THE
LANCE
Vol. 24. No. 3
ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
March 4,1986
Remembering Brunnenburg
1985
By Heidi Jernigan
Lsst spring twelve St. Andrews
students were already looking for
ward to the fall semester. Now the
twelve of us can only look back on a
plethora of nnemories which remain
from a once in a lifetime semester at
Brunnenburg Castle.
Brunnenburg Castle is located in
the Italian Alps. This northern region
is referred to as the "Sudtirol" and
was once a part of Austria. The ma
jority of the people speak German as
their first language, so in preparation
for our trip we took a crash course in
German at Fort Bragg. We
reassembled in August at Kennedy
Airport in New York City to make the
flight to Zurich where we were met
by our two St. Andrews' professors,
Tom and Kate Blackburn, and their
son Michael.
As we caught our first glimpse of
Brunnenburg I think we all felt the
same surprise and excitement. Pic
tures we had seen and descriptions
from previous "Brunnenburgers"
had not even begun to do justice to
the castle and its surroundings. Even
now, as I write, I realize that my
words too will miss the mark.
The castle is located above the city
of Merano ("above" in this sentence
refers to altitude). Merano is a busy
city, except during the two hour
siesta taken by all Italians at mid-day.
One of the most important means of
income to the area is tourism. There
are many events to keep the
predominantly German tourists busy
such as ice hockey, kyack races, and
the steeplechase.
Brunnenburg lies directly below
the village of Dorf Tirol. The 'Dorf'
relies on tourism as its main source
of income also. The average tourist
tends to be a middle-aged, German
speaking person. The people of Dorf
Tirol had been expecting our arrival,
and we found them to be quite
friendly. Many of the Brunnen
burgers made nightly excursions to
the ice cream parlors in the Dorf. We
became a part of life in Dorf Tirol.
The castle itself is the thing fairy
tales are made of. Over 600 years
old, Brunnenburg Castle had fallen
into ruin before its acquisition by the
Prince Boris de Rachewiltz and the
Princess Mary de Rachewiltz. Ar
chitectural highlights of the castle in
clude two remaining towers (a third
collapsed some years ago), an enor
mous window in the Rittersaal which
provides a gorgeous view of the
valley, a family chapel, the Ezra
Pound Room which contains some
of Pound's personal belongings, and
an agricultural museum which is
open to tourists.
The students reside in a far-
||ihouse which has undergone
famatic changes in recent years. It
is a fun as well as comfortable place
to live, and yes, there is hot water!
Two students share a room and two
smaller rooms are designated as
privates. Meals are taken in the far
mhouse or in the kitchen of Brigitta
de Rachewiltz who prepares terrific
meals for her twelve 'adopted' kids.
But we did go to Brunnenburg to
study. Dr. Tom Blackburn taught a
literature course dealing with the
works of Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka,
and Thomas Pynchon. Kate
Blackburn instructed a course on
travel writing, and each student com
pleted a writing project pertaining to
his/her experiences abroad. Sizzo de
Rachewiltz, the grandson of Pound,
led us on weekly field trips to places
of importance to the Tyrolian culture.
Visits were made to watermills, a
feltmill, a blacksmith, and a winery.
We hope to see Sizzo on our own
campus in the spring of 1986. Mary
de Rachewiltz, Ezra Pound's
daughter, conducted a very special
reading of THE CANTOS by Pound.
This year was very special because
we were there to celebrate the one
hundreth year since Pound's birth.
We saw the road leading to the cas
tle renamed "Ezra Pound Weg," and
a special showing of Pound's works
were put on display in Merano. Teas
and luncheons held in Mary's apart
ment or garden were always special
as we all came to feel very close to
the wonderful lady who had opened
her home to us.
Every Tuesday was workday at the
castle, and it was that day that many
of us looked forward to the most.
Jobs ranged from picking pears and
apples, to stacking firewood. The
event of the semester was the grape
harvest and the making of the castle
wine.
However, if education took place
only in the classroom then there
would be no need to go abroad. Each
of us improved our German
vocabulary and we found much to
learn from the people we en
countered. Group trips were made to
Innsbruck, Rome, Florence, Venice,
Munich (during Oktoberfest), Dachau
(the first Nazi concentration camp),
and a weeks stay in Pragu^
Czechoslovakia. Students traveled
on their own to places such as
Ravenna, Milan, Verona, Berlin
Brussels, Vienna, Paris, London And
Lucerne. As a matter of fact one stu
dent stayed in Europe traveling by
herself for over a month.
Brunnenburg added something
special to all of our lives. If you are in
terested in going to Brunnenburg talk
to someone who's been and/or to
Bob Martin, who dropped in to visit
us at Brunnenburg this year.
f-
We Remember
Photo by Jim Schmid
Astronauts Gregory Jarvis, Ronald
McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith
Resnik, Francis Scobee, Michael
Smith and Teacher Krista McAuliffe.
What's Inside...
Keeping GANZA Afloat
Housekeeping:
Working to Study
Toxic Waste Dump:
To Be Or Not To Be?
Perkinson Reflects on
Visit to South Africa
Spring Sports Schedules
and MORE...
Special Thanks to Mystery Phone Caller
The Administration would like to
say "Thank You" to the anonymous
phone caller who reported a brush
fire on campus. The fire broke out on
February 4th near the water treat
ment plant between 3:30 and 4:00
p.m. Early detection prevented what
might have been a very serious pro
blem. Whoever you are, thanks for
taking the time to care and respond!