The Iron Maiden of the Dark Ages

The Original Iron Maiden of Nuremberg

The Dark Ages. That period in history that sends a tingle of fright down our spines with its tales of horror; of how people were punished and tortured. Paradoxically the more barbaric it was, the more fascinating people find it – particularly when it comes to separating what Hollywood shows us, and what really happened.

The Kriminalmuseum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a wonderfully preserved medieval town in Bavaria, has a museum with one of the largest collections of punishment and torture devices in Europe. Here you will find, like in the photograph above, the original Iron Maiden.

Days of Yore Travel can take you here to see all of the things that were commonplace in dark medieval dungeons, and give you a more accurate picture what law and order were like in everyday medieval life in the Holy Roman Empire, including a accompanying the Night Watchman on his walk around the tower walls.

If you want the real dark medieval experience, please write to us here at Days of Yore Travel. 

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You? An Archaeologist While on Vacation?

How do you become a leading archaeologist without having a university degree in archaeology?

Meet Horst Klötzer, a retired industrial lathe factory operator from Hagen, Germany. He became one out of passion. His qualifications are a burning interest in history and archaeology and a treasure hunter’s instinct. The passionate pensioner is responsible alone for about 15% of all the artifacts on display on the Museum of Ancient History in Hagen.

How could he just go out and do it, without any special knowledge or training? And can just anybody call themselves an archaeologist?

While it’s true that Horst in no academic archaeologist, he is a recognized “archaeological enthusiast” by Ralf Blank, the Regional Museum Director for Science, History and Archives in Hagen, who speaks of Horst in the highest praises. “Horst is one of kind, and we need more people like him.”

Really? So just anybody could go out and find things like Horst did, including rare Celtic coins, Bronze Age axes, rare arrow heads, amber pearls, not to mention an entire area of long-lost castle ruins that has escaped academic archaeologist for decades?

Well, yes you can. The pre-requisites are, of course that you share the same passion for history that Horst does, and you have to follow some simple rules, such as accepting the fact the things you find don’t really belong to you, but in part to every person after you who will stand behind the glass in a museum and stare in awe and wonder at the thing you were the first person to rediscover.

Being an archaeologist like Horst Klötzer in Germany can be part of your chance to discover something no person has ever seen before. You can be the person who digs up something new that will make scientists decide that the history books have to be revised again. You could be the next person that finds the one thing that people will one day travel half around the planet to look at through glass or by guided tour.

If you would like to find out how, write to us as Days of Yore Travel for more information on how to become this kind of experiential traveler.       

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