Overview of the Semester

I learned quite a few things over the semester in this class. In the beginning the focus seemed to be more on tangible topics, such as specific places or people in Germany’s history, including historic cities and natural wonders. As we moved through the semester, we delved more into topics like the media – specifically radio and print media. We also read All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, and learned some of the feelings of the German troops during the Second World War. We then did somewhat in-depth analyses of broad topics from three important centuries in German history, including the roles of men and women in society, the poets and writers, the rulers and government, the music, theatre, and dance scene, and the inventions and industry. We last watched the movie The Baader-Meinhoff Complex in order to gain an understanding of the revolutionary culture within Germany in the 1960s and 1970s, and to witness the dissent from the student population therein.

Overall it may seem that the topics are quite disjointed, but I believe that a knowing a country’s past is pivotal to understand its present and future. All topics were relevant to Germany, and simply different aspects of the country and culture. I do feel I’ve learned a lot this semester and had adequate opportunity to share my own knowledge with my classmates.

My final question:

Why is it that Germans will associate themselves more with their individual state than Germany as a whole to foreigners?

Rote Armee Fraktion

RAF (the causes, the three generations, the end, and the similarities between today’s terrorists and the RAF) (250-300 words)

            The RAF was a political activist group formed in West Germany in 1970, self-described as a communistic and anti-imperialistic “urban guerrilla” group. The founding members included Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Ulrike Meinhoff, and Horst Mahler. Created in direct resistance of the “fascist state” they claimed West Germany had remained after World War Two, their aim was to change the country back to communism and free the people from their corrupt government. The young leftists saw the denazification of the country after the Second World War as completely ineffective, and altogether a failure.

            Three distinct generations of the RAF can be defined. The first was the original founding members, from 1970-1975, more commonly known to the German population as the Baader-Meinhoff Gang. The second was formed soon after the original members were arrested or killed, and lasted from 1975 to 1982. This included also mainly students, and the majority were of a middle-class background, who joined the ranks when their own political parties disbanded. The third generation was active from 1982-1993, and was perhaps the most violent with the least incentive, according to Wikipedia.com and an outside source, “Tom Vague.”

On 20 April, 1998, an 8 page, typewritten letter was faxed into the news headquarters at Reuters, signed with a machine-gun over a red star and the letters “RAF” declaring the group dissolved. According to the letter, “Vor fast 28 Jahren, am 14. Mai 1970, entstand in einer Befreiungsaktion die RAF. Heute beenden wir dieses Projekt. Die Stadtguerilla in Form der RAF ist nun Geschichte. (Almost 28 years ago, on 14 May 1970, the RAF arose in a campaign of liberation. Today we end this project. The urban guerrilla in the shape of the RAF is now history).”

There is a distinct similarity between today’s “terrorist” groups and the RAF, in that innocent people were killed to further the cause of an extreme activist group. One of the most glaring differences I can find, however, is the fact that the RAF killed police and civilians of their own country for political gain, whereas modern terrorists usually murder other citizens of other countries for their gain. Occasionally it is political; usually it tends to be more centered around religion.

The Baader-Meinhoff Complex

Personal Response to Baader-Meinhoff Complex (250-300 words)

This movie was actually very difficult to watch. In one of the first scenes, where the police watched as the student protestors were being beaten and eventually joined in beating them when they attempted to defend themselves was particularly contemptible. It still sickens me that any first-world country would do that to their own citizens. The trials near the end of the movie were nothing more than show put on for the public’s amusement – they wouldn’t listen to what any of the members had to say and denied them rights in prison and during trial.

What most surprised me was the fact that there were separate and distinct “generations” of the group. Instead of a member forming another group around themselves after the previous leaders had been captured or killed, an entirely new section started up with members who only knew of the ideals of the last group, and not the individual members.

I do believe, from what I saw in the movie, that action against the state was necessary, but the RAF went about it in the wrong way. Instead of forming a cohesive plan of action to change the world they lived in, they simply struck out randomly and expected things to be different because of it. Killing innocent people and terrorizing a nation is wrong, of course, but they said somewhere in the movie that a good majority of the nation’s youth actually supported the group. This proved to me that there were a lot more people in West Germany who wanted things to change from the way they were then there were people actually doing anything about it.

