K. If all of the world´s cultural heritage (sports, music, fashion, architecture, literature, painting, etc..) was contained in a time capsule, what would you include to demonstrate the legacy of your country?

The cultural heritage of Germany

MusicJohann Sebastian BachLudwig van BeethovenJohannes Brahms

SportsSoccerTennis

Formula 1Ski sport

Beer CultureMonastery Beer BreweriesAndechser and Augustiner BeerOktoberfest

ArchitectureCastle

NeuschwansteinCastle

HohenzollernBrandenburg Gate

Sport• Soccer• Tennis• Formula 1• Ski sport

Music• Johann Sebastian Bach• Ludwig van Beethoven• Johannes Brahms

Architecture• Castle Neuschwanstein• Castle Hohenzollern• Brandenburg Gate

Beer Culture:• Monastery Beer Breweries• Andechser and Augustiner Beer• Oktoberfest

Soccer

Lothar Matthäus has played in 5 FIFA World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998) and he was captain of the 1990 World Cup-winning team. He played among others for FC Bayern München and Inter Milan.

Franz Beckenbauer is regarded as one of the greatest German football players. He played in 3 World Cups and won the World Cup in 1974. He is the only man, who won the World cup as a Team captain and as a coach.

At the same time Steffi Graf achieved 22 Grand Slam Single Titles and her first Wimbledon victory at age 19. Being among the most successful tennis players she remained 377 weeks number one in the world rankings.

Boris Becker was the youngest ever winner of the gentlemen’s singles title at Wimbledon at age 17 and hold the title in the following years. Additionally, he won the Davis Cup, the US-open and gold at the Olympics in Barcelona

Tennis

Formula 1

Michael Schumacher is regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. He won the title as Formula 1 World Champion seven times in his career, achieved victory in 91 races and had 68 times on the Pole Position. From 1991 – 1995 he drove for Benetton and from 1996 – 2006 for Ferrari.

Ski sport

Sven Hannawald is Germany’s mot famous ski jumper. He won several times Gold at the Winter Olympics and in World Championships.

Christian Neureuther und Rosi Mittermaier are both former World cup alpine ski racers and married since 1980. Their son Felix Neureuther is a very famous ski racer as well.

Sport• Soccer• Tennis• Formula 1• Ski sport

Music• Johann Sebastian Bach• Ludwig van Beethoven• Johannes Brahms

Architecture• Castle Neuschwanstein• Castle Hohenzollern• Brandenburg Gate

Beer Culture:• Monastery Beer Breweries• Andechser and Augustiner Beer• Oktoberfest

Music

Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, often referred to as the three B’s of classical music, were German composers admired for their exceptional work and regarded among the greatest composers in music history.

Johann S. Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach into a great musical family as one of eight children and died in 1750 in Leipzig. He was a composer and musician of the Baroque period.His works are ranging from vocal pieces, orchestral works, chamber works, works for solo instruments and other contrapuntal pieces.Although Johann S. Bach’s reputation after his death was almost non-existent, it began to grow in the 18th and 19th century when composers such as Mozart and Beethoven began to continue elements of his work. Nowadays Bach is referred to being the greatest composer of all time.His most famous works include The Art of the Fugue, The St. Matthew Passion, The Well-Tempered Clavier, and The Christmas Oratorio.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is regarded as one of the giants of classical music. He was born 1770 in Bonn and died 1827 in Vienna.The particular giftedness of the German composer and pianist was perceived early in his life. His father was initially the driving force behind his musical edition. From an early age onwards Beethoven had piano lessons, played basso continuo, organ and violin and learned composing techniques. Although Beethoven went deaf eight years before his death, he still finished his last compositions, among other his famous ninth symphony.Beethoven had a great influence on music in the transition between the Classical and Romantic period wherefore he is especially famous. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets.

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms, born 1833 in Hamburg, was a German composer and pianist. He was one of the most influential musicians of the 19th century and created exemplary works in nearly all musical genres. He composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. Brahms died 1897 in Vienna.

His most famous works are A German Requiem, his largest choral work, which marked his breakthrough as a recognized composer, four symphonies, Piano Concerto No. 1 and Hungarian Dances.

