A PostcardA Day - Friday 16 October 2026 - Friday Smiles and Friday Face Off

 Hello lovely peeps,

Do you like Art Nouveau? I do and if you do too, then you can relish in the images I have found regarding my postcard for today:

The postcard is sent to me by Rolf (via Postcrossing), who lives in Darmstadt. It features a part of the Mathildenhöhe.

Wikipedia writes:

The Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt , or simply Mathildenhöhe, in the southern Hessian city of Darmstadt, is a complex of buildings and parks in the Art Nouveau and early Modernist styles , built between 1897 and 1914 on the hill of the same name in the east of Darmstadt's city center. 

It is the result of the Mathildenhöhe artists' colony, initiated by the then Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse, where important artists and architects such as Joseph Maria Olbrich , Peter Behrens , and Albin Müller explored new paths in experimental architecture, new spatial art, and forward-looking design with a holistic approach. 

Because of its significant contribution to the development of modernist architecture, urban landscape design, and the avant-garde processes in which this occurred, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 24, 2021.  

The Mathildenhöhe is named after Grand Duchess Mathilde , wife of Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine.

The card features a relief among a plane tree grove with the so-called wedding tower in the background.

Rolf has a blog and he gives an explanation on his blog: RolfSchaefer.blogspot)

The relief "Sleep" is one of four allegorical relief groups by the artist Bernhart Hoetger in the sculpture park "Platanenhain" on the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, which represents the perpetual cycle of life with becoming and passing away as an overarching theme.

The figurative representation with gestures, facial expressions and posture corresponds to the theme of sleep. Visitors are kept at a distance by a magnificent barrier and the background is protected by a lattice wall overgrown with ivy. (Rolf Schaefer.blogspot)

Rolf writes about the wedding tower:

The 48.5 metre high brick tower on Darmstadt's Mathildenhöhe was completed in 1908 and is classified as Art Nouveau. It is the city's landmark and is intended to commemorate the wedding of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig to Princess Eleonore zu Solms in 1905. Hence the name "Wedding Tower". 

The five final arches of the roof, reminiscent of an outstretched hand, are striking. This explains why the tower is popularly called the Five-Finger Tower.

On the seventh floor, below the roof arches, there is a viewing room with many windows that can be reached via 195 steps or by the lift that was installed later. Visitors can enjoy a panorama over the city and a wide view.

On the postcard only a few trees are visible, but there is an entire plane tree grove:

Again, Rolf writes about this:

The Plane Tree Grove is part of the Darmstadt Artists' Colony ensemble which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021. The park artwork with half-height plane trees planted at regular intervals and pruned every year to form a closed green roof is a beautiful place to linger, listen to concerts or play boules. The plane tree grove is decorated with over 40 sculptures and reliefs created for the 1914 Art Nouveau exhibition based on designs by the artist Bernhard Hoetger.

Rolf shares a few more photos:

The panorama and the combination with the Art Nouveau buildings and the style of 16th-century Russian churches is somewhat jarring.

Tsar Nicholas II, a brother-in-law of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, had the chapel built as a place of worship in 1897-99 by the St. Petersburg court architect Leontij Nikolajewitsch Benois. The "Russian Chapel" on Mathildenhöhe was integrated into the emerging ensemble of the Darmstadt artists' colony and the Art Nouveau buildings and visually integrated with a water basin in front. Serbian Orthodox services are still held in the chapel today.

Rolf writes:

The Ernst Ludwig House was the main building of the Art Nouveau Exhibition of 1901 and has housed the "Museum Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt" since 1990. The striking omega portal is flanked by two monumental figures, Adam and Eve, created by the sculptor Ludwig Habich. I chose this section of the picture because the southern museum portal leaves a lasting memory for most visitors to the Darmstadt Artists' Colony. Why Adam is naked and Eve clothed remains unexplained.

Even the railway station in Darmstadt is beautiful:

Above the entrance portal of the Glückert House (below), designed by Olbricht in 1901 as an artist's house, acquired by the furniture manufacturer Glückert

I feel a trip to Germany coming up.

 Where is Darmstadt anyway?

Lisca, stop day dreaming! 

What else has made me smile?

This is my cat Ronnie having a drink from his fountain.

Above are two little plants that my friend Antonia gave me. They found a place in front of the patio doors (plenty of light) on top of the ledge to my bedroom. Initially my bedroom opened up to the patio, but we then realized, people would have to walk through my bedroom to get to the patio. So we made this little wall so my bed is not visible.

That is it from me today. I will be joining Friday Face Off although the faces are cat faces today (among the funnies).

There will be some funnies at the end which (hopefully) will make you smile.

Take care and 

Keep Smiling!

Lisca