[ANI-Reality] Attack on Titan

Good afternoon ladies and gents. Welcome back to ANI-Reality! It’s been quite awhile, and I’ve been thinking about this one for quite some time.

Now, I have another Attack on Titan inspired architectural post in the works, but I’m still working out the feasibility of it. But I digress! Would you believe that the world of Attack on Titan is based on something in the real world?

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Nordlingen-map — *screencap via Google Maps*

Nordlingen, Germany, is one of a the three towns that are still walled left in Germany. However, this town in particular is one of the main inspirations for Shinganshina, the town in which our beloved trio hails from, and where the story kicks off. The other German towns are: Rothenburg ob der Tauber & Dinkelsbühl

attack-on-titan_ep1_shinganshina — *screencap via crunchyroll*

City walls back in the days were known as “defensive walls” and as obvious as that is, it’s to protect a town, civilization from any possible attackers. The walls in Attack on Titan are obviously exaggerated, as the walls in Nordlingen are nowhere near as high, but at least the walls in the German town are inhabitable and not filled with Titans.

attack-on-titan_ep1 — *screencap via crunchyroll*

Also, my other architectural fun fact for you guys. The type of Architecture featured in Attack on Titan, is a mix of half-timbering for the homes, while the walls and more civic buildings look to be Romanesque in nature (i.e. Trost District).

attack-on-titan_ep1_jaeger-home — *Jaeger home – Shinganshina District, screencap via crunchyroll*

Noerdlingen_town_hall_from_Daniel — *image via source*

Half-timbering: is literally as it implies. Timber is used as structural framing for homes, and the spaces in between are infilled with several kinds of materials: brick, stone, tiles, mud. There’s a plaster that covers the infill, and the structure is left exposed.

attack-on-titan_ep1_trost — *Trost District, screencap via crunchyroll*

Romanesque: This style of architecture is often characterized by a large hefty appearance with semi-circular arches and small paired windows, as well as the groin vault. (see link for a more descriptive info on the groin vault).

Germany has been on my bucket list of places to visit. Without a doubt Nordlingen is probably going to be added to my list of things to do in Germany!

I’ll be further exploring the architectural types featured in Attack on Titan in a future post. Keep an eye out for that! 🙂

Have you guys heard of Nordlingen? Or have visited it? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this German town.

Till next time!