Charlie Battery - Kleingartach

Bob Norkol Pondering The Meaning of Life mit Moninger Bier

One item we always had with us while out and away from the Kaserne was our trusty cameras. Oh... and a good bottle of beer of course, and the beer was Moninger and definitely Wunderbar...!

I am taking the picture and I'm guessing the hund is probably looking at either Neil Watson, or Marion Naeger. Out in the open air on a warm summer evening was a pleasant and relaxing time.

Bob Norkol is from Michigan, and was one of the crewman chosen to take part in the live round firing exercise at the Fort Bliss, McGregor Range.

---

Village of Stockheim And Schloß Stocksberg Aerial View - Ca. 1960

Stockheim's coat of arms feature two of the most important community focal points, it's vineyards and Saint Ulrich's church. It's interesting that again in both pop-ups, Saint Ulrich's Church features prominently in village importance. As seen in the graphic the black cross on the white background is the symbol of the Deutsch Orden, or Teutonic Orden, Germany's Order of the Teutonic Knights, who brought the Catholic Church, and the adjacent tool illustrated is a utility farm knife.

This is another great photo. Again, a Post Card provided by a Graham family. Please “Click Here” to view an even larger and more impressive view of this image please and be amazed.

The broad expanse of top of The Heuchelberg is perfectly illustrated here in great aerial view. All of the slopes around the Schloß Stocksberg are vineyards. However all of the fields on top are rich farmlands that were generously enriched by tons of manure in the springtime. Whew....! It was rugged...!

But when the crops started coming in, and through their growing process into fall, it was glorious and beautiful, with fragrances and colors in a constant flow of change. And adding to the mix the human effort of the process, it was literally series of Pieter Brueghel paintings of the Four Seasons.

In the expanded view, using the link in the first paragraph, look just to the right of the Castle Keep you will see the road winding up the landscape that went past the IFC on to intersect with the Neiderhofen/Haberschlacht road.

Then following the tree line from the IFC, and scanning to the right, you will see the Barracks area and probably the Motor Pool Garage, or maybe it's the Honky Tonk that was outside the fence.

---

Stockheim And The Vineyard Arch From The Schloss Stocksberg

This image clearly illustrates the vineyard/village relationship. Also shown is the beautiful Vineyard Arch Gate, in the center of the photo just in front of that row of trees that are between the village and the vineyards.

If you follow the road in the vineyard that runs diagonally from the bottom left corner of the photo and, following it around to the right just past the curve, your eye will lead you directly to it.

You can view a very nicely done close-up of this arch taken recently by our friend in Germany, you have a great photographic eye Herbert, thank you...! So “Click Here” and travel through our new state of the art worm-hole to be taken directly to the image... Hold on...!

Also, if you look over that knoll that is center left in the background I think you will see Brackenheim. By following the diagonal upper roof lines of Stockheim starting at Saint Ulrich's Kirchen that goes out of town up and around the wooded forest on the far left one would be on the road to Haberschlacht, which puts that small village directly on a course to Brackenheim.

And by the way, does anyone have any pictures of Brackenheim? That would be a great addition to the site.

- Top of the Page -

---

The Sweep of Vineyards From The Schloß Stocksberg

---

Another Entrance To The Vineyards

---

Stately View Of The Castle From The Vineyards

- Top of the Page -

---

St. Ulrich’s Kirchen in Stockheim

St. Ulrich church is considered as a real jewel referring to old carvings at the altar. People say the carving may have origins to Tilman Riemenschneider who was one of the most famous wood-carvers and also sculptors in Germany (Middle-Europe) in the period just after middle-ages (1455-1531).

Stockheim keeps the church locked because of fear of theft or damaging - they open for individual tours or generally for religious services....

During Napoleon regime the Schloß Stocksberg was also occupied by his troops. Due to old stories - told from one generation to the other - even Napoleon had one or more lover(s) up there... possibly he visited her (them) or he just moved them there to get them away .... But this is not proofed by history. He must have been a “big womanizer”.

But one of his best Generals must have been there more often ... Perhaps he was the one who had his lovers up there •.. (his presence at this time is proofed .. ).

by Uli Pfingstler Brackenheim/Lauffen

---

Stockheim In The Grip of Mid-Winter

I get this sense of houses huddling together like penguins in the long Antarctic night huddling together to keep warm.

That's a normal winter night in our neighborhood

---

The Village Of Stockheim

The name Stockheim points to an existing home, or “heim” on a slash, or clear-cut forest area, as “stock is defined as stump”, and is first mentioned in documents as far back as the Fifth Century. It is believed that the Lords of Stock are of the families who first settled that original residence on the clear cut land.

The Stock Mountain Home, which with the family name of Stocks, and “berg defined as mountain”, results in the name of the Schloss Stocksberg.

The print is from the 15th century, gives one an idea of the origin of the area. The first Schloss was constructed more on the valley floor and they later chose to build up on the hill at its current location. In 1525 the Schloß was destroyed by a peasant insurrection and by 1530 commissions were made to begin reconstruction, which resulted in the basic site as it exists today. Be sure to “click here” to view a larger image, and compare it with the image just above.

In comparing the both the print and the pop-up image to the right in this section, one can see that the basic layouts are not much different from each other, despite the span of 5 to 6 hundred years.

So much time and so much history. The ever repeating patterns of existing and living by the seasonal rhythms of nature, providing continuity that is the essence of human kind in time immemorial.

The history of Stockheim is so intertwined with history of Schloß Stocksberg that to know one is to know much about the other. Dr. Otfreid Kies a professor of Philosophy has written a brief history of the Schloß that is one of the official handouts that the castle provides its visitors. You can read the document that has been recently added to our Archive page, so please “Click Here” to read that interesting kistory. It is presented in both English and German.

---

Path From The Barracks To The Schloß Down To Stockheim

The path from the Schloß wanders down through the vineyards, then flattens out and passes through a beautiful orchard.

The time of year was mid spring and the blossoms of the fruit trees were beginning to form, filling the senses with a visual beautify and sweet fragrances in the air.

And after the icy lock of winters grip, the warming spring weather and the renewal of life was welcomed and very appreciated.

---