Schlösser

Fortified Houses

grounds of Schlösser in the Osnabrücker Land

Photographs taken on the grounds of some of the Schlösser in the area around Osnabrück. I have aimed to not only photograph the main buildings, but also some characteristic aspects of them, as well as the trees that are so important in defining atmosphere.

Click the images below to navigate to the different pages. Note the 'viewfinder' at the bottom of those pages: drag left to view the other photographs.

Gut Ostenwalde, Spring, 2009

Wasserschloss Schelenburg, Spring, 2009

Etymology

musings on why a Burg is not a Burgh

A Schloss is a Historic House, or castle, but it is a bit difficult to translate into English, seeing that some Schlösser do have the word 'Burg' in their name (Schelenburg, Ippenburg), and this German word Burg is the origin of the English word 'Borough' or the Scottisch 'Burgh' - as in Edinburgh - but a Borough or a Burgh does not mean a fortified building (as a Burg) but a fortified town.

Besides, in the UK a town is not a city, but both are translated into German as 'Stadt' and even though no-one would call Hamburg a village, neither is it obvious whether to describe Hamburg as a city or as a town.

So 'Burgh' derives from 'Burg', but the suffix 'burg' in Hamburg refers to the castle which was first built on the spot, while the ending 'burgh' in Edinburgh does not refer to its castle, but instead to its status as a chartered town.

Did all this manage to confuse you?