Industry in Germany in the 18th Century

·         The Industrial Revolution – “a period from the 18^th to the 19^th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transport, and technology had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions”

·         Started in the UK and gradually spread outward throughout Europe, North America, and finally the world

·         Nearly every aspect of daily life was influenced in someway

(A model of a Spinning Jenny, used to spin wool, which helped to start the Industrial Revolution)

·         Textiles and mining were very important to Germany in the 18^th century

·         Because the country was divided into so many small states, it was not until after 1800 that the process of industrialisation began to really get underway

·         The first German textile factory was built in Ratigen near Duesseldorf in 1784 – called “Cromford” after its English model, but very much on its own in Germany

·         Textile manufacturing was first mechanized in Germany, mainly in established cities and trading centers like Aachen, Krefeld, and Saxony

·         First German spinning machines were used in Chemnitz in 1782 and the town then became a pioneer in Engineering

·         In Upper Silesia as well as the State of Prussia, the local aristocratic landowners had enough capital to invest

·         Tests were made to lift water with the help of steam engines

·         Coal-mining was expanded

·         At the end of the 18^th century, the first coke(low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal)-driven blast furnace was constructed in Gleiwitz

·         Some areas of Germany, such as the area around the River Ruhr, remained rural, with only one ironwork factory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

http://www.erih.net/industrial-history/germany.html

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Spinning_jenny.jpg

19th Century Music, Dance, and Theatre

https://mail.stcloudstate.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=302d4c711d564eb6bb3b23a82042e5b9&URL=https%3a%2f%2fdocs.google.com%2fpresent%2fedit%3fid%3d0AYZE5aS0jKW4ZGdmcmhuYzRfMTI3Z2Q2dHE1ZmM%26hl%3den%26authkey%3dCOK3jgU

Anna Louisa Karsch

Anna Louisa Karsch (Anna Luise Karsch) – 1 December, 1722 to 12 October, 1791
· Father was a beer brewer, mother was an inn-keeper; very poor
· She was an autodidact, meaning she taught herself.
· Sent to live with her great-uncle, who taught her to read despite protests of her grandmother
· Mother took her home to hinder to education, convinced it would drive her “insane”
· When she was 10, she met a sheepherder who gave her books to read, but she had to hide them from her family
· Married young but her husband was abusive; separated and married again soon after, to an abusive drunkard
· A poem written for the widow and daughter of a nearby innkeeper got her recognition from a schoolmaster
· Began to write poems for weddings and celebrations
· Wrote many praises of Frederick, the Prussian King
· When her two youngest children died, she wrote “Klagen einer Witwe” (Complaints of a Widow), which gained her the notice of Frederick, who took her and her children to Berlin
· Most known for her correspondences rather than her poems, especially with Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (30 years longs correspondence)
· Gained attention from writers such as Lessing, Mendelssohn, Herder, and eventually Goethe
· Though promised financial security by Frederick, he did not deliver, and it was not until Frederick II that she had a house built for her where she lived till she died

· Known to her contemporaries as “Die Karschin”
· Authored or participated in 14 publications
o Die Sapphischen Lieder (The Sapphic Songs)
o An die Natur (To Nature)
o Gedichte (Poems)
o Neue Gedichte (New Poems)
o Auserlesene Gedichte (Exquisite Poetry)
o Gedichte und Lebenszeugnisse (Poems and Life Testimonies)
o Die Letzten Leiden des Erlösers (The Last Sufferings of the Redeemer)
o O, mir entwischt nicht, was die Menschen fühlen (Oh, I don’t escape what people feel)
o Herzgedanken (Heart Thoughts)
o Die Karschin (The Karschin)
o Die Gedichte der Anna Luise Karschin mit e. Bericht ihres Lebens (The Poems of Anna Louisa Karsch with a report of her life)
o Die Karschin, Friedrichs des Grossen Volksdichterin (The Karschin, Frederick the Great’s People’s Poet)
o Die Spazier-Gänge von Berlin (The Walking Course of Berlin)
o Ausgewählte Gedichte (Selected Poems)


Source 1
Source 2
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Women in Germany in the 18th Century

Before the French Revolution women were thought of as "passive" citizens and they had no political influence. They were unable to vote or hold office. Women were thought of as "failed man," and that the fetus was not fully developed while in the womb. They were considered servants to men and their education reflected that. During the French Revolution however, women were not able to be kept out of politics.

