HISTORY OF GERMAN LITERATURE

The Nibelungenlied: 12th century AD

The shared memories of the Nordic people, first written down in Iceland literature, have been recited and sung wherever Germanic tribes have settled – including the central lands of Germany itself. In the southeast of this region, in modern Austria, the legends about the fall of Burgundy to the Huns achieve their fullest and…

Berlin

Berlin Travel Guide

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, no city in Europe has seen more development and change. Two Berlins that had been separated for almost 30 years struggled to meld into one, and in the scar of barren borderland between them sprang government and commercial centers that have become the glossy spreads of travel guides and architecture…

HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES 1095-1291

The background: 11th century AD

Many different factors contribute to one of the strangest threads in western medieval history. The story of the crusades is an exceptional blend of idealism and barbarity, even by the standards of other holy wars.

In the 11th century Europe is growing in confidence and wealth. The destructive raids of Vikings have ended, as the raiders…

HISTORY OF CAMEROON

A German colony: AD 1884-1914

In the early 19th century there is considerable activity in Cameroon by British and American missionaries, but a German connection begins only when the Woermann Company of Hamburg builds a warehouse in 1868 on the estuary of the Wouri river. Other German traders follow, in sufficient numbers to send requests home for the appointment of…

HISTORY OF AUSTRIA

Austria and the Babenbergs: AD 976-1246

The heavily forested regions to the east of Bavaria are colonized and converted to Christianity, from the 8th century, by German pressure eastwards. Salzburg becomes a base for missionary activities. From 797 the city has its own archbishop.

In the early 10th century the region is under constant threat from Hungarians…