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
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
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
Swabia, or Schwaben, was a region in SW Germany, now part of the states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Starting in the 9th century, Swabia was the birthplace of Charlemagne's family... Charlemagne, or Karl der Grosse, was the first Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire in 800. Swabia was also home of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which included Germany's… Continue reading The German land of Swabia was the birthplace of five royal dynasties
Prussian King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) instituted the blue enameled cross “Pour le Merite” in June 1740 as a token of appreciation for those leaders in his army who distinguished themselves in the first Silesian War. The medal continued to be awarded for the next 180 years, gaining its greatest renown with Germany’s air aces… Continue reading This German medal, nicknamed the “Blue Max”, has an interesting story to tell, including why it has a French name.
There is a lot of symbolism on the Bavarian Coat of Arms...have you ever wondered what it all means? It is a combination of medieval symbols held by the two lions that have been used since the 14th century. On the top left is a Golden Lion representing the Upper Palatinate. That golden lion was… Continue reading The Bavarian Coat of Arms is a combination of medieval symbols
From the early 1930’s until 1945, the German movie industry rivaled Hollywood in terms of quality, distribution and popularity. It was the golden era of Europe's film industry…with the high point in 1942 when 1.067 billion people were in paid attendance throughout Europe. The movie poster shown here features Zarah Leander and Viktor Staal in… Continue reading Once upon a time the German movie industry rivaled Hollywood
This image of King George III …in coronation robes… was painted by Allan Ramsay in 1762. The reason that I am writing about him is that people forget that he was the third German King of England. In fact, he was concurrently also the Duke of Hanover in Germany and a Prince-Elector of the Holy… Continue reading King George III…people forget that he was the third German King of England
Königsberg Castle with the Kaiser Wilhelm Statue is pictured here in sharp detail, along with the routine comings and goings around the castle in 1895. This stone castle was constructed in 1257 as the fortress residence of the Grandmasters of the Teutonic Order and later became a residence for Prussian rulers. The people captured in… Continue reading Königsberg Castle with the Kaiser Wilhelm Statue is pictured here in sharp detail, along with the routine comings and goings around the castle in 1895.
Max und Moritz, the iconic terrible duo who were involved in many bad pranks, are known to all in German speaking lands. This image shows the boys playing a practical joke...pouring gun powder into a smoker’s pipe so that they could later laugh about the results of their prank. These two comic-book-like characters… two young… Continue reading Bad boys Max and Moritz were created by Wilhelm Busch over 150 years ago
For People Proud of their German Heritage 