“The ancient Barbarossa, Friedrich, the Kaiser great, Within the castle-cavern Sits in an enchanted state.” “Der alte Barbarossa, Der Kaiser Friedrich, Im unterird′schen Schlosse Hält er verzaubert sich.” So begins the poem “The Great Barbarossa” by Friedrich Ruckert. Say those words out loud near Germans of a certain age, and they will recite the legend of the great king back…
Category: German History
What is a Radler? – The History of a Drink Named for a Cyclist
I realize that this might be considered blasphemy, but I’m not much of a beer drinker. I just never developed a taste for it (apparently, I make an “eeewww” face from the bitter flavor when I drink it). Fortunately, an innkeeper in Deisenhofen, Germany, came up with a solution when he invented the Radler. What is a Radler? This mix…
The German Peasant War of 1525- A War of Rights and Religious Freedom
An apocryphal story says that the German Peasant War of 1525 started over snail shells. It’s never been easy to be a peasant, but in Germany in the late 1400s, things were getting steadily worse. Demands from the lords grew ever more extreme. Taxes increased, lords demanded a larger share of the harvest and refused to allow people to move…
Germany’s got the Blues – All about Erfurt Blue & Prussian Blue
Before you get too far, I would like to make a short disclosure: This post is about the color blue, not the soulful music. (If you are interested in the role of Germany in Blues music, check out “Monika’s Blues: On the Trail of the German Harmonica and African-American Blues Culture” by former German Ambassador Herbert Quelle.) And now back to Germany’s…
Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift Washington DC
On May 21, 2024, I was honored to represent the Berlin Airlift Remembrance Alliance at the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. The event took place in the shadow of the imposing towers of the US Air Force Memorial in Washington DC. Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift Washington DC The Ambassador of the…
Friedenssaal and the Peace of Westphalia – Münster Germany
Through the Arches, up the front steps, and inside the Historic Rathaus along Münster’s Prinzipalmarkt, you’ll find the Friedenssaal, Hall of Peace. The room has remained essentially unchanged for the past 375 years, from the time when envoys across Central Europe arrived to debate and hammer out details for the Treaty of Westphalia and Peace of Münster, which ended the…
Remembering the Poesiealbum – A Book of Friendship and Verse
On one of my childhood trips to Germany, my cousin showed me her Poesiealblum. I remember it had a horse on the cover, and short verses and pictures covered the pages inside. Some were hand-drawn, but Glanzbilder, shiny pictures, decorated most of the pages. All of the girls in her school owned one. Only your closest friends would be allowed…
Francis Daniel Pastorius- The Pennsylvania Pilgrim
The name Francis Daniel Pastorius may not have come up in your American History classes, and he’s likely no more than a footnote in most German history classes. However, Pastorius plays a significant role in early American history, German-American immigration history, and even has a connection to the Abolitionist Movement. So who was he? A polymath, lawyer, writer, teacher, a…
What was the Malleus Maleficarum or Hammer of Witches?
Witches have long been part of Germanic culture. You’ll find witches in Fairy tales, in legends, in songs, and in poetry. The Gingerbread house Witch in Hansel and Gretel, the flying witches on Walpurgisnacht, and even the Kitchen Witch flying above your stove. Today, we look at witches as bedtime stories or cute tales, like Die Kleine Hexe. But in…
Reformationsbrötchen Recipe- Luther Rose Reformation Rolls
On October 31st, bakeries in Leipzig bake up a special treat, Reformationsbrötchen or Reformation Rolls. The rolls with five petals and a blob of red jam in the center represent the Luther Rose, the symbol Martin Luther used to sign all his documents. So what are they exactly? Reformation Rolls are semi-sweet yeast rolls filled with raisins (or cranberries), chopped…