Andreas Manessinger https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/ Recent content on Andreas Manessinger Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 6358 - Klosterneuburg XVII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6358-klosterneuburg-xvii.html Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6358-klosterneuburg-xvii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_134647_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_134647_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Stupidly, and in a way respectlessly, I forgot to record the names of the artists.</p> 6357 - Klosterneuburg XVI https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6357-klosterneuburg-xvi.html Sun, 17 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6357-klosterneuburg-xvi.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_134414_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_134414_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Interestingly enough, the exposits were works of modern art, each given plenty of space in its own niche.</p> 6356 - Klosterneuburg XV https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6356-klosterneuburg-xv.html Sat, 16 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6356-klosterneuburg-xv.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_133703_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_133703_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>After the slightly unsatisfying church, we went to the exhibition in the basement of the main monastery building. Here&rsquo;s a wooden model of the monastery.</p> <p>What a palace!</p> 6355 - Klosterneuburg XIV https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6355-klosterneuburg-xiv.html Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6355-klosterneuburg-xiv.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_132742_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_132742_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>A chapel near the entrance. I had to be quick to get the shot. The lighting was &hellip; problematic. Still, shooting RAW, I could achieve a satisfying white balance. Well, rather white balances, I should say, because I had to treat the upper part different from the rest. As most of the time in such situations, blue is the signal color to get right.</p> 6354 - Klosterneuburg XIII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6354-klosterneuburg-xiii.html Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6354-klosterneuburg-xiii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_132418-ORF_DxO_DeepPRIMEXD_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_132418-ORF_DxO_DeepPRIMEXD_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Well, actually the church was closed. I managed to get the camera through the gate, careful not to drop it, and so I took the last two images.</p> 6353 - Klosterneuburg XII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6353-klosterneuburg-xii.html Wed, 13 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6353-klosterneuburg-xii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_132121-ORF_DxO_DeepPRIMEXD_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_132121-ORF_DxO_DeepPRIMEXD_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Let&rsquo;s get that a little wider with the widely underused but ever so useful 7-14/2.8.</p> 6352 - Klosterneuburg XI https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6352-klosterneuburg-xi.html Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6352-klosterneuburg-xi.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131835_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131835_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Inside, the church looks &hellip; expensive &#x1f601;</p> 6351 - Klosterneuburg X https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6351-klosterneuburg-x.html Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6351-klosterneuburg-x.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131415_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131415_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Another funny coat of arms on the final grave on the outside. At least the final I took an image of &#x1f601;</p> 6350 - Klosterneuburg IX https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6350-klosterneuburg-ix.html Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6350-klosterneuburg-ix.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131403_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131403_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>A different style again, like the first one, but the place for the inscription is blank. That&rsquo;s what happens when something illegible is restored. You don&rsquo;t fantasize, you just leave the blank.</p> 6349 - Klosterneuburg VIII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6349-klosterneuburg-viii.html Sat, 09 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6349-klosterneuburg-viii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131358_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131358_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>On January 5, 1555, some nobleman with a stag in his coat of arms has died.</p> 6348 - Klosterneuburg VII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6348-klosterneuburg-vii.html Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6348-klosterneuburg-vii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131338_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131338_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>This one is from 1538. Again twice the same figure, once on the shield, once above it. This time it&rsquo;s a man with a funny hat and a flower.</p> 6347 - Klosterneuburg VI https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6347-klosterneuburg-vi.html Thu, 07 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6347-klosterneuburg-vi.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131329_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131329_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Walking along the facade, there&rsquo;s much more to see. Here we have to leopards.</p> 6346 - Klosterneuburg V https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6346-klosterneuburg-v.html Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6346-klosterneuburg-v.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131313_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131313_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>This is the grave of a medical doctor and respected citizen of Klosterneuburg.