This is another painting that needs to be viewed large to be appreciated... Its the year 1875 and the "The Iron Rolling Mill" by Adolph Menzel was a sensation. Shortly after its introduction the painting became known as the " Modern Cyclops", as in the Greek sagas of Vulcans helpers who forged the gods' weapons. … Continue reading The first painting of a factory and working life in German art
The Marienburg High Castle with Virgin Mary's Church A moment in time at the start of the 20th century...one of many that the Marienburg Castle witnessed during its 747 years of existence in northern Europe, from 1274 to 2021. On this occasion in 1902, Kaiser Wilhelm II made the trip to West Prussia to participate… Continue reading In 1902, Kaiser Wilhelm II made a trip to the Marienburg in West Prussia
This historic map shows migration routes of Baltic Germans in 1939. This migration was voluntary, administered by the German government, in order to safely re-settle all ethnic Germans back into the Reich. Migration routes of Baltic Germans to Greater Germany (Grossdeutschland) in 1939 You may wonder...why were there so many Baltic Germans in Latvia and… Continue reading Migration routes of Baltic Germans in 1939
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia. Its traditional capital was Stuttgart. 1806 Württemberg The kingdom had creative inventors, among them entrepreneurs whose companies are known worldwide: Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz founded the companies that would become Mercedes-Benz...they have always had plants… Continue reading In 1806 Württemberg became a Kingdom
... the reason for this dates back to 1685 and the Great Elector and his successors. The Great Elector followed a policy of religious freedom and after French King Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Frederick William encouraged skilled French and Walloon Huguenots to emigrate to Brandenburg-Prussia. His Edict of Potsdam welcomed the… Continue reading If you have ever wondered why some of Germany’s war heroes in WWI and WWII have French names…
Before WWI they were on top of the world. The North German Lloyd company, NDL, was founded in Bremen in 1857 and developed into one of the two most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Operating out of Bremen, it became the primary means of transporting German emigrants to America, and also was instrumental… Continue reading Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen was the primary means of transporting German emigrants to America
“August der Starke” (Augustus the Strong) was an unusual man, not only because of his fabled strength, but most interesting to me is that he was a German Duke of Saxony who simultaneously also ruled as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. He inherited his German dukedom by birthright, but his rule over… Continue reading German Dukes of Saxony were also Kings of Poland and Lithuania in 17th and 18th century
Twenty year old Frederick William Hohenzollern became Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in 1640 and reigned for 48 years until his death in 1688. Historians refer to him as "the Great Elector" (der Große Kurfürst) because of his military and political prowess which set the groundwork for Brandenburg and Prussia to merge and… Continue reading Pundits began to describe Prussia not as country with a great army, but a great army with a country.
The Order of the Black Eagle Breast Star was an award granted by the Kings of Prussia and its design contains a tantalizing clue as to how the small Kingdom came to grow so powerful. The motto that is engraved upon the Breast Star was taken seriously and one that the Prussian kings lived by… Continue reading The motto engraved upon the Breast Star encapsulates how Prussia was ruled
Below are just a few examples of topics covered in this Blog… images are linked, just click to see the blog article. To find other subjects that interest you, click on the menu bar to browse historical or cultural topics or type a keyword into the search box. German Americans Teutonic Knights and the Northern… Continue reading Interesting German historical and cultural facts
For People Proud of their German Heritage 