The Cathedral of Magdeburg (known as Magdeburger Dom in
German) is the first
gothiccathedral in
Germany and with a height of 104 m the highest cathedral in Eastern Germany. The current cathedral was constructed over the period of 300 years starting from
1209, and the completion of the steeples took place only in
1520. In 2004 a funding drive for a new organ that was started in
1997 was completed, collecting 2 Million Euro. The new organ has been ordered from a company near
Potsdam, constructing a 36 ton instrument with 93 registers and approximately 5000 pipes. The construction is planned to be completed in
2007, and the new organ will hopefully be used for the first time in
2008.
The
Chicago based,
GermanarchitectHelmut Jahn is best known for his efficiently designed
modernist office blocks. Whilst many of these glass and steel buildings don't stand out from the crowd, some of his most eye-catching projects, such as the
Sony Center in Berlin, with its tent-like roof covering the central Forum, border on
post-modernism.
Schloss Neuschwanstein ("new swan stone castle") in southwest
Bavaria is one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations. Construction was started by
King Ludwig II and took 17 years. After his death in 1886, the castle was opened to the public. During
World War II, many valuable items (all stolen) were stored at the castle, destined for
Adolf Hitler's personal collection.
A twilight
panorama of Regensburg,
Bavaria,
Germany with the 12th century bridge Steinerne Brücke and
Regensburg Cathedral on the left and the river
Danube in the foreground. Located at the
confluence of the Danube and
Regen rivers, the first settlements in the area date to the
Stone Age. A
Roman fort was constructed in 179. In contrast to almost all other major German cities, Regensburg had little damage from
Allied air raids in
World War II and thus has an almost intact medieval city center, which is listed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sparrenburg Castle, located in
Bielefeld,
Germany, as seen from the western lawn. The
castle was constructed between 1240 and 1250 by the Counts of
Ravensberg. The castle has been rebuilt many times. Although often under siege, it was never stormed. After extensive restoration work, the castle now presents itself as an imposing historic site.
The Externsteine, a distinctive rock formation located in the
Teutoburger Wald region of northwestern
Germany, are a popular
tourist attraction. Stairs and a small bridge connecting two of the rocks lead to the top.
The interior of the Neue Wache, the central
memorial of
Germany for victims of war and tyranny. Located in
Berlin, the building was originally built as a
guardhouse, and has been used as a war memorial since 1931. The statue, Mother with her Dead Son is directly under the
oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold, symbolising the suffering of civilians during
World War II.
Close-up of the quadriga (four-horse
chariot) on top of the
Brandenburg Gate in
Berlin (
Germany) at night. The sculpture was produced by
Johann Gottfried Schadow in 1793. The word quadriga may refer to the chariot alone, the four horses without it, or the combination. All modern quadrigas are based on the
Horses of Saint Mark, a Roman or Greek sculpture which is the only surviving ancient quadriga.
An 1890s
photochrom print of Dresden, the capital city of
Saxony in
Germany, with
Dresden Frauenkirche (left), Augustus Bridge (centre), and
Katholische Hofkirche (right) visible. Dresden in the early 20th century was a leading European centre of culture and science, but suffered heavy damage due to an
Allied bombing on February 13, 1945.
A 1917 poster by
Lucian Bernhard intended to sell war bonds in Germany. The caption, roughly translated, is "This is how your money helps you fight! Turned into submarines, it keeps enemy shells away! That's why you should subscribe to war bonds!" Mostly excluded from international financial markets during
World War I, Germany was largely limited to domestic borrowing. The bond drives proved extremely successful, raising approximately 100 billion
marks in funds.
Illustration: Hugo Graf; restoration:
Adam Cuerden
SMS Fürst Bismarck was Germany's first
armored cruiser, built for the
Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the 20th century and launched in 1900. Named for the German statesman
Otto von Bismarck, the ship was primarily intended for colonial duties. She served in this capacity as part of the
East Asia Squadron until she was relieved in 1909, at which point she returned to Germany. The ship was rebuilt between 1910 and 1914, and after the start of
World War I, she was briefly used as a coastal defense ship. She proved inadequate to this task, and so she was withdrawn from active duty and served as a training ship for engineers until the end of the war. Fürst Bismarck was decommissioned in 1919 and sold for scrap.
Helmut Flieg (1913–2001) was a German writer best-known by the pseudonym Stefan Heym. He lived in the United States (or served in its army abroad) between 1935 and 1952, before moving back to his native Germany. He published works in English and German at home and abroad, including Nazis in the U.S.A. (1938), Goldsborough (1953), and Five Days in June (1977).
City of Workers is an
oil painting on canvas completed by the
Berlin Secessionist painter
Hans Baluschek in 1920. It depicts a dark and dirty working class sector of the German capital,
Berlin, in which industrial smoke dominates the skyline and the few lights of windows are drowned in the gloom. The 48.44 × 36.25 in (123 × 92.1 cm) work is held at the
Milwaukee Art Museum.
A one Deutsche Mark banknote issued by
Allied-occupied Germany and circulated by the United States Army Command in 1948. This was the first of three issues of
West German currency introduced that year. The Mark remained the official currency of West Germany until
German reunification in 1990, then the official currency of Germany until the adoption of the
euro in 2002.
Charlottenburg Palace is a large palace in
Charlottenburg, a part of the
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough of
Berlin,
Germany. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in
baroque and
rococo styles. It was badly damaged during the
Second World War, but has since been reconstructed, becoming a major tourist attraction.
Bellevue Palace is a palace (schloss) in
Berlin's
Tiergarten district, along the northern edge of the
Großer Tiergarten park. Designed by architect Michael Philipp Boumann, Schloss Bellevue was erected in 1786 as a summer residence for
Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia. Variously used as a residence, museum, and guest house in subsequent decades, Bellevue was damaged heavily in World War II. Following substantial refurbishments, it has served as the secondary residence of the President of West Germany and
official residence of the
President of Germany.
The Rentenmark was a currency introduced on 15 November 1923 in
Weimar Germany after the
value of the previous currency had been destroyed by
hyperinflation.
The banknote shown at left was printed in 1937 or later. It bears an adhesive coupon attached by the East German government in 1948, extending its validity while new
East German mark banknotes were being printed.
The underground station
Rochusplatz on the Cologne Stadtbahn, a
light rail system in the German city of
Cologne. The station entrance is at the junction of Venloer Straße with Äußere Kanalstraße in the district of
Ehrenfeld. It was opened in 1992 and consists of a mezzanine and one
island platform with two rail tracks. The station was previously known as Äußere Kanalstraße, but was renamed to its present title on 15 December 2019. The system uses pairs of K5000/K5200 units built by
Bombardier Transportation, which are almost identical to the
M5000 trams used by
Metrolink in Manchester, England.
Photograph credit: Lt. Moore; restored by
Adam Cuerden
The German Instrument of Surrender was the legal document that effected the termination of the
Nazi regime and
ended World War II in Europe. A July 1944 draft version had also included the surrender of the German government, but this was changed due to concern that there might be no functional German government that could surrender; instead, the document stated that it could be "superseded by any general instrument of surrender imposed by, or on behalf of
the United Nations", which
was done the next month.
This photograph shows Field Marshal
Wilhelm Keitel signing the German Instrument of Surrender in Berlin. The first surrender document was signed on 7 May 1945 in
Reims by General
Alfred Jodl, but this version was not recognized by the Soviet High Command and a revised version was required. Prepared in three languages on 8 May, it was not ready for signing in Berlin until after midnight; consequently, the physical signing was delayed until nearly 1:00 a.m. on 9 May, and backdated to 8 May to be consistent with the Reims agreement and public announcements of the surrender already made by Western leaders.
Banknote design credit: Danzig Central Finance Department; photographed by
Andrew Shiva
The Papiermark is the name given to the German currency from 4 August 1914, when the link between the
Goldmark and gold was abandoned. In particular, the name is used for the banknotes issued during
the period of hyperinflation in Germany in 1922 and especially 1923. During this period, the Papiermark was also issued by the
Free City of Danzig. The last of five series of the Danzig mark was the 1923 inflation issue, which consisted of denominations of 1 million to 10 billion issued from August to October 1923. The Danzig mark was replaced on 22 October 1923 by the
Danzig gulden.
Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) was a
Prussian architect and city planner. He was one of the most prominent architects in Germany and designed both
Neoclassical and
Neo-Gothic buildings, the most famous of which are found in and around Berlin. He was also a painter and a designer of furniture and stage sets.
This oil-on-canvas painting, entitled Castle by the River, was created by Schinkel in 1820. As an artist, his architectural talent shone through, and his buildings and landscapes are carefully drafted and meticulously executed. The painting is in the collection of the
Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the
American West, such as this oil-on-canvas painting, entitled Among the Sierra Nevada, California, created in 1868. He painted the landscape in his Rome studio, and exhibited it in Berlin and London before shipping it to the United States. His choice of grandiose subjects was matched by his entrepreneurial flair; his exhibitions of individual works were accompanied by promotion, ticket sales, and, in the words of one critic, a "vast machinery of advertisement and puffery". This work is in the collection of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Adolf Mosengel (1837–1885) was a landscape painter from
Hamburg, Germany, who built a reputation painting Alpine scenes, later turning to scenes from
Westphalia. From 1854 to 1857, he studied at the
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under
Hans Gude, and from 1858 to 1859 in Paris, after which he moved to
Geneva to study under
Alexandre Calame. He spent most of his life working in Hamburg, but travelled in 1879 to the lakes of Northern Italy, where he painted en plein air. This oil-on-canvas painting by Mosengel shows a village in the
Bernese Alps.
Banknote design credit: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank; photographed by
Andrew Shiva
The rupie was the unit of currency of
German East Africa between 1890 and 1916. During
World War I, the colony was cut off from Germany as a result of a wartime
blockade and the colonial government needed to create an emergency issue of banknotes. Paper made from
linen or
jute was initially used, but because of wartime shortages, the notes were later printed on commercial paper in a variety of colours, wrapping paper, and in one instance, wallpaper. This fifty-rupie banknote was issued in 1915, and is now part of the
National Numismatic Collection at the
Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations:
Poster credit: Henri Télory; restored by
Adam Cuerden
Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864) was a German
opera composer. Born to a wealthy Berlin family, he began his musical career as a pianist but soon decided to devote himself to opera. Meyerbeer spent several years in Italy studying and composing, before moving to Paris, where he became a dominant figure in the world of opera. This poster advertised the premiere of Meyerbeer's opera Le pardon de Ploërmel, which opened at the
Opéra-Comique in Paris on 4 April 1859.
Paul von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934), was a German general and statesman who led the
Imperial German Army during
World War I. In 1925, he returned to public life to become the second elected president of the
Weimar Republic. While he was personally opposed to
Adolf Hitler and his
Nazi Party, he nonetheless played a major role in the political instability that resulted in their rise to power, ultimately agreeing to appoint Hitler as
Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 after the Nazis had become the largest party in the
Reichstag. This 1914 photograph of Hindenburg in military uniform was taken by the German photographer
Nicola Perscheid.
The Walchensee Hydroelectric Power Station is a
storage power station in
Bavaria, Germany. The
turbines, seen here, are fed by water from the
Walchensee which is then released into the
Kochelsee. The power station uses the
hydraulic head of about 200 metres (660 ft) between the two natural lakes, and water from the
Rißbach river is also used to augment the supply. The installed capacity is 124 MW with an annual production of 300 GWh; this is one of the largest of such power plants in Germany.
The Hohenzollern Bridge crossing the
Rhine in
Cologne, Germany, with the
Cologne Cathedral in the background. The bridge is a
tied-arch railway bridge, as well as a
pedestrian bridge. Originally built in 1911, it survived numerous
Allied bombings in World War II, only to be destroyed by German engineers as the war drew to a close. Reconstruction began soon after and the bridge was opened to pedestrian traffic in 1948 and completely opened in 1959.
This image shows the townhall (Rathaus) of
Zwickau located on the main market which has been built after a big town blaze in 1403. Above the main entrance you can see the city arms of Zwickau.
The Selected picture box on the portal chooses one of the following at random when displaying the page. Follow the instructions below for adding or nominating a new picture to the list.