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Monday, September 26, 2011

The night watchman's tour in Lohr am Main


Over the weekend, we were invited by a good friend to the night watchman's tour of Lohr am Main. Call it strange but we had never been on a tour to get to know our village a lot better. We just took it for granted that Lohr is gonna be our home for a while and that was it!! Though it was to be in German I nevertheless was excited to be walking around the dark alleys with my cam. We met the tour guide who was dressed in a typical nightwatchman's costume and with a lantern in hand. Pretty soon I realized that the clicking sounds from my cam were disturbing him and so I had to put it away(I did sneak it out here and there).

(The kids had a great time helping the night watchman carry his lantern)

In the early years(middle ages to 1933) the night watchman was responsible for the safety of the inhabitants of the walled city Lohr am Main. He made his rounds from 9pm to 3am, singing his hourly song which reminded the people who were sound asleep in their homes that he was very much around and taking care of them. Back then, a fire was one of the worst disasters and if one ever happened, it was his duty to blow his horn and alert the villagers.


As we walked the dark alleys, we were told that feces and filth from hundreds of animals filled the streets. People also emptied all their pee and poo from their pots directly onto the streets with an occasional warning of watch out!!! This in turn attracted the rats which led to the BLACK PLAGUE killing more than a third of Europe's population. With all this information, it was pretty hard to imagine the life of the people in the years gone by.

(Hotel Gasthof Krone, oldest inn in Lohr)

Another amusing story was about the men in the villages not being worried if their wives fell sick but if the cows did!!! It was very expensive to buy a new cow than to find a new bride(if the ill wife died).
  I have come to know that we also have tours by the baker's wife, the washer woman and also the last countess of Lohr. We will definitely be attending these tours too, so watch out for more stories.

11 comments:

  1. What a brilliant way to learn the history of an area. I imagine these tours would be popular with school children too.

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  2. What a fun thing to do! These pictures are amazing and Lohr sounds so awesome!

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  3. It is so neat that your town holds tours like these. What a wonderful way for the children to know the history of the town. :) (Great night photos, May!)

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  4. Wow, guessing there was no shortage of single women back then. What a great post, gorgeous photos and fascinating.

    Your very lucky to live somewhere so beautiful

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  5. What a neat post, I really enjoyed it! Great photos.

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  6. That looks like so much fun. What a great activity! I love the architecture in your town. So gorgeous!

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  7. Great activity and beautiful city! :-)

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  8. Fantastic story & WOW what a beautiful place!

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  9. Loved this post May..what insights into the early life of those inhabitants..waiting for the next post :)

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  10. How very interesting and romantic - save the poop part. I just don't understand that at all! You live in a magical place that I can imagine seeing Snow White there! So very glad I found your blog and have enjoyed strolling through and visiting. I am your newest follower!
    Kathy

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