The Revolutionary era of women wanted equality of rights within their marriage. They wanted the right to divorce, more rights for widows over their property, and rights for widowed women over their minor children. They wanted publicly guaranteed educational opportunities for women, like what were available for men, training, licensing and support for midwives, rights to employment, and the exclusion of men from certain woman-dominated trades, such as dress-making.

On October 5th, 1789 the Women's March on Versailles occurred. It consisted of around 7,000 angry working class women marching to Versailles to demand lower bread prices. They brought with them weapons and sang songs about killing Queen Marie Antoinette. The women broke in to the palace and killed two guards, and stuck their heads on pikes. The Queen escaped through a secret passage before they ransacked her room. The mob gathered in the courtyard demanding the Queen come to the balcony. Even though there were muskets pointed at her she did appear. Her bravery did a lot to calm the crowd. The women still demanded bread and that the royal family move back to Paris. The King reluctantly agreed and the family made their way back to Paris.

Many reforms before this time were extremely discriminatory toward the working and peasant classes – male suffrage was limited to men who paid at least three days of wages as taxes, and female suffrage of course did not exist. Public aid was restricted even for able-bodied men and women who could not find employment because much of the aristocracy had fled.

There were other non-violent, yet still active, women who expressed their feelings through writing. Although women did not gain the right to vote and little was done to improve equality towards women, this was one of the first times that women were participating and involved in politics. They were protesting and acting out in the same ways as men and this led to the ability of generations to come to advance on what these women accomplished.

Because Germany is a neighbor of France, many of the policies and reforms made in France slowly leaked their way into Germany and German politics, especially when the western states of Germany were occupied by France. The French Revolution was arguably the beginning of the women’s rights movement in Germany.

My 3 Favorite Peer Blogs

I reviewed all the blogs posted by members of this class and found it difficult to pick only three top ones. Most of the ones I looked at were deserving. I graded them all on the overall appearance, completeness, the quality of writing, the images/sources included, and my criteria, which was the effort on or depth given to the assignment - how interested the blogger seemed in the topic. My final choices are:

1. Kevin Andresen - 100/100
This blog was well layed-out, and had an interesting color scheme. It was complete, with every blog posted in a timely fashion, and was definitely an interesting read. There were plenty of sources listed, and everything that I saw had a link to the source. He seemed actually interested in writing the posts and it definitely made his blog a capturing read.

2. Breanna Bigger - 96/100
The purple was very fun, it was easy to read and link around. It was complete as well, and the posts were timely. The writing was spectacular, and the images were appropriate to the topic. She also definitely tried to take every post to the next level, going beyond the basic requirements. She only lost points because there weren't many posts on a page, meaning you had to click "older posts" a lot, though I'm not sure this is her fault.

3. Andrew Gnirk - 94/100
It was mostly easy to read, look at, and follow. It was definitely complete. The writing was engaging, and the pictures were awesome. He seemed genuinely interested in most of the topics and seemed to enjoy writing about them. He lost a few points because some of the posts were black on a dark background, making them impossible to read without first highlighting them.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Summary

The book opens with the narrator, Paul Bäumer, explaining how his company got extra rations after their time at the front because of the heavy loss of men they sustained. Paul goes to visit Kemmerich, a friend of his, in the hospital because he was wounded and lost his leg. Müller, another friend, wants Kemmerich’s boots because he could use them but Kemmerich can’t, but Kemmerich keeps them until he knows he is going to die.

                New recruits arrive to fill the places of the ones who died. One of Paul’s friends says the only way wars should be fought is to throw the nation’s leaders in a ring and have them take it out on each other. They go to put barbed wire on the front line again, but are shot at and take refuge in a cemetery. When they return to camp, they discuss what they will do when the war is over, and Paul reflects on his lack of identity outside of war. Paul and Kat see geese at a house and Paul kills them for a rare feast.

                A heavy fight occurs in which most of the men are killed – now there are only 32 of the original 150 left. They are given a reprieve afterwards, during which they see French girls on the opposite bank of a river, and they swim over at night to bring them food and have some fun. Paul is then given leave to go home and see his family. He cannot connect with them anymore, and cannot talk to them about what he has seen. His mother is probably dying of cancer. His former teacher, Kantorek, has been forced into the Army and is supervised by another former student, who gives him a hard time. He is temporarily assigned to a prison after his leave, and starts to sympathize with the Russians in the prison.

