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	Mainz Guttenberg printed the first book done with moveable type
	Wittenberg Luther posted his “95 Theses” on the Wittenberg church door, setting off the Protestant Reformation.  Martin Luther lived here most of his life, and you can see the house where he and his family lived.   The University of Wittenberg was founded in 1502.  This is the university that Hamlet would have returned to Elsinore from.
	Berlin Wall- From  1961 to 1989, the communist government put up a 27 mile wall to keep the people of East Berlin from going to West Berlin.  Berlin was the capital of Germany, divided into sectors (Britain, US, & France controlled West Berlin, the Soviet Union controlled East Berlin), and surrounded by Soviet- controlled East Germany. The wall was 13 feet high and topped with barbed wire, a highly visible portion of the Iron Curtain.  East Germans tried all kinds of ingenious ways to get over (or under, or through) it.  Of course, each successful or near-successful attempt brought about reinforcements in the Wall itself.  Since the wall ran through residential neighborhoods in places, there were apartment houses near it.  People jumped from windows overlooking the wall; they dug tunnels under it; some used a hot air balloon and favorable winds; some slid along aerial wires; some people simply drove a car through the wall (the wall was then reinforced).  Guards on the western side of the Wall watched helplessly as would-be escapees were shot in the no-man’s land near the wall, or on the wall itself.  Once you made it over the wall, however, you were safely in West Berlin.	Return to Top
	Trier probably the oldest city in Germany, (not just an encampment), founded approximately 16 BC. It is the oldest seat of a bishop north of the Alps, and was home to 6 Roman emperors, including Constantine, who made it a center of Christianity. The Roman Porta Nigra (Black Gate), the northern entrance to the city still stands. It is made of blackened limestone, bound together with iron clamps. The ruins of Kaiserthermen (Imperial baths) can also be seen; along with the Konstantinbasilika, a huge brick edifice that was once the Emperor’s throne room. the second largest roofed structure left from Roman times.
	Dessau- center of the Bauhaus movement in architecture and design.
	Nr. Fussen Neuschwangau Castle, (New Swan Castle)--built by Ludwig II, in a superb alpine setting.
	Leipzig—Bach worked as cantor & director of music at the Thomaskirche for the last 27 years of his life, wrote many of his most famous works here. Mendolssen was director of music in Leipzig. Wagner born here but had to flee. Leipzig University was attended by Lessing, JP Satre and Goethe, who wrote “I praise my Leipzig.” From Luther to Lenin, it seems everyone in German history has stayed in Leipzig.
	Romantic Road (Romantische Strasse) runs from Wurzburg to Fussen, on the border with Austria. Residenz—Bathasar Neumann architect Giovani Tiepolo –muralist from Venice Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Red Castle on the Tauber)-best preserved Medieval town in Europe Hotel Eisenhut--???( Dinkelsbuld—another Medieval town Castles of Mad King Ludwig
	Brandenburg Gate was a triumphal arch was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II to represent peace. [to celebrate a Prussian victory] It was incorporated into the Berlin Wall that was built to separate East Berlin from West Berlin. It is topped with the Quadriga, a set of four horses and originally, the “goddess of peace” holding a laurel wreath. The Quadriga was taken by Napoleon when he conquered XXXXXXXX. When it returned, an iron cross was put into her hands instead of the laurel wreath, and she was proclaimed the “goddess of victory”.
	Black Forest is mostly green, and lives up to its name only in the densest vales of spruce and fir. The Black Forest is where skiing, and the first ski club, began. There are also beautiful marked trails for hiking and bicycling. The Black Forest is the home of the cake of the same name, a delicious concoction of chocolate cake, whipped cream, cherries and cherry liquor. Cuckoo clocks were first make in the Black Forest, as a way to earning money while being cooped up inside during the winter. In the original clocks, even the clock movements were hand-carved of hardwood, in addition to the leaves, birds, pine cones, trees, squirrels, wolves, etc. carved on the front—and, of course, the cuckoo who came out to announce the hour.
	Lake Constance (the Bondensee) Second largest lake in central Europe, Lake Constance is located on the borders of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. There are national disagreements as to exactly where national borders are within the lake, with Switzerland believing the border goes down the middle of its length, while Austria thinks the lake should be equally shared by all three nations. As far as is known at this time, Germany has no official position. Ferries offer all kinds of excursions in and amongst the waters of the three countries, and especially to the island of Mainau a “tropical paradise” of exotic plants. There is a baroque castle built by Teutonic knights, surrounded by the blooms the Grand Duke of Baden brought from his travels, and kept up by his great-grandson.
