The most common place to meet up with anyone in Hannover is at the Hauptbanhof (main train station), "unterm Schwanz," meaning under the horse's tail. The horse in question part of a huge statue in front of the station. Nostrils flaring, mane blowing, its rider is King Ernst August,
Ernest Augustus, fifth son of King George III of England, was part of the royal House of Hanover. He was born in England but spent his university days in Gottingen, Germany. He had a career in the military and in politics, moving back and forth between Germany and England, married his cousin, may have had a child with his sister, and may have killed his valet. In 1837 his niece Victoria became queen. Since succession in the House of Hanover went only through males, this meany that Ernst was crowned King of Hanover a few days later, and Hannover was ruled by its own royalty.
The coolest part of these pictures, other than Ernst August's awesome hat, is that the backdrop is a facade of the Hauptbanhof that is designed to look like the Hauptbanhof. There is scaffolding and construction going on underneath, but this big tarp looks just like the building should.
Inside the Hauptbanhof is another item of interest on our photo safari. It is a... well, you tell me:
Maybe a headless sea monster. Maybe an eel of some kind. I tried looking up info on the internet, but "headless eel sculpture hannover" didn't bring up any results in Google. So let your imagination fun on this one. Isn't that what art is about anyway?
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