                Paul is sent back to his unit, near the front of the line, but has trouble finding them. During battle at the front, Paul volunteers for a mission to scope out the enemy, but gets lost on his way back and has to hide in a shell-hole, where he subsequently kills a French soldier and goes momentarily insane, talking to his body and promising him to make it up to him. They are given the easy mission of guarding an empty town with a supply depot within. Paul and his friend Kropp are wounded and bribe a doctor to put them on the same train, where they are taken to a Catholic hospital. Kropp’s leg gets amputated, and he keeps trying to kill himself. Paul recovers and eventually returns to his company. Paul’s friends start dying, the last being Kat who was pierced by a splinter as Paul carried him back. He is given a short leave to recover after a gas attack poisons him. In October of 1918, Paul is killed.

In-Class Discussion

In class we talked about why the book was significant to Germans and German culture. With the lack of details as to where and when it took place, it was highly relatable to everyone. It also discussed frequently the question of identity, and what made a man who he was. As Germans were so frequently villainized back then, they (and the rest of the world) had this on their minds. The world wanted insight as to the motivations of both the state of Germany as a whole and the “common” German soldier.

The Germans were forced to pay reparation so atone for their behavior in the First World War, which definitely laid the groundwork for Hitler’s rise to power and the Second World War. This book brings into perspective the way common German soldier felt during the war, and how they might have felt afterward and supported Hitler because of it.

Bavaria

If you immediately think of Biergartens, lederhosen, and Oktoberfest when you think of Germany, you're only half right. These are all traditions held fast by the southernmost state of Germany – Bavaria. They are the loyalist of all Germans, according to Wikitravel.com; they consider themselves Bavarian first and German second. Most Germans joke that Bavaria not in within Germany, but “near it.”

They actually have more culturally in common with Austria than the rest of Germany, especially the dialect. The predominant local dialect, called “Bairisch,” is extremely difficult for other Germans to understand, but very close to the Austrian dialect.

Bavaria is the largest state within Germany. It makes up nearly 20% of its land mass, extending from the North German Plain down to the Alps. It is approximately 27,200 square miles, or about one third the size of Minnesota (86, 943 square miles). Bavaria is home to just over 12.5 million people.

Bavaria was a duchy in the Middle Ages, but became a kingdom in 1808. It remained an independent entity until 1871, when it joined the united Germany after its defeat in the Austro-Prussian war.

Bavaria has an extremely large and healthy economy. It ranks 18^th in the world, standing on its own. Large companies headquarted in Bavaria include BMW, Siemens, Rohde & Schwarz, Audi, Munich Re, Allianz, Infineon, MAN, Wacker Chemie, Puma AG, and Adidas AG. It also is hailed as the “Holy Grail of Brewing,” as it is home to both Oktoberfest and the highest density of breweries in the world (in Franconia especially).

My Observations About the Top 20 Radio Stations in Germany

My observations about radio stations in Germany are that they are very similar to the American radio stations most of us listen to. They have news pieces in the morning, where they outline the top news pieces of the day or the day before. They also have weather, sports, and in the larger cities, traffic. The music is all over the map, from dance club techno to American-style hip hop, to flat out American music.

                Many of the radio stations seemed to be very heavy on American music, especially the Bavarian ones.  The more northern the city, the more they played “easy listening” German songs, or had more talking in their shows than music. The exception was Aachen’s “#Music.Main,” which was a lot like the Bavarian stations. Due to the fact that most of the English words were pronounced correctly, I can assume that the DJs speak English pretty well, even though none of the stations had broadcasts in English.

                German radio stations aren’t too different from American stations, though they are of course broadcast exclusively in German. They play a lot of American music, and they also follow the same format as American stations do.

Are mass media more globalized than the people that consume them?

                I think the mass media make the people who consume them more globalized than they would be without it. Because they are listening to the media, they may know what is going on in other parts of the world, or learn bits of other languages.

What does it mean when patterns across the Western globe are so similar?

                When patterns across the Western globe are so similar, I think it means that they all try to emulate each other. They seem to follow a preset pattern of how to do things.

Where do cultural differences “survive” if media do not carry them? – or do they?

                Cultural differences “survive” though both the people of a culture, and the media of a culture. The media preserves the essence of the people.

What can you say about radio in Germany?

                Radio in Germany isn’t much different than radio anywhere else. The DJs still make jokes on air, the music is introduced and then played, and they have the occasional morning talk show with lame elevator music in the background.

