Young Swanswimming in the Danube
reflecting the pink evening clouds
Evening Rosebasking in the afterglow
of the setting sun
Photographed after sunset
19 November 2009 -
Saint Elizabeth Day -
in Dürnstein, Wachau,
along the Danube river.
I.M.
Elisabeth
i'm not fond of pink, but these two pinks i can happily admire!
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to more information about beautiful Wachau Valley, 50 miles west of Vienna.
ReplyDeleteThe small Wachau town of Dürnstein may be best known as the place where King Richard the Lion-Heart of England, on his way home from Jerusalem, was held captive in 1192 by the Austrian Duke Leopold V:
"On his way to the territory of Henry of Saxony, his brother-in-law, Richard was captured shortly before Christmas 1192, near Vienna, by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, who accused Richard of arranging the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat. Moreover, Richard had personally offended Leopold by casting down his standard from the walls of Acre. Richard and his retainers had been travelling in disguise as low-ranking pilgrims, but he was identified either because he was wearing an expensive ring, or because of his insistence on eating roast chicken, an aristocratic delicacy.
Duke Leopold kept him prisoner at Dürnstein. His mishap was soon known to England, but the regents were for some weeks uncertain of his whereabouts. While in prison, Richard wrote Ja nus hons pris or Ja nuls om pres ("No man who is imprisoned"), which is addressed to his half-sister Marie de Champagne. He wrote the song, in French and Occitan versions, to express his feelings of abandonment by his people and his sister. The detention of a crusader was contrary to public law,[18] and on these grounds Pope Celestine III excommunicated Duke Leopold.
Early in 1193, the Duke then handed Richard over to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who was aggrieved both by the support which the Plantagenets had given to the family of Henry the Lion and also by Richard's recognition of Tancred in Sicily,[18] and who imprisoned him in Trifels Castle. So Pope Celestine III excommunicated Henry VI as well for wrongfully keeping Richard in prison. However, Henry needed the ransom money to raise an army and assert his rights over southern Italy.
Richard famously refused to show deference to the emperor and declared to him, "I am born of a rank which recognizes no superior but God".[19] Despite his complaints, the conditions of his captivity were not severe.
His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, worked to raise the ransom of 150,000 marks (2-3 times the annual income for the English Crown under Richard) demanded by Henry. Both clergy and laymen were taxed for a quarter of the value of their property, the gold and silver treasures of the churches were confiscated, and money was raised from the scutage and the carucage taxes. The emperor demanded that 150,000 marks (65,000 pounds of silver) be delivered to him before he would release the king, the same amount raised by the Saladin tithe only a few years earlier.[20] At the same time, John, Richard's brother, and King Philip of France offered 80,000 marks for the Emperor to hold Richard prisoner until Michaelmas 1194. The emperor turned down the offer. The money to rescue the King was transferred to Germany by the emperor's ambassadors, but "at the king's peril" (had it been lost along the way, Richard would have been held responsible), and finally, on 4 February 1194 Richard was released. Philip sent a message to John: "Look to yourself; the devil is loose."
The affair had a lasting influence on Austria, since part of the money from King Richard's ransom was used by Duke Leopold V to finance the founding in 1194 of the new city of Wiener Neustadt, which had a significant role in various periods of subsequent Austrian history up to the present.
Source and more information:
Wikipedia
These images softened my worried heart this morning. Both the subjects and the technique are wonderful. Vielen danke!
ReplyDeleteAlso, your "footnote" in the comment above is amazing. You render such a service to history.
You are the specialist of l'heure bleu par excellance IMO
ReplyDeletePink and blue? Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Love the title too, and that perfect rose. Picture taken 19 Dec 2009?
ReplyDeleteOopsie, I am not time traveling (yet),
ReplyDeleteI gofed. I meant to write November,
infact, I shot the pictures yesterday!
Thank you, Carolyn, for pointing this error out!
I will go now and correct this!
so beautiful...
ReplyDeleteyou fascinate me with these oddly gorgeous shots combining colors like music...
ReplyDeleteSandi
Merisi......it is always such a beautiful visit when I come here!!
ReplyDeleteMy mother's favorite flower was Pink Roses. I have been surrounded for 2 weeks while doing my dining room with Pink Roses and thinking about her! This was like a sign that "all is well" !!
Thanks! Beautiful Post! xoxo
please, let me know if you come to Neusiedl. if you agree, I'd really like to meet for a coffee or a tea.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that swans can be evil-tempered brutes, but when I look at this picture (of what's plainly a pink-dappled fledgling angel-cygnet) I don't believe it!
ReplyDeleteAs for the pink rose--ahhhhh.....
Oh wow.. that's just incredibly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteohhhh....pretty.....
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely breathtaking, Merisi. I hope your weekend is filled with images as lovely.
ReplyDeleteI love the swan
ReplyDeleteMore wonderful images -- such subtle shades . . .
ReplyDeleteI walked out in l'heure bleu tonite and thought of you...
ReplyDeletemerci
This rose, crying out her beauty even in old age, what a lovely sign of strong life!
ReplyDelete