The Town of my Origins - Goslar, Germany

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In 2015 we travelled parts of Europe in a motor-home. By August we were in Goslar which is where my great, great, great, great grandfather was born. By coincidence, our hosts from Bavaria had connections with Goslar. The wife had been born there and her mother still lived there. This remarkable lady, in her 80s, was to prove a marvellous guide although we had little German and she had even less English. We both quickly learnt to say 'best to Google it'. Because I have so many photos of this fascinating ancient town, I've grouped statues, artworks, etc here and will show the buildings on another post. The first group of the photos show the Glockenspiel, a mechanical device which operates several times a day. It is located in the gable of a building – I think a hotel – on the east side of the marketplace. Many of those watching joined in singing with the melody being played. The story is that a knight's horse pawed the ground bringing up a lump of silver which the knight took to the emperor. This was in the 10th century. Since that time mining was been the main industry for many centuries. Three doors open and figures appear through one door, pass along the front and exit through the door on the left. The first set of figures show miners with picks, shovels and wooden wheelbarrows, then the workmen are strengthening the tunnels and in the final tableau pneumatic drills and more modern equipment has been brought in. The next photo is also much photographed by tourists and shows a bare-bottomed man expressing his disgust at the higher classes. I think that was the story. Goslar's medieval golden eagle also has a prominent position in the market place. There was also an exhibition on in one of the old buildings. I particularly liked the 'chairs' and we enjoyed a few moments respite in these. The 'Fat Ones' are also much photographed. I've forgotten now who sculptured these but perhaps Marlu will read this post and tell us again as I posted about them on BB some time back. Edit: The last photo shows someone's collection of teapots in a window. Every window in the house that you could see, and it was on a corner, had teapots displayed on the sill.