Harz Mountains

The Harz Mountains lie across central Germany, and separate the northern lowlands from the southern uplands. It contains broadleaf and evergreen woodlands, gorges and waterfalls, cliff-faces, marshes, and alpine meadows. The entire mountain range is now a protected reserve. The highest point of the Harz is the Brocken, at 1,142 meters. It is shrouded in mist 300 days a year. What the mountains are most famous for, however, is its supernatural side.

The Brocken’s harsh but dreamlike appearance inspired the famous author Goethe while writing the nightmares of Faust. A rock shelf in Thale is called the Hezentenplatz. It is the place where witches dance every Walpurgisnacht (May 1), before flying off to meet the devil on the Brocken. The people of Harz have been obsessed with witches for centuries.

Halloween is especially celebrated here, as thousands of people swarm Thale and Schierke, the witchlore capitals of the Harz. Festivities include the age-old, witch-repelling ritual of rolling flaming bales of hay down the mountains. The mountains are quiet come Halloween, but that just adds to their eerie nature. The fall scenery is stunning, and the mystique only doubles the Halloween atmosphere.

The original spirit of Halloween were traditions from the UK and Ireland, and very familiar to the early residents.  When the Celts built their fortresses on the misty peaks, they brought with them their traditions. The Celtic festival Samhain was held on October 31^st, which marked the beginning of a new year, when the two worlds – natural and supernatural – were rumored to intertwine. When the Germanic tribes pushed the Celts out of the Harz, they turned it into a place of sacrifice.

The witchlore didn’t stay local, however. Cartographers went as far as to sketch witches hovering about the Brocken on the maps they drew, which can still be seen on road signs in the Harz. Goethe wrote a Walpurgisnacht gathering into Faust. Soon after, German Inquisitors published a “how to spot a witch” guide (Malleus Maleficarum) in 1487, and Europe was off on a rampage to spot the witches. In 1589, the city of Quendlinburg burned 133 suspected witches in just one day.

Source

The Black Forest - Schwarzwald

by Kelsey Kubiak, David Grow, and Patrick Donohue

The Forest 

The Schwartzwald, or Black Forest as it is known in English, is located in the state of Baden-Württemburg. The highest peak in the Black Forest is the Feldberg, at 1,493 meters. It has a length of 200km and width of 60km, making it nearly 12,000 km squared. The Romans originally named the mountains there Silva Negra (black forest), because the trees were so thick they blocked out most of the light in the forest. According to “About-Germany.com”, the Black Forest is known for three things:  the landscape, the cuckoo clock, and the Black Forest Gateau, also known as the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. The Black Forest was also the inspiration for many of the tales of the Brothers Grimm.
Source
Picture Source 

Black Forest Gateau, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

The Black Forest Gateau is one of the most recognizable desserts from the Black Forest. It is a decadant chocolate cake made with cherries, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and the local specialty liquor, Schwartzwälder Kirschwasser. The area is known in part for its sour cherries, which, in addition to the liquor, give the cake its signature kick. In 1949 it took 13^th as the best-known German Cakes. The definitive origin of the cake is unknown, but it is thought to have been invented by Josef Keller in 1915. This original recipe now lies with the son of a family friend, Claus Schaefer, the current head chef of Konditori Schaefer, where he continues to make the original.
Source
Picture Source 

Influence on the Brothers Grimm 

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two famous German novelists that began writing fairytale stories in 1807. The Black Forest was a major influence on the Brothers Grimm when they wrote some of their darkest fairy tales.  One of the most famous stories that the Brothers Grimm wrote was the tale of Hansel and Gretel.  Hansel and Gretel live in a woodshop on the edge of a great forest, and during the story they get lost in the Black Forest and must try and escape a witch.  Another famous fairytale that takes place in the Black Forest is Little Red Cap.  In this story a little girl is delivering a piece of cake and a bottle of wine to her sick Grandmother.  Along her way she meets a wolf who ends up eating her Grandmother and dressing up in the Grandmother’s clothes in an attempt to eat Little Red Cap too.  From these two tales; the Brothers Grimm tried to make the Black Forest seem mysterious and dangerous by writing tales that some people back in the 1800’s actually believed.  They would get stories from peasants and farmers but the brothers would make the stories happier by including childlike story lines. The first two editions they wrote called, Deutsche Sagen, contained over 585 different legends.
Source One
Source Two 
Brothers Grimm Picture
Little Red Riding Hood Picture 

The Cuckoo Clock

Who Made It?

