What I have learnt from Neil MacGregor about Germany
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Bauhaus still exists though some might call it
IKEA.
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Durer’s famous prints of the Knight and Melancholia
are thought to sum up the German character.
His Rhinoceros, draw from a description taken from a Portuguese Sailor,
is his signature work.
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Gutenberg’s success, like so many revolutions,
was based on serendipity. People rich
enough to buy, a epidemic desire to read the bible, technologies coming together
including expertly crafted adaptations of wine presses into printing presses, and the
superb craftsmanship needed to create metal lettering. Also Meissen had Italian paper fairs twice a
year, and was located in a healthy trade corridor.
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The German flag, Black, Red and Gold, dates from
1845, at a time when Germany could have been unified. “Deutschland uber alles” actually means the
state of German over all these dukedoms and principalities, not the whole
world! East and West German vied for the
right to use the flag because it was also associated with Karl Marx and the communist
manifesto in 1845. East German gave in
and included it’s communist logo to differentiate itself from the West.
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Rich Women handed in their jewels to help fund
the war of liberation from Napoleon. In
exchange they were given Iron jewellery, lined with nationalist slogans.
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The Steel Yard in the City of London belonged to
the Hanseatic League. This merchant fraternity eventually gave its name to the German national airline, Lufthansa.
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Riemenschneider wood carvings were not intended
to be painted, unlike most wood caring of the time. Hence Riemenschneider used his skill to show
the emotion of the person though texture alone.
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The French and German’s claim Charlemagne as a
founding father.
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Wallhana, on the Rheine in Bavaria unites the German
speaking people. German, a nation, like
other nations with week physical borders, has moved around. The only thing left in Konigsberg, the royal
home of the Prussian kings, are the sewer man hole covers. The Russians removed everything else even
though it was the home of Kant.
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Goethe was dissolute until he read
Shakespeare. Here he saw the hope of freedom
from classical constraints he desired. He is now recognised
by most Germans on the street. (His picture that is.)
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Luther survived many sentences of death because of
the divided German statelet system. His
presence in Saxony was a snub to neighbouring states. A bit like Leicester and Leicestershire, “we’ll
do whatever they and not doing, and visa versa.”
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Luther’s German became a marker for the nations,
in a similar way Chaucer’s English was in England.
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Charlemagne’s true crown (actually it Otto's) is in Vienna. We saw a replica in Aachen. The Austrians also see him as their founding
father and appropriated the crown to prevent it from being taken by Napoleon.
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