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SOCIAL

Germany’s ten most surreal landmarks

Germany’s ten most surreal landmarks
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<b>1) Upside-Down House, Rügen:</b> The Upside-Down House (Haus-Kopf-über) was built as a tourist attraction in 2010 on the road to the next town Lauterbach. How many strained necks and car crashes it has caused is not known, but it is not alone - there are many examples of upside-down houses in the world, including another in the seaside resort of Trassenheide, also in Mecklenberg-Western Pommerania. Just be sure to use the loo before you pop in as everything is inverted, furnishings too. Photo: DPA
<b>2) Forest Spiral, Darmstadt:</b> We are of divided opinion at The Local as to whether we would want to live here ourselves. Designed by Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the “Waldspirale” features 105 apartments wrapped around a courtyard landscaped around a running stream and with a restaurant and cocktail bar in the turret. OK, the turret just clinched it. We’re moving in. Photo: Joachim S. Müller/FlickrPhoto: <a href=" https://www.flickr.com/photos/joachim_s_mueller/4271186510/in/photolist-7vqWWJ-7Yrtv-MkG7u-7Y9p3i-7Yrtt-7Yr3i-7Yrtu-7Yr3k-7Yr3g-7Yr3h-7Yr3j-fteyq-MwVSm-EqhTX-9EC2vh-hAhPqo-6sqsEH-6suC5U-aK8C
<b>3) The Goseck circle, Saxony-Anhalt:</b> England’s Stonehenge it ain't, and it is more a case of ancient genius than weird. But since this earliest known example of a solar observatory has marked summer and winter solstices for nigh on 5,000 years, that's good enough for us. Go Goseck!Photo: DPA
<b>4) Peace be with you, Berlin:</b>  Rising up the side of Berlin's left-wing Tagezeitung newspaper building, this distinctly over-endowed cheeky chap bears an uncanny resemblance to Bild editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann, whose offices are located across the street. Erected in 2009 by German artist Peter Lenk, the figure is complete with red glasses and brown loafers, while straining its way up the five-story building. Photo: Felipe Tofani/FlickrPhoto: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gastaum/11985554246/in/photolist-dc9uqW-bzUzZm-zEJVA-8b57z1-8b57dG-dB7FBZ-dB7Jog-dB7KTF-8apSfR-6YdAkJ-brTgBj-7Hfcwb-7HfbXU-7fQMa5-9xaj9W-dB7Kop-jg86H1-7AsMhU-apV
<b>5) Nazi trees, Zernikow, Brandenburg:</b>  When forestry students were studying aerial photos in 1992, they spotted a giant swastika-shaped plantation of larch trees. Clearly the Nazis' idea of inventive landscaping was alive and well half a century later. Initial attempts to break up the symbol by felling dozens of trees (pictured) didn't work. Is it still visible now? Wealthy  tourists, charter a Cessna for the day and do send us a photo.Photo: DPA
<b>6) The Devil's Bridge, Kromlau, Saxony:</b> Built in 1860, the Rakotzbrücke is a magnet for photographers and lovers thanks to its unique construction. The bridge and its reflection merge into a perfect circle, regardless of the point of view. Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/holger-wirth/8766503823/in/photolist-" target="_blank">Holge Wirth/Flickr</a>
<b>7) Funnel Wall, Dresden:</b> This live-in version of the board game Mousetrap stands in the Kunsthofpassage in the student district of Dresden. Designed by three artists who live in the house, it does far more than catch the eye: the vivid composition of funnels and gutters on the facade channels rainfall through itself to create a water symphony. Photo: Serge Bystro/FlickrPhoto: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergebystro/9116705991/in/photolist-eTBv54-eTNVq9-eTBuPD-eTBvbH-eTNUHq-eTBvup-9Qofba-9Qr4CY-9RjxA-362zmD-4tGhNQ-doRLPB-4tCg6P-4tGhu3-hqLCEQ-4tGi7G-hqLKX5-dmyKJb-
<b> 8) The Lifesaver fountain, Duisburg:</b> Psychedelia meets giant bird and clinging woman. That much we do know. But does it symbolize harmony, fantasy, a resplendent riot of nature, perhaps, or a fun few months in the studio? Well, you can mull that one while cooling down by this seven-metre creation of French artists Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely in Duisburg. Photo: alex.ch/FlickrPhoto: <a href=" https://www.flickr.com/photos/alex-photos/11106877813/in/photolist-8kt8jr-uN85x-9SCkHn-hVtDPk-5VAWm2-hVtFep-hVt58W-4u5qXm-87jLnt-8hqXpU-2jqiz-k9Ypz-k9Ynt-k9Yo4-k9YoD-6YWW1q-bRvqZF-bVka1t-84F
<b> 9) Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria:</b> Built by Ludwig II of Bavaria to romanticize the Middle Ages and the operas of Richard Wagner, the king enjoyed his lavish folly for only six months before his suspicious death at a nearby lake in 1886. Neuschwanstein also gave the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland. But if you can’t get there to visit you can still enjoy it as ‘Baron Bomburst’s Vulgarian castle’ in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Photo: Gabriele Quaglia/FlickrPhoto: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/16602684@N00/6143479885/in/photolist-amSWwZ-h1ZwW-3K31o-c8six9-jnyGYc-4qR5Rb-fUokU-9mqvYt-aDx6ZG-hxEKBT-nrPsqz-hxEK6n-sgXxj-c2fc8W-9hzErR-6fieAs-c2gRru-efNvMm-eD
<b> 10) The Hare, Nuremberg:</b> Jürgen Goertz's rather disturbing 1984 tribute to 15/16th Century German painter Albrecht Dürer portrays a dead hare bursting from a box full of smaller dead hares. The work symbolizes the dire results of tampering with nature. Not that man gets away with it entirely though - spot the toes of a crushed human poking from beneath the giant carcass.Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/craige/311647233/in/photolist-4wg7bJ-AZ3V7-dpHpfN-44fyb-2iidt8-5NaLsf-8Cdksx-dujiQY-4RiHVq-gEa6A-txgSa-5ySMcj" target="_blank"> Craige Moore/Flickr</a>
<b>What are Germany’s oddest laws and rules?</b> <a href="http://www.thelocal.de/galleries/lifestyle/top-ten-weird-german-laws-the-local-list" target="_blank">Find out here.</a>Photo: DPA


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