 Since the 18^th century, people have argued about where the first cuckoo clock was derived from.  Books were written about it and 3 main people stand out in the invention of the cuckoo clock.      In 1796 a man named Father Franz Steyrer wrote a book on how he had passed a clock peddler by a town in black forest who sold some clocks to a bohemian merchant.  This man then examined the clocks and made replicas of his own to sell.  But later around 1927 another man wrote a book about this by the name of Adolf Kistner, he states that no bohemians had a hand in making the cuckoo clocks because Bohemia had no clock making businesses during that time period.  To this day it’s not clear who created the first one and there are no traces of where the first production line of cuckoo clocks came from.  Franken-Niederbayern in East Germany is the most likely spot near the Bohemia incident.  However the Cuckoo clock became famous because the black forest people eventually developed a cuckoo clock industry where they would create new designs, improve and redesign parts of the clock, and make it technically more reliable.

Cuckoo Clock Features, Different Styles and Models

Schilduhr 18^th Century -This is the earliest cuckoo clock design, usually given as a wedding gift with the groom and brides names painted or engraved on it. No fancy wood carvings, just paint on a flat two dimensional surface. Also this model had no cabinet to box in the internal clock work.  This type of clock was not mass produced and was made in small quantities that would be sold by door to door clock makers. 
Schilduhr Picture 

Rahmenuhr early 19^th Century -Known as the framed clock, these were also scarce but easier to mass produce thanks to the invention of lithography which was sort of like etching.  This made it easier to create the same exact image in mass quantities.  The pictures on this model of clock were more detailed than the previous version and would feature outdoor scenery, portraits of people, mythology, and religious images.  The cuckoo bird would then blend into the scene somehow and jump out of the picture chirp to the hour of the day. 
Rahmenuhr Pictures 

The Bahnhäusle mid 1800’s- This design was inspired by Friedrich Eisenlohr, an architect who is famous for constructing buildings along the Badenian Rhine valley railroad.  This had flat cut outs of vines, leaves and other foliage surrounding the clockwork, later a newer version had spun off this almost identical.  It was called the Jagdstück, which featured even more detail an attention towards the outdoors.  Many times there would be scenes of hunting and animals
Bahnhaeusle Pictures 

Weltgrösste Kuckucksuhr - This gift store is actually a 50:1 scale of a normal cuckoo clock. It’s one of the largest attractions in Wiesbaden and is the most photographed stores in Europe.  Every cuckoo clock made here is hand made to the smallest detail, every shingle is hand cut and every wood carving is made individually with no two alike. 
Weltgroesste Outside
Weltgroesste Inside  

Topics on Berlin by Classmates in Order of Interest

1. Nightlife by Kayla and Lacey

2. Sports and Nightlife by Conner
3. Entertainment Today and Past by Patrick and David
4. Tourism by Danielle
5. Trams Today and Past by Ryan
6. Rail System Today and Past by Kevin and Kevin
7. Life After WWII and Now by Steve and Kyle
8. Arts and Culture in the 1920's and Today by Lexi and Matt
9. The Reichstag by Kyle and Sion
10. Life During WWII by Jessica and Khrystyna
11. Buildings by Shelby and Andrew
12. Structures by Jen and Krystal
13. Lübeck by Breanna and Vaughn

Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate is now the only remaining gate in a series that used to lead into the city. It is the monumental entry to ‘Unter der Linden,’ the famous boulevard of linden trees which used to lead to the city palace belonging to the Prussian monarchs. It is now one of the most recognizable symbols of Berlin and of Germany.


The Brandenburg Gate is located west of the city center near the junction Unter der Lilden and Ebertstraβe. It was constructed between 1788 and 1791 by Carl Gotthard Langhans, and was commissioned as a sign of peace by King Frederick William II of Prussia. The Gate was designed based on the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, to be consistent with the architectural classicism in Berlin’s history. Facing East on the top of the Gate rides Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, in her Quadriga, or chariot drawn by four horses. This piece was designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

Though it has played a number of different political roles in history, the design of the Gate remains largely unchanged. After the Prussians were defeated in Berlin in 1806, Napoleon took the Quadriga to Paris, but it was restored in 1814 after his defeat. When it was returned, Victoria’s wreath of oak leaves gained a new addition – the new symbol of Prussian power, the Iron Cross. When the Nazis seized power, they used the gate as a party symbol. By the end of the war, the Gate was damaged with holes in the columns due to nearby explosions and bullets. The governments of East and West Berlin repaired it as a joint effort afterward, but the damage was visible for many years.

