Day 8: Schwerin castle

We started the day with a trip to another church. Klütz church. This one had significance because a big service was held there for the passengers of the ship Skiold which carried a lot of people to the Nelson region including Schwass, Ranzau and Kelling families.

The font built in 1653

The old font, found in rubble and now used in the church.

The alter with original floor tiles in front. These tiles were used throughout the whole church

Choir Stalls for the Monks

Pastors list

The pulpit. The pictures on front are advertising local families who sponsored the church.

Preach it Piggy!

Piggy found a growth pill...

... or was sitting next to a model of the church.

We then traveled to Schwerin, the Capitol of the Mecklenburg region. Here we got to explore a castle which is now in use as parliament building and museum.

We were given a tour of the castle, a presentation on the political system of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and were able to see the still used castle church. 

This church was small and beautiful, built to a design of Luther and Chris was able to climb into the pulpit. The guide asked him to give a blessing. 

Tram tracks in Schwerin.

The castle tower in the distance.

The Cathedral Tower.

Piggy dressed up for the occasion.

Barry imparting wisdom.

Baby swans in the lake in which the island castle is situated.

The csstle church sanctuary, added at a later date.

The grounds were beautiful.

And so was the castle.

A shepherd being attacked by a Cougar.

We were able to see in 'The Plenary,' the room in which Parliament conducts business. It really looked like a big class room.

The Mecklenburg-Vorpmmern Coat of Arms

'The Plenary' - Where Parliament sits.

Each elected party is grouped together, left to right, matching their place on the political spectrum.

The president of the house (the speaker in Aust and NZ terms) sits in the middle and is supported by two secretaries. Both of these people are to be of different parties to each other and the President. Other clerks and unelected leaders of 'Ministries' sit in the other chairs at the front of the room.

President Piggy

The Grand Staircase.

This next area is the palace hall and museum, which include the restored throne room.

The throne room click here

The heating system, installed in the throne room in the 1800's

The interior of the castle

We next saw the statue at the front of the castle. It is of Niklot, who was the first to build on this island. All the dukes and grand dukes who resided in this castle were descendants of him. He was a pagan, and when they built his statue, they built directly facing the spire of St Paul's church. This symbolises Niklot riding towards God. He was built in a place that never received direct sunlight, so he was in the shade, however, he is always riding towards the light.

After Niklot, we went into the castle church and met this cheery little fellow.

He met our cheery little fellow.

And us.

These statues were a part of an art piece created in 2010 (read about it here). We believe the Australian Lutheran College (the Sem) in Adelaide has one of these statues too.

The ceiling is royal blue with gold stars

The sculpting on the ends of each pew was ornate and different.

Lunch in the castles basement. An original piece of wall can be seen in the top corner.

It was freezing cold and windy.

We went to another open air historical living museum and saw some more of the types of houses our ancestors lived in.

Piggy licking and anvil for Spol

I bet you've never seen a pig milking a cow.

Gettin' some learnin'

Plank Mill circa 1900

We went to Barry's friends place for a coffee and fresh cakes before returning to our accommodation. 

Piggy staring down the Haka Bear.

Piggy learned how to take a selfie.

Over dinner tonight we got to experience German folk dancing. After showing a few dances, they got us up to dance with them. Then, Chris and I taught them the heel and toe polka. They are going to a convention soon and plan to teach it there, maybe it will become a new fad.

German folk dancing click here

After dinner we found a nice cream called a bum bum. The stick contained bubblegum.