In the cause of spreading more knowledge of non-Nazi era German history, thought I'd mention another reason to visit Heidelberg. There one can find the Friedrich Ebert birthplace and museum, which is free to visitors. Ebert was the Weimar Republic's first President, dying in office in 1925. I'm gradually developing some itinerary ideas incorporating historical sites related to non-Nazi era German history, and am going to add this to the list for sure.
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Thanks for the info. I had not thought of him even though there is a Ebertstrasse or Allee in Heidelberg.
Some others you might consider: Goethe's Haus in Frankfurt, Beethoven's Haus/Museum in Bonn, Schiller Haus/Museum ( of Goethe and Schiller fame) near Stuttgart at Marbach am Neckar., their Häuser in Weimar, Heinrich Heine's house/museum in Düsseldorf, Heinrich von Kleist's house/museum in Frankfurt an der Oder.
What about Bismarck's Museum? Or esoteric museums on Prussian history?
Also, Schloss Stauffenberg in Albstadt/Lautlingen on Oberst von Stauffenberg's role and history leading up to 20 July 1944. Unless you are motorised, you'll need to take a taxi from Hechingen.
Posted by
Bavaria
2480 posts
... the birthplace of Karl Marx in Trier, the house of the Mozart family in Augsburg ...
the birthplace of Henry Kissinger in Fürth etc. In the context of the upcoming Reformation jubilee: Eisleben (Luthers birthplace) - Erfurt (former Augustine convent) - Wittenberg (Schloßkirche) - Augsburg (St Anna, memorial for Luthers examination at the Diet 1518) - Eisenach (Wartburg) - Coburg (Veste).
This is going to grow into an enormous list.
Posted by
Columbus, USA
346 posts
I am so glad you are doing this! I feel like there is so much more to Germany than the Nazi era!
I didn't realize how big the Roman era played in Germany, we took a tour of the Roman Limes Museum in Aalen. It was mostly in German, but they had an English headset you could listen to.
I also really enjoyed (I know I sound like a broken record) the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart. They do an incredible job of weaving in what is going on in the world with the history of the car. I wanted to bring a car home from the 20s or 30s but it wouldn't fit in the suit case ;)
Posted by
OP
Greater Sacramento
604 posts
Thanks for ideas to add to my list. Another big item that looks great is the German National Museum of Contemporary History, covering the post war years, in Bonn. Looks fabulous.
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Still other persons in German cultural history to look up: R. Schuman's house/museum in Leipzig, likewise with that of Mendelsohn and Bach in Leipzig, Beethoven's contemporary , Carl Maria von Weber's Houses/Museums in Eutin/Holstein and in Dresden.
There is also Goethe / Charlotte's House in Wetzlar, near Frankfurt. GE Lessing, the playwright, philosopher of the Enlightenment..House in Berlin-Mitte ( saw this in Aug 1989 in the Nikolai Viertel).
Posted by
Bavaria
2480 posts
R. Schuman's house/museum in Leipzig
The "real" (;) Schuhman house however (his birthplace) is in Zwickau in SW Saxony. It hosts a small museum of 8 rooms and a small concert hall (www.schumannzwickau.de).
Zwickau is a bit out of the way for most visitors, but for those going from the south (Regensburg, Nürnberg) to Dresden it is a nice intermediate stop.
Posted by
179 posts
Besides Schumann, Zwickau has the August Horch Museum, from another well-known German car company. And the "AUTOmobile Trabantausstellung" of the East German "Trabant" car brand, which was also manufactured in Zwickau.
Posted by
Bavaria
2480 posts
And the "AUTOmobile Trabantausstellung" of the East German "Trabant" car brand, which was also manufactured in Zwickau.
Yeah! I had the opportunity driving a Trabant there. Quite an experience ;).
Posted by
Central Valley, California
293 posts
Ahhh Heidelberg- one of my favorite subjects! You can find a lot of interesting culture there - it's been important since the 14th Century! It was where the Heidelberg Catechism was constructed by an assembly of theological thinkers of the time; it's a famous catechism that begins: "Who is man's only comfort in life and death? " And Goethe and Mark Twain spent a lot of time in HD. "An Innocent Abroad" and "A Tramp Abroad" - oh they are funny reads, relevant even today.
Professor Bunsen (of Bunsen Burner Fame) had a laboratory in the Ploeck, which is the parallell, much quieter student street alongside the bustling crowded main street (Hauptstrasse). There's a plaque which states his name on the building. There are plaques all over Europe now - unlike in the 70's, letting us know who resided inside, and what they did.
One of my favorite places at the Heidelberg Castle is an etched poem on the west terrace. It begins, "Auf der Terasse..." and the last lines bring tears to my eyes when I think of all my darling, long-haired, canvas Army-jacket-wearing, romantic, philosophical, doe-eyed German boyfriends.... it says, "Hier war ich gluecklich liebend, und geliebt.." (Here, I was so happy; loving, and beloved. Sniff!)
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Hi,
If you go to the Rhine towns, ie in the middle Rhine area, there is in Kaub am Rhein there is the "Blücher Museum" on his crossing the Rhine as part of the Allied armies invading France against Napoleon. On literary greats in German literature are also the houses/museums of Wieland and Herder in Weimar, a lot to see in Weimar pertaining to that subject.