During the separation of East and West Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate was a symbol of the divided city. Visitors could climb onto an observation platform to get a glimpse of life on the other side of the Iron Curtain. On June 12, 1987, Ronald Regan issued his command to his ‘cold war adversary,’ “Mr. Gorbachov – tear down this wall!” President von Weizsacker stated that “The German question is open as long at the Brandenburg Gate is closed.”
From 2000 to 2002, the Gate underwent extensive refurbishment. Most of Pariser Platz, where the gate lies, is now closed to vehicles and is strictly a cobblestone pedestrian zone. Today, festivals and concerts are held at and near the Gate and both the Akademie der Künste (Academy of the Arts) and American Embassy bring important traffic right next door.

The German States

Baden-Württemburg - Stuttgart: This state is in the southwest of Germany. Most of its major cities lie along the Neckar River. It is the third largest state in population.
Bavaria (Bayern) - München: This is the best state in Germany (I lived there for five months, I'm not impartial). It is by far the largest state in landmass and the second most populous. It is also the oldest state in Germany, and is known for its annual beer-drinking festival, Oktoberfest, and breathtaking scenery.
Berlin - Berlin: This is the largest city in Germany, and also its capital. It was successively the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701-1918), the German Empire (1871-1918) the Wiemar Republic (1919-1933), and the Third Reich (1933-1945).
Brandenburg: Potsdam: This state was one of the new federal states creaed after the unification of the East and West. It surrounds, but does not include, Berlin.
Bremen - Bremen: This is the smallest of Germany's states. It is located on the River Wesen, and serves as a North Sea Harbor.
Hamburg - Hamburg: Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany (1.8 million people), and the third largest port in Europe. It is a major tourist destination, with over 7.7 million overnight stays in 2008.
Hesse (Hessen) - Wiesbaden: The largest city in this state is Frankfurt. This state has one of the best transportation networks in Europe.
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Maulbronn Monastery, District of Enz, Baden-Württemberg

The name Maulbronn literally means “mule fountain.” This comes from the legend of how the monastery was set there: “during their search from a place that was more suitable than Eckenweiher, the monks loaded up a mule with a sack of money, gave it a blessing and a stroke of the whip and sent it on its way…where the Eselsbrunnen (“mule fountain”) stands today is where the mule was reputed to have stopped and quenched its thirst at a stream. The monks saw this a sign from God and it was there that they decided to build the monastery.” The coat of arms of the town, as well as a plaque on the actual fountain inside the Maulbronn complex, is of a mule drinking from the fountain,

The idea for the Maulbronn Monastery probably started in about the year 1138, in Eckenweiher near Mühlaker. The knight Walter of Lomersheim, inspired by the reformation ideas of Bernhard of Clairvaux, decided to dedicate his life to God by living in the seclusion of the monastic life. He founded a Cistercian monastery at his home in Eckenweiher. The Abbot Ulrich of Neuburg sent 12 monks and a few lay brothers to help. The original location was unsuited for the role of a monastery complex, however, and in 1147, it was moved to the nearby town of Maulbronn.

For the next 400 years, the monks at Maulbronn contributed to building up the monastery that greatly influenced medieval religion and culture, in addition to the economic and political landscape of the day. Even as early as the 12th century, they had built up massive agriculture empires. As one abbot put it, “our wine barrels are bigger than the living quarters of the Egyptian monks and our fruit stores more spacious than their monasteries.” It was a flourishing time for the monks at Maulbronn.

In the year 1504, the monastery was captured by the Duke Ulrich of Württemberg, following a 7-day siege. From that point on, the monastery enjoyed the special privileges of the protection of the King. When Ulrich’s son, Duke Christoph, came to power, he made Maulbronn into a school to train clergymen for the state’s Protestant church, which was just starting. In 1806, it turned into a Protestant Theological college and has been ever since.

In 1993, UNESCO made it into a cultural heritage site. According to UNESCO, it is “the most complete and best-preserved monastic complex north of the Alps.” The water management system, made up of a network of drains, irrigation canals, and reservoirs, is “exceptionally interesting” and played a very large part in its listing. The main buildings were constructed between the 12th and 16th centuries, and it is surrounded by fortified walls. The monastery’s church, built in a Transitional Gothic style, highly influenced the spread of Gothic architecture in the north and central Europe.