h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Another local celebrity - this time an historic one.

Hans von Trotha was a young nobleman who was sent from Magdeburg to serve the local elector in Heidelberg around 1470. He did quite well, doing whatever it is young knights do, and was presented with two castles for his own use. One was in pretty bad condition, but the other one he took over and developed it into quite a formidable fortress.

This was Berwartstein, one of those sandstone castles peeping out over the trees in the forest of the Palatinate - some on the Alsatian side, some on the German side. It's a great place to visit, even today, but I digress.

Our Hans was, according to legend, over six foot tall and most imposing. He waged a war with the Abbott of Weissenburg (nowadays Wissembourg in Alsace) who claimed that the castle was on his land and therefore belonged to him. Hans dammed up the river and dried the town out, then, when they complained, he opened the dam and flooded them out.

The Abbott complained to the Pope and got him excommunicated, but Hans refused to go and see the Pope or do any kind of penance. The Pope he so "rudely" scorned was Alexander VI - the Borgia patriarch. He wrote a letter to him instead, saying that at least he was a decent Christian while Borgia was as crooked as a three bob note.

He got up to more antics of aggression and what with his impressive stature, came to be a kind of bogeyman. Parents in the area would threaten their children with Hans Trapp. Especially in early December, when they should be visited by St Nicholas if they've been good, but if they've been naughty, Hans Trapp will come and get them.

As I mentioned, Burg Berwartstein is still there, and has been renovated. It is well worth a visit, and has its own restaurant in the Rittersaal - the Knights' Hall. The walls of the restaurant are decorated with illustrations of the stories of Hans Trapp/Hans von Trotha. Kids love the windy staircases and dungeons, and the guide will tell them to watch out for a ghost who might make an appearance.

He is celebrated by a pageant in Weissenburg, which takes place this year on the night of 21st December.

The von Trotha family is still around, and have their own website, which commemorates other members of the clan who have distinguished themselves over the centuries. In 1967 they arranged for a plaque which was unveiled in the Chapel where Hans was buried - some 4 km from Berwartstein.

Did I say that Berwartstein is a great place to visit?

http://burgberwartstein.de/ (They don't seem to have an English version, but if you can't understand the words, the pictures are awesome)

Truly lovely presentations, TC, thanks for sharing them. Did you catch glimpses of any s when you visited the castles? Or do they show up for the TV cameramen?

[Amy P]

Did the area have any interesting Baroque or Renaissance composers? I ask because the Germans were incredibly musical, especially during the Holidays. You mentioned a pageant, and I can't imagine pageants without music.

Reddit

I'm not sure about the pageant, Paul. Perhaps I ought to go along and see it. As it's in France, I expect some pretty good music.

There were some Barock musicians around - Mozart spent some time in Mannheim and contributed to the Mannheim School (as in sub-genre) of music. Mozart's contemporaries and friends Johann Stamitz and his sons Karl and Anton were natives of Mannheim. Mozart actually met his Constanze in Mannheim, I think.

I can't think of any other local composers of that era off hand, but I'll try and find out. I may do a journal about Mozart in Mannheim later in the month.

The Mannheim School was important in the development of what became the Galant style. Mozart was a Galant composer.

The Mannheim orchestra in the mid-18th century developed many conventions that served orchestral composers up to Rossini and beyond (his trademark long crescendo over a rolling ostinato bass for instance).

Some of Mozart's symphonies start with Mannheim Rockets -- themes that leap up several octaves in a few notes.