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| Tom's picture of Veste Oberhaus |
Although we didn't get to walk up to it, we did learn a little about it. In this blog, you'll learn about it an, the weird symbol on it and odd fact about the windows.
WHAT IS THE VESTE OBERHAUS? -Veste Oberhaus is a fortress that was founded in 1219 and, for most of its time, served as the stronghold of the Bishop of Passau, Germany. It is currently the site of a museum, a youth hostel, and a restaurant, as well as an open-air theatre dating to 1934.
WHAT'S INSIDE? - Archaeological finds from ancient times, medieval weapons and armor, and Gothic panel paintings.In the heart of the castle, the chapel of St. George has a unique series of frescoes illustrating the legend of Saint George himself.
WHAT'S THE WEIRD NUMBER ON IT? - One of the things that struck us was the odd number on the outside of one of the towers.
It looked like a 1, and omega symbol and 9 9. It turns out that weird "omega-looking symbol" means "one-half of the number 8, or 4." - Thus, the date on the castle is 1499.
WHAT'S ODD ABOUT THE WINDOWS? - Some of the windows on the castle are not really windows. They're painted on the stone to give the appearance of windows! The reason for that is because the architect wanted to ensure that everything was symmetrical, but at the time the castle was built, there was a "Window Tax." People were taxed for every window they had in their homes, so to reduce the tax and maintain symmetry, people painted windows on the walls.
OVERLOOKING RIVERS - From the lookout point of Batterie Linde, you can see old town and the confluence of the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz rivers.
NEXT: St. Stephen's Big Organ!