	Rhine river In the Rhine is a tear-dropped shaped island called Nonnenwerth (Nun’s Island), and the ruins of a castle overlooking the island. The castle, Rolandsbogen, is said to have been built by Roland, a knight of Charlemagne, so that he could catch a glimpse of his intended bride, who had become a nun when she was told (incorrectly) that he had been killed. Roland became a heroic symbol of both a protector of a city, and a defender of the city’s freedom (from local nobility). Roland was supposed to have died in a battle defending Christians against the forces of Islam. A number of cities have a statue of Roland.
	Spreewald South-east of Berlin, the river Spree divides into a labyrinth of hundreds of slow moving channels, lined with meadows, fields, or overhanging trees. These can be seen from punts propelled by a boatman, or one can rent a canoe.
	Cologne Cathedral, fountains, Karnaval Cologne has its own Karnaval, a celebration before the beginning of Lent. (Karneval “carne vale” means “a farewell to meat”, which is traditionally given up for Lent.) The Romans had their festival of Dionysus, and the ancient Germans celebrated the Winter Solstice—both possible ancestors of the present Karneval in Cologne. Karneval starts at 11:11 am ( Do other people start their wild carnival celebrations precisely on time??) with the three principal figures—the Prince, the Peasant and the Virgin (always played by a man). Masked balls, parades, plays and parties follow. A traditionally Catholic city, Cologne was ruled, for a time, by Protestant Prussia, a fact which seems to have the citizens of Cologne even more devoted to their Karnaval.
	Oktoberfest is the largest beer party in the world.
	Bremen is a large port city, and like many of the cities of the Hanseatic League, it was a “free city”—owing allegiance only to the emperor, and not to any local lords. In the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale, a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster leave their abusive masters and head to the city of Bremen seeking freedom. The animals come across a house, and try to sing for their supper. The noise is so awful it makes the thieves inside run away. On thief tries to sneak back after dark, and is hit, scratched, bitten and screeched at (by a witch, he believes). He and his companions are so scared they leave and never return, and the animals live in the house in comfort and freedom the rest of their lives, even though they never get all the way to Bremen. There is a statue of the four animals in the main square, along with a statue of the knight Roland, nephew of Charlemagne and protector of the city. A stroll down Bottcherstrasse, known as the Jugendstil street-- shows the tower with a brick facade which revolves to show panels of the “Conquers of the Ocean—Columbus, Lindberg, Graf-Zeppelin, etc.—while the glockenspiel plays, once each hour of the afternoon.
	Lubeck, the largest and most powerful city in the Hanseatic league, became known as the “Queen of the Hanse.”. In 1226, it became an Imperial Free City, however, in the 1200’s it became part of Denmark for a short period, and likewise in the 1800’s it became part of France for a short period.
	Marzipan—the city of Lubeck is said to have made the first marzipan. It is also said that marzipan originated as a result of a famine or a military siege, when people had to use ground-up almonds and sugar to make a bread. This sounds like the fantasy of someone who really likes marzipan. It is customarily made into fruit shapes, and colored like fruit.
	Erfurt- the city where Johann Faust supposedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge of science and alchemy. I’ve known grad students who might want to get in touch with that demon. It also has the “Gloriosa”, one of the largest bells in Europe. The Merchant’s Bridge, which spans the wide, shallow River Gera, has narrow half-timbered houses on each side.
	Wartburg-is a spectacular hillside castle, where Tannhauser engages in the Sangerkreig, a singing contest for poets and singers.
	Northern Hessen, around Kessel—the center of the area the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm came from.
	Harz Mountains—scene of the Witch’s sabbath on Walpurgisnacht (May 1st) on Broken, the tallest mountain in the Harz mountains. It is celebrated by building bonfires, and sometimes by pranks. Walpurgisnacht is featured in Goethe’s Faust. There is also the Broken spectre, which is actually a magnified shadow thrown onto a cloud, and surrounded by rainbow colors. The weather conditions for a “spectre” are frequently present on Broken, so legends have grown up around it.

© Owl & Mouse 2007