle & Bremen

Cycling in Germany #17 – Windmills & Dykes

Cycling in Germany #18 – Painted façades from Hann. Münden to Höxter

Cycling in Germany #19 – Bernkastel on the Moselle: a hidden treasure

Cycling in Germany #20 – Trier & the Binoculars Scare

 

Cycling along the Danube – A Renaissance festival in Neuburg, Bavaria

Cycling along the Danube – Watch out for trains!

Cycling along the Danube – Regensburg & Altmuhle

Cycling along the Danube –  The Weltenburg Narrows

Cycling along the Danube – from its source to Ehingen

Cycling along the Danube – Ehingen to Ulm

Cycling along the Danube – Singmarigen to Beuron

Cycling along the Danube – Binzwangen to Mengen including  Zwiefalten

Eurovelo 6 – Cycling around Lake Constance

Eurovelo 6 – Moos to Stein am Rhein and Steckborn on Lake Constance

Heading home to France after a month’s cycling holiday