</p> 6345 - Klosterneuburg IV https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6345-klosterneuburg-iv.html Tue, 05 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6345-klosterneuburg-iv.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131240_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131240_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>This is a gothic plague column called &ldquo;Tutzsäule&rdquo;, after the sponsor Michael von Tutz.</p> 6344 - Klosterneuburg III https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6344-klosterneuburg-iii.html Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6344-klosterneuburg-iii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131221_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131221_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>A monument for the fallen in the two world wars. One stele is bigger than the other. I have no idea why.</p> 6343 - Klosterneuburg II https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6343-klosterneuburg-ii.html Sun, 03 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6343-klosterneuburg-ii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_131115_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_131115_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>As regards the church&rsquo;s exterior, we chose the wrong date &#x1f604;</p> 6342 - Klosterneuburg I https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6342-klosterneuburg-i.html Sat, 02 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6342-klosterneuburg-i.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200806_130956_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200806_130956_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Austria always was a catholic country. The Habsburg dynasty would rather risk self-destruction of its Holy Roman Empire during a bloody 30 years war, than allow people to choose their religion. Vienna was their capital, and it is full of and surrounded by monasteries. Klosterneuburg is one of them.</p> 6341 - Rust XI https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6341-rust-xi.html Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/03/6341-rust-xi.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200804_084236_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200804_084236_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>The indoor pool of our hotel in Rust. Processing is as good as it got with a single exposure and sunshine outside.</p> 6340 - Rust X https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6340-rust-x.html Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6340-rust-x.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200804_083428_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200804_083428_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>One of those years with a 29<sup>th</sup> of February. If I had been born only two hours later, this would be my 15<sup>th</sup> birthday &#x1f601;</p> 6339 - Rust IX https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6339-rust-ix.html Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6339-rust-ix.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200804_083126_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200804_083126_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Rust is at the shore of a lake, Neusiedler See. Well, at least that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s called a lake and a shore in Burgenland. The lake has a surface of 315 km², is nowhere deeper than two meters, and the water is muddy. While wading in water reaching only to my knees, the immediate danger to my camera was negligible. The water&rsquo;s color let me opt for black &amp; white though &#x1f601;</p> 6338 - Rust VIII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6338-rust-viii.html Tue, 27 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6338-rust-viii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200803_154555_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200803_154555_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>The sign reads &ldquo;My Favorite Place&rdquo;. On the bench is my favorite type of animal &#x1f601;</p> 6337 - Rust VII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6337-rust-vii.html Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6337-rust-vii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200802_101315_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200802_101315_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Rust is a small city, rural and picturesque.</p> 6336 - Rust VI https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6336-rust-vi.html Sun, 25 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6336-rust-vi.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200802_101237_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200802_101237_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>And of course Rust is famous for its storks &#x1f601;</p> 6335 - Rust V https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6335-rust-v.html Sat, 24 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6335-rust-v.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200802_100016_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200802_100016_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>We enjoyed a glass of wine here. Rust is famous for its wines.</p> 6334 - Rust IV https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6334-rust-iv.html Fri, 23 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6334-rust-iv.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200802_095557_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200802_095557_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>If there&rsquo;s one thing I severely lack, then it&rsquo;s wall space. We bought none of them either.</p> 6333 - Rust III https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6333-rust-iii.html Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6333-rust-iii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200802_094537_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200802_094537_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>Neither these, although I regret it in hindsight. I would love to have one on one of our terraces.