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Welcome to this blog

The Knidos labyrinth

The topic of this blog is the labyrinth.

The fascination of this old symbol shall be shown.

The labyrinth is not a secret, but it is still a mystery.

I want to call your attention to the labyrinth.

Erwin

A new Labyrinth at the ZIM in Würzburg (Germany)

After the ZIM (centre for internal medicine of the university clinics of Würzburg) takes up his service during these days, the labyrinth on the terrace of the outdoor facilities will be open to the public too.

The hospital’s pastoral care had wished a labyrinth. It was built by a landscape architect as the type Chartres rather sumptuously with true to dimension granite stones.

As a Labyrinthologist I looked a little more exactly on it and some things struck me. However, first the joy predominates about a new labyrinth  in Würzburg and at this place. It is definitely a good thing and now will be able to unfold his beneficial effects to all.

On the open house I was there and have made some observations. The adults discuss first of all, the children start to run.

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Related post

• Labyrinth at the ZIM

How to mowe a Labyrinth into a Meadow?

If one wants to make a labyrinth in this way it is the best to represent the path, also called Ariadne’s thread. And not the delimitation, as it is usual when building a labyrinth. Thus the labyrinth is cut out from the grass. This can be done best  if the grass is not yet so high.

If one knows how the path is running and if there is enough place, one can begin directly with the lawn mower. One should make no mistakes and think about the course of the paths. I mean here the classical labyrinth, from which the way sequence is well known: 3 – 2 – 1 – 4 – 7 – 6 -5 – center.

If one wants to make it more exactly, one can use the following method.

I use for it 5 approximately 1 m long and 1 cm thick iron bars together with a 3 mm thick steel rope  marked corresponding to the different diameters. A rope would do it also, but is mostly lengthened too much.

As example serves a labyrinth with larger center (called Knidos labyrinth) and the dimension between axes of 1 m. With a center of 4 m in diameter this results in an overall diameter of 18 m. That is however scalable. If I want for example only an overall diameter of 9 m, I multiply all dimensions (also the diagonals) with 0,5. With factor 0,6 I will get then an overall diameter of 10,80 m. And so on.

First I specify the 5 centers for the different arcs and mark them with the iron bars.

The 5 midpoints

One begins to mowe best in the center. The steel rope  is fastened with a snap hook. I first hook it in M1 and let the lawn mower follow the marking for the appropriate radius (R=1,50 m). The remaining surface in the center should directly be mown.

Then the rope will be changed to the next center point and in sequence all the turns will be mown. That would be here the R=2,50 m in the center M3. Then R=1,50 m around M2.

You must  consider naturally where the different arcs are running and where the radius changes. These points are located along an extension of the line through the different centers.

At the end one mowes free-hand around the whole, in order to let the outside delimitation of the labyrinth become visible.

Ariadne's Thread

If the lawn mower width is approximately 50 cm, then 50 cm will remain for the delimitation. The measures in the layout are related to the axis of the path.

The mown labyrinth

The labyrinth shown on the photos was made in such a way. The path leads first to the right, the labyrinth was mirror-inverted. The size was 9 m, thus the dimensions in the layout had to be multiplied by 0,5.

Villa Unspunnen

In the morning light

Open for the light

Related posts

• The Knidos Labyrinth Prototype
• How to make a Knidos Labyrinth

Labyrinth Event at Eisingen (Germany)

The St. Josefs-Stift Eisingen celebrated its annual festivity on Christ Ascension Day, May 21, 2009. The ensemble of the Theaterwerkstatt Eisingen (theater workshop) performed a play with large masks inside the labyrinth.

The musical accompaniment came from the group ” Das Flussvolk” in the persons of Kysara and Frederik, which had composed a new music particularly for this piece .

When I made the acquaintance of the Theaterwerkstatt Eisingen for the first time on the labyrinth congress 2003 in Zurich, I never imagined that the same troop would arise once in its own labyrinth in Eisingen… and that I would have taken part in the building of this labyrinth.

Thanks to all and a special memory of Viktor, which went from us this year.

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Special note to the pictures:
If you click on a picture you will see a larger one in the same window.
Under this picture then is indicated on the left side the preceding one and on the right side the following one.
So you can move through all the pictures by clicking.
If you want to go back to the article, please click the title.

A Temporary Labyrinth on the Magdeburg Domplatz (Germany)

On April 23, 2009, day of  Saint George, after a pregnancy of 529 years a new labyrinth saw the light of day on the Magdeburg Domplatz (cathedral place).

Just in time for the celebration of the 800 years anniversary of the Magdeburg Cathedral, the largest and first gothical cathedral on German ground. With the perfect pair of lovers (Otto and Editha?) in the 16 angled grave chapel within the cathedral, directly behind the 8 angled baptismal font in the entrance area.

Magdeburg Cathedral

What holds Otto on the arm? A disk with 19 balls. Is it the Flower of  Life or even the Nebra Sky Disk? Says by all means Gundula Thormaehlen-Friedman, whose grandfather was from 1897 to 1911 the director of the school for arts and crafts in Magdeburg.

The Royal Couple

The new (temporary) labyrinth for the opening of the cathedral anniversary on April 24,  2009 is situated in the intersection of the axis of the door to the federal state parliament in the north of the cathedral place and the main entrance of the cathedral on the north side (as it were between the doors) and the west axis of the old north church of Otto, whose sketch is marked by adaptations at the place on the basis of the results of the excavation campaigns of many years, planned by Daniela Süßmann from Magdeburg.

The golden thread inside the labyrinth

I was allowed to play the labyrinthologist and Daidalos, actively supported by my friend Ernst from old surfer days.

The pattern

The labyrinth was developed by the industrious hands of  the craftsmen of the  “cathedral works”, sent from the cathedral parish: Alexander, Armin, Fridolin and Sven.

The midwives were the cathedral preacher Giselher Quast and George Bandarau with the tireless utility man Robert Schmidt from the city marketing Pro Magdeburg e.V. (registered association).
Equal opportunity commissioner listen: Men urge into occupations of woman.

Sven

Fridolin and Alexander

Armin

Ernst and Fridolin

Cathedral preacher Quast

Cathedral works

Who was the father?

The Augsburg councilman and humanist Sigismund Gossembrot d.Ä published 1480 this type of labyrinth in a handwriting. But in Magdeburg it was built as a walkable labyrinth for the first time.

The data to size and weight, as usual with each baby:
It has 5 axes, 9 circuits, a dimension between axes of 1.50 m, a center with 9 m diameter, an overall diameter of 36 m. The lines are made from a 5 cm broad tape and an overall length of 705 m. This results in a length for the simple way into the center of 622 m (checksum = 10), the invisible golden thread, which runs between the white border lines.

Camera crew

Cathedral place

The labyrinth

The first visitors

The overview

The run

Who are the mothers?

Those are the Ariadnes of our time already mentioned: Gundula Thormaehlen-Friedman and Daniela Süßmann, which already developed the idea of a labyrinth for the Magdeburg cathedral place years ago. And which I became acquainted last year in Dresden on the 4th international labyrinth congress.

Are there godparents?

I will note Rosmarie Schmid, for me the Grande Dame of the labyrinth movement. Not to forget Agnes, Ilse, Silke, Werner, Jeff, Andreas. All were somehow involved into the realization of this project.

Are there ancestors?

There is the mother of all labyrinths, the labyrinth inside the cathedral of Chartres, which was built between 1200 and 1210 on the floor and is still working by the impulses, which it gives to the world-wide renaissance of the labyrinth idea.

There is Mechthild of Magdeburg (1207 – 1282), which lived 40 years as beguine in this city and whose 800 years birthday was celebrated here in Magdeburg.
There is Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) who lived about 100 years before on the Disibodenberg, where Gundula built a classical 7 circuit labyrinth.

Georg Bandarau

Visitors

Opening ceremony

April 24, 2009

Interview

Inside the cathedral

Are there brothers and sisters?

In the quarter Buckau of Magdeburg in 2006 a classical labyrinth was built as part of the project ” Green center – the Labyrinth”.

In the Luther city Eisleben in the garden of the monastery Helfta (where Mechthild of Magdeburg died) exists a classical 7 circuit labyrinth, called the living labyrinth.

There is one of the four historical lawn labyrinths of Germany in Steigra. It is situated on the Sky Paths between Langeneichstädt, Nebra and Goseck, even if it is not (yet) enumerated as a station on this route.
On Saturday after St George (April 23) the whole village celebrates since 1995 a spring festivity at the classical 11 circuits labyrinth, also named Troy Town or Sweden Ring. The winter sun is released by a knight from the catches of the labyrinth.

April 25, 2009: Anne Ulrich and Ronny Herzau

Saxony-Anhalt, country of the “Frühaufsteher” (early risers) or country of the labyrinths?

What will happen to our temporary labyrinth on the Magdeburg cathedral place?

Will it really disappear on Saturday, May 2, 2009, the first world-wide celebrated world labyrinth day?

Or will the dream come true of so many people from a permament labyrinth for the Magdeburg cathedral?

Does it only live on in the hearts of the Magdeburg citizens?

Floating

Running

Nordic Walking

In the center

The beginning/the end

In the morning sun

Perhaps is the 800 years cathedral anniversary the smack on the bottom of the baby, who provides air for it to live?

Thanks to all which weaved at Ariadne’s Thread of this labyrinth.