Rastatt

In the previous post we discussed the Hof Brauhaus Hatz restaurant in Rastatt, Germany. There is much more to Rastatt than just this little brewery and restaurant.

Rastatt is a charming little town. It has an old schloss, or castle, that was built in the 17th or 18th century by some German prince or duke. The schloss looks like a miniature Versailles....a pink miniature Versailles. The opening photo gives you the full frontal picture of the Schloss. The picture below shows the gilded statue atop the main entry.

The village center also has a quaint little church with an onion-bulb steeple. The church looks like it should be in Russia somewhere, rather than in Germany.The history of Germany is too complicated for me to follow. All these little duchies and territories that formed alliances with each other and then broke up and formed new alliances. It makes my head hurt. Seems that Rastatt was at the center of the Badische revolution in 1848/9. (Badische indicating folks from the Baden province of Germany). The castle is now a museum dedicated to 1848 revolution and the eventual birth of the German nation.On the lighter side, there is a great statue dedicated to Pablo Picasso just near the castle. It may be difficult to see in this picture, but in the statue Pablo is melded with one of the nightmarish bulls from his painting of Guernica.

The final picture, below, is the entry to the Hof Brauhaus Hatz. What I like about this is the six-pointed star above the doorway. The six-pointed star (which resembles the Jewish star of David) is evidently a symbol of the Brewers Guild.