[LINK] Fladungen's Ape Tower (1)

[rfmcdonald]

Over at Halfway Down the Danube, Douglas Muir starts to tell the story of the Bavarian town of Fladungen and its Ape Tower.

Okay, strictly speaking it's the "Maulaffenturm", the Tower of the Mouth-Ape. And that's really a pun, because in German "Maulaffen" means "gawker". And up on the side of the tower, sitting on a rain spout, there's a little gargoyle. It's vaguely simian, with long arms and a mouth hanging open in indignation or glee. It's hard to be sure, because 600 years of rain and wind have worn on him. He's sort of an ape-ish shaped lump. But his mouth is definitely open.

[. . .]

Fladungen... well, it's a dead end. You couldn't easily move an army through the surrounding hills or over the High Rhoen plateau. And if you did, you'd be nowhere very interesting. And it's not rich; it's one of the coldest corners of central Germany. The surrounding hills are rather bleak, with soil suited only to sheep-herding. Until the late 20th century, this area was more or less Germany's Appalachia.

[. . . W]hile Fladungen has never been large, it was -- back in medieval times -- the most important town for half a day's travel around. So it had all the trappings of a medieval market town: a large church, a large town hall, a town wall.

And a jail.

I, for one, await the story's completion. In the meantime, go over to his blog to read everything that Douglas has written about the subject so far.