World History I
During this year I have focussed my learning on the Fall of the Byzantine Empire and the Middle Ages. I added some photographs from visits to fascinating sites.
Witches Weighing Scale, Oudewater, The Netherlands
People used to think that witches had relations with the devil and were very lightweight, because they could fly. All over Europe innocent women were burned at the stake for being "a witch". In the Netherlands, they solved the problem by weighing the women who were suspected of being witches.
Countless women traveled to The Netherlands to be redeemed by a very serious weighing process, where their weight was established and if they proved to be of "normal" weight, they were handed a certificate, which certified that they were not a witch.
We went to the Weighing place in Oudewater, that is still there, unchanged over the course of the ages and found it to be a great experience. And as an aside, I proved to be a certified normal person, no witch, who would have thought! For this, I received a certificate of weighing from the city of Oudewater: "Certificate van Weginghe in der Stede Wage tot Oudewater".
Stonehenge
Conwy Castle
This is Conwy Castle in Northern Wales that I researched and had planned to visit in 2021, but the visit which would have complemented my one research was delayed because of Covid pandemic restrictions. Conwy Castle is one of the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe according to the UNESCO, who made Conwy castle a world heritage site. You can still see many of the original details and one can only imagine how awe inspiring it would have been during medieval times. Visiting the castle when you are afraid of heights would be a challenge in my opionion.
Bentheim Castle
Bentheim Castle is an early medieval castle that was built from 1020 onwards. It was a so-called "Fliehburg", a refuge castle, where the local villagers would seek shelter in emergency situations, although they wouldn't have been living there permanently.
Roman Baths in Bath
