This time I want to introduce two wonderful middle-size towns. I’m talking about Gdanks, the pearl of Baltic Sea in Poland, and Aachen, the hometown of Charle-Magne, really close to the Dutch and Belgian borders.
Gdansk
As soon I arrived there, I had the impression of a powerful rich town gathered by centuries by his merchants, craftsmans and lords, under the Hanseatic League and the dominion of Teutonic Knights it took the apex of his magnificence.
It’s so nice to start from the side of Motlawa, the ‘dead arm’ of the Wisla.
The atmosphere is like in a tale: plywood colours, outstanding palaces in Liberty stile, the docks and vessels quietly sailing while on the other side you come across on the Museum of the Sea.
Once you arrived in the Market Place, you got a lot to see: the Church of Saint Mary and the main Street (Dluga), with his two Gates (Green and Golden).
Those two gates linked the Long Lane:a perfect place you should enjoy by the highness of the Municipal Tower, a 360° panoramic view.
Inside the Town Hall there is a fantastic Museum, where you can find the whole history of town and admire the marvelous Red Room.
To not mention Westerplatte, Sopot and Gydnia and the famous TrojMjasto, I briefly present Oliwa Park.
It’s the green lung of Gdansk, full of red squirrels and really well maintained.
Aachen
Acquisgrana welcome his visitors with his superb Cathedral, built around 800 A. C. and the first thought couldn’t be that the glorious Charle – Magne.
As soon you enter in the heart of town, in every round you breath air of history and importance!
The Cathedral here above is the place where Charle Magne was buried after his death in 814 A. C. From 936 to 1531, the Palatine Chapel, heart of the cathedral, was the church of coronation ceremony for thirty-one German kings and twelve queens.
The construction was clearly influenced by St Vitale in Ravenna – Charlemagne’s empire included Lombardy in northern Italy and he visited Ravenna in person several times.
As my friend Giuseppe noticed, the Palatine chapel is built in bizantyne and baroque styles, so far from the austerity and gothicness of Protestantismus.
Once out in the streets, just to the left of a small corner, there is the Westwork Tower. The Carolingian Westwork was somewhat altered through the centuries but the lower floors are roughly as it was in the time of Charlemagne.
Following the main street you arrive in an important Square, just behind there is the Aachener Rathaus.
Here you understand soon the powerfullness of the legendary King: wonderful rooms and paintings welcome you in the Town Hall Museum.
And as in Gdansk we saw another amazing…Red Room!
But of course, everything is worthy of admiration.
In Aachen you find also the ZeitungMuzeum, a massive folder of informations about worldwide newspapers, with a lot of datas and infograms.
Frankly speaking, those two towns are suprisingly underrated in terms of number of visitors; I suggest to profit for a weeend and enjoy your soul.