</p> 6332 - Rust II https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6332-rust-ii.html Wed, 21 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6332-rust-ii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200802_094352_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200802_094352_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>We didn&rsquo;t buy any of these &#x1f601;</p> 6331 - Rust I https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6331-rust-i.html Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6331-rust-i.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200802_093528_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200802_093528_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>In that first Corona summer, we didn&rsquo;t want to travel down to Croatia or Italy. It would have been possible at times, but nobody felt secure. Still, we spent a few days in a mostly empty hotel in Rust, a picturesque small town in Burgenland, the most eastern part of Austria.</p> 6330 - Kölnbreinsperre XXVII https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6330-koelnbreinsperre-xxvii.html Mon, 19 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6330-koelnbreinsperre-xxvii.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200730_130429_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200730_130429_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>We live in a tightly interlocked, world-spanning system. It didn&rsquo;t just happen. It&rsquo;s a choice we made. Collectively. We didn&rsquo;t make it for millions of years, but then we made it. Collectively, iteratively, continuously through thousands of years.</p> <p>We settled. We began to rely on each other. On our family, on our nearest neighbors, on people in the same town, in the same region, in the same country. It turned out to be a relief. Suddenly we didn&rsquo;t have to do everything on our own. Suddenly there were people, who had the time and were given the resources to specialize, to learn what nobody had learned before, to achieve what nobody had been able to even imagine.</p> <p>This is, what civilization looks like. Reliance on each other to the extreme.</p> <p>Yes, we tried our shortcuts. Instead of making things, we took them from other people. Crime and war are detrimental to civilization, but we never got rid of them. Somehow they are in human nature, but history shows us a path to progress. Making errors, overcoming them, ever and ever again, we have come far. There is no reason to believe this can&rsquo;t go on. We just have to remember how we started and what it means to build a civilization.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s incremental. You learn to build on what you&rsquo;ve learned, you learn to build on what you&rsquo;ve built. We now have machines to build machines to build trains and ships and cars to transport what we need to build machines. Many an intermediate step gets forgotten. It&rsquo;s not needed at our current level of technology and infrastructure, but if civilization ever fails, those gaps in knowledge will hurt us terribly.</p> <p>Civilization is a choice we&rsquo;ve once made, but now it is a process. We can&rsquo;t go back to where we were before, and we couldn&rsquo;t possibly recover civilization if it ever failed globally. Our only chance is, to maintain it carefully.</p> 6329 - Kölnbreinsperre XXVI https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6329-koelnbreinsperre-xxvi.html Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.andreas-manessinger.info/2024/02/6329-koelnbreinsperre-xxvi.html <div class="container"> <div class="center"><a target="_blank" href="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/1200x1200/2020/20200730_130217_lr.jpg"><img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://d25zfm9zpd7gm5.cloudfront.net/0600x0600/2020/20200730_130217_lr.jpg" /></a></div> </div> <br /> <p>It&rsquo;s a pretty thick wall. Could you design it? Well, I certainly couldn&rsquo;t. I&rsquo;ve learned my share of math, I&rsquo;ve been at a technical high school, I&rsquo;ve even calculated simple building statics at school, but this is not simple at all. And even if I&rsquo;d know the math, it would all depend on the materials.</p> <p>There will certainly be steel in the wall, will it? What steel? How do you make it? How do you know that you&rsquo;ve managed to create the desired quality? Where do you get the iron ore? How do you mine it? How do you even know what iron ore is? Do you know what it looks like? Do you know where to find it, how to extract it? How do you transport it and how will you create the temperatures necessary to melt it? And then? Cast iron is brittle. A smith would know how to make steel. Do you? Do you know any smith? Even if, we don&rsquo;t talk about ploughs or swords, we talk about uniform bars with certain stability-enhancing profiles and lengths of tens of meters. Thousands of them, each weighing a ton, all having reliable quality. You can&rsquo;t just make that with hammer and anvil &#x1f604;</p> <p>We&rsquo;ve only talked about a small part of necessary materials yet. What about building the wall? Where do you get the machines? How do you power them? Can you safely build such a wall without sacrificing thousands of workers? Do you have proper incentives to make workers work voluntarily and without forcing them?</p> <p>Such a dam creates a lot of electricity at times when it is needed: in winter, at night. It is important to have a few of them, in order to maintain a steady supply of energy. There is a tremendous social value in having a steady supply of energy, but it is kind of an abstract goal to build a dam for a storage lake. It&rsquo;s not like building one&rsquo;s own house. Do you have a population, that is educated enough to strive for such shared goals? Finance them?</p> <p>Even in the best of cases: constructing such a building will involve certain dangers. Some people will get hurt. Do you have the ambulance cars or helicopters to drive or fly them to the hospital? Do you even have hospitals? Medical doctors? Emergency rooms? Antibiotics?</p> <p>That&rsquo;s what the freedom- and gun-loving preppers don&rsquo;t get: when civilizations go down, all knowledge goes down. So does technology. After the apocalypse, you can&rsquo;t just rebuild.</p> <p>Knowledge will be gone, skills will be gone, machines will be gone, power supply will be gone, heating will be gone and so will be cooling. Most food will be rotten in weeks.</p> <p>We will lack the materials, we will lack the knowledge to use them, and we will lack the knowledge and infrastructure to re-acquire what we&rsquo;ve lost. That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;ll lose more, that&rsquo;s why the fall will be so deep.</p>