Thanks
to close co-operation between Ian, Lindsay, Mark, Judith, Karl and
myself our ‘German’ history group is proud to present a five session, fortnightly, course ‘A
History of the Rhine’
starting 10.30 January 7 in the Yarrow Room, Lewes Town Hall.
The
provisional programme is as follows:
Jan 7: Welcome, introduction and the Geography of the Rhine’:
Michael
‘Cities of the Rhine part
1 - Basel, Strasbourg and
Karlsruhe’:
Lindsay
Jan
22: ‘The Rhine as a National and
Military Boundary’:
Ian
Feb
4: ‘Myths and
Legends of the Rhine’:
Mark
Feb
18: ‘Literature
inspired by the Rhine’:
Judith
March
4: ‘The ShUM
Towns of the Rhine -
Speyer, Worms and
Mainz’ :
Karl
‘Cities of the Rhine' part
2 - Cologne, Duisburg, and
Rotterdam’:
Lindsay
A suggested, enjoyable to read and recent paperback book is 'The Rhine' by Ben Coates.
We
welcome further contributions to our friendly group and very much
look forward to seeing you!
Ten
Amazing Facts about the River Rhine
1. Both the River Thames and the River
Seine were tributaries of the Rhine 2.5 million years ago.
2. The Rhine is the second longest river
in central and western Europe after the Danube and is 760 miles long. (The
Danube is 1500 miles long.)
3. In Roman times it formed the boundary between
civilisation and barbarism.
4. Today it delignates many Protestant and
Catholic regions.
5. The Rhine was the focus of many
battles. The last was the spectacular capture of the Ludendorff Bridge at
Remagen in March 1945 and was pivotal in the conquest of Germany.
6. There are approximately 40 castles on
the Rhine
7. The Rhine runs through 6 countries: Netherlands,
Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein and forms part of the
boundary between many of them.
8. The Rhine passes through at least 14 cities
including: Basel, Strasbourg, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Rotterