‘I'm going back to
dignity and grace. I'm going back to Charleston, where I belong.’
-- Rhett Butler in 1939 movie "Gone with the Wind"
For those who has never visited Charleston
– a walking tour like the one we had on September 26th is a
must!
We met up at 4.30 p.m. in front of
‘The Shops of Historic Charleston Foundation’, where our journey around
that amazing city started. Despite the fact that our tour was mainly focused on
the history of the African Americans in this area, we also had a chance to
visit, admire and learn about the attractions of Charleston. Our study_tour_team
was divided into two groups, nearly in half.
We walked down to Charleston Harbor
where we stopped for a while to look at Fort Sumter and listen about the role
it played during the Civil War. It is always a great experience to be able to see
in the flesh something that you’ve already known from the U.S. history
class. Other significant places to visit chosen by our tour guide were: Charleston
City Hall; Charleston County Courthouse – one of the most important buildings
in the entire state; located on the King Street Charleston Library Society; Dock
Street Theatre; Exchange and Provost Building which was one of the most essential buildings back in colonial Charleston and a place where many significant
events of the American Revolution and early Federal period occurred; The
Farmers and Exchange Bank – the only Moorish Revival building in the city; The
Fireproof Building that is now believed to be the oldest building of fireproof
construction in the United States; the German Friendly Society (near the City
Hall); Hibernian Hall – the last building during our tour described by our
guide – it meant to be a meeting place for the Hibernian Society; Marion Square;
The Market Hall and Sheds – those ones are the only surviving market buildings
in Charleston, and one of a small number of market complexes still extant in
the United States; The Old Jail; The Old Slave Mart located on one of Charleston's
few remaining cobblestone streets; the only known remaining building used as a
slave auction gallery in South Carolina; The South Carolina National Bank of
Charleston – one of the most important buildings on Broad Street, South
Carolina's oldest commercial street; liqueur shop with a pirate
flag and a couple more.
Walking around Charleston gave us the
unique opportunity to observe the beauty of this city. Our tour guide referred
to the history of German communities in Charleston very often and was able to
answer any question posed by members of our group, constantly enriching his
stories with many interesting anecdotes. Professional background and attitude
of our tour leaders made our walk extremely valuable. We understood the power
of history in this city. Charleston is a city surrounded by and bursting with history
that is being explored by locals and visitors every day. Although the tour lasted
about 3hours, all of us certainly enjoyed our time!
Ania & Olga
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