Sport• Soccer• Tennis• Formula 1• Ski sport

Music• Johann Sebastian Bach• Ludwig van Beethoven• Johannes Brahms

Architecture• Castle Neuschwanstein• Castle Hohenzollern• Brandenburg Gate

Beer Culture:• Monastery Beer Breweries• Andechser and Augustiner Beer• Oktoberfest

Castle Neuschwanstein

The Castle Neuschwanstein was build by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century and is located in Bavaria, near the town of Fussen.

It is often referred to as the „Cinderella Castle“ because it looks like a fairy-tale castle and offers a spectacular view over the Hohenschwangau Valley. Tragically King Ludwig II only lived in the castle for a couple of months and died before its completion.

Neuschwanstein was devoted to the life and work of Richard Wagner, a German composer who was greatly admired by the King.

It is the most famous castle of King Ludwig II with more than 1.3 million visitors every year.

Castle Hohenzollern

Castle Hohenzollern is the ancestral seat of the Prussian Royal House and of the Hohenzollern Princes. It is located on top of the Mount Hohenzollern in the Swabian Alb in 855 meters height. Being one of Germany‘s most imposing castles it has over 300.000 visitors each year.The first castle was build around year 1000 but it had to be rebuild two times due to destruction during war. The castle in its present form exists since 1867 and is typical for the neo-gothic architecture. It is build after the ideal of a medieval knight’s castle and the purpose of its third reconstruction was to politically represent the Prussian Monarchy.

Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is known as a national symbol of Germany to which many historical events are related. It was build in 1788 at the instruction of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II and is located at the Pariser Platz in the western part of the city centre.The Gate is 26 meters high and 65.5 meters wide. It was constructed based upon the Propylaea , the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.Brandenburg Gate marked the frontier between East and West Berlin after the second world war and was therefore a symbol of the cold war. It could not be entered from both sides of Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall it became a symbol of the German reunion.

Sport• Soccer• Tennis• Formula 1• Ski sport

Music• Johann Sebastian Bach• Ludwig van Beethoven• Johannes Brahms

Architecture• Castle Neuschwanstein• Castle Hohenzollern• Brandenburg Gate

Beer Culture:• Monastery Beer Breweries • Andechser and Augustiner Beer• Oktoberfest

Monastery Beer Breweries

Germany is very famous for its long-winded tradition of beer breweries. Most of the famous German breweries such as the Andechs Monastery Brewery, Augustiner Brewery or Weihenstephan Brewery have been founded by monks and are therefore located at monasteries. Since the beginning of the Middle Ages the craft of beer brewing was particularly attended and enhanced in Monasteries. For the fasting period a especially nutritious beer was important – the stout ale which is still known and drunk today. Monks at German monasteries lived according to the rule “Ora et labora” defined by the monk Bendeikt of Nursia. Due to this monastic practice of working and praying many monks specialised in beer brewing and because of their literacy they were able to continuously extend and perfect this craft.

Andechser and Augustiner Beer

The monastery breweries in Bavaria are counted among the oldest breweries in the world, which began with the production of beer more than 1300 years ago and therefore had a decisive influence on the development of brewing. These breweries still make beer according to the Bavarian Purity Law.The Andechs Monastery Brewery is located atop of the Holy Mountain above the eastern bank of Ammer Lake and began with the production of beer in 1455. The brewery is the biggest among six monastery breweries in Germany that is still operated by an existing religious order. Augustiner-Bräu is Munich’s oldest brewery that began with the brewing of excellent beer in 1328 and the Augustiner Beer is still an important element of the Bavarian culture, being drunk in restaurants, beer gardens and of course at the Octoberfest.

OktoberfestThe Oktoberfest takes place at the end of September every year in Munich, Bavaria. It is the largest fair in the world and more than 6 million people attend it every year.Although today the fair is quite popular for the massive consume of beer and drunken people, its origins were different.It was a festival held to celebrate King Ludwig I. and Princess Therese of Saxony- Hildburghausen’s marriage in 1810 in the fields outside the city gates of Munich. The fields were then named “Theresienwiese” in honour of the Princess and the Oktoberfest is today still celebrated at the same place. The Horse Races that took place at the wedding were repeated every year and turned into the festive tradition.Until today the six big Munich Breweries – Paulaner, Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu, Löwenbräu, and Hofbräu München – could preserve their monopoly on the beer at the Oktoberfest

Thank You!

I hope I was able to give you an interesting insight into the diverse cultural heritage of Germany.

Certainly there is much more that contributes to the cultural heritage of my home country however, I wanted to show an important part that I personally consider as being a valuable aspect of the German legacy.

Made by: Marlena Büschl