Kiel Has Little Appeal

As we travel, reading what is featured on Tours by Locals websites has been helpful. There are highlights of each city with a list of the "must-sees", which always offers some direction. After reading reviews of sites to see in Kiel, it seems to have little appeal. One review said, "The first thing to do when you get to Kiel is going directly to the train station and take a train to Hamburg". Well, Kiel is in Schleswig-Holstein so let's check it out for ourselves. The Kiel Canal is close by, and Kiel is a port on the Baltic, there must at least be ships to watch.

St. Nikolai Church

There was a surprise at St. Nikolai Church which reputedly is the oldest building in Kiel. Originally built around 1242,  then in 1877-1884 the church was refaced with a neo-Gothic facade popular of the times. The RAF destroyed much of the church in 1943 and 1944 during the massive bombings. The big surpise for me was the Minneapolis connection. Outside of the church stands a bronze monument The Spirit Fighter which became to be known as the Ghostfighter.

The Spirit Fighter

Under the Nazi-regime in 1935, this statue by Ernst Barlach was declared Degenerate Art which normally meant destruction by melting.  In the wake of World War I the Nazis attempted to destroy the statue.  The statue's pacifist message, with its call to peace was not good PR for the Nazi Party as they were issuing a call to arms. Therefore, in 1937, on Hitler’s birthday, they managed to remove it and cut the angel into four pieces. Fortunately, a close friend of the sculpture Ernst Barlach was able to hide the statue's pieces on a farm in Schnega until the end of the Second World War. The statue was later repaired and placed in front of the Church of St. Nicholi where it stands today. Two full-size copies were made sometime around 1946. And this now brings me to my surprise. In 1959 The Minneapolis Institute of Arts acquired one of the statues. In 1924 Ernst Barlach ranked among the most important artists in Germany. His statement of this sculpture: The figure symbolizes the victory of the spirit over evil and the sublimity of the people over the dark. When will our modern world wake up and see the light?

So there was a strong message waiting in Kiel.

The Spirit Fighter

Standing outside at Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

No Christmas Markets this year but a few traditional stalls.

Zuckerwarren is open selling sweet treats.

Surprisingly, a traditional vehicle go-round ride for little ones appeared to be ready for riders. Operators must wear Covid Blinders with their masks I guess.

Like most other German cities that we have visited, the streets are all festively lined with decorated Christmas trees.

That was Kiel.

War monuments or actually anything war-related never piqued my interest. Since there was so little to see in Kiel a German U-Boat museum was minutes away in Laboe - might as well take a look. Of course, the museum is closed but as far as I know German U-boats are rather rare. 

There It Is - A Beached U-Boat. 

Silly me, I have to admit not knowing a U-Boat was a submarine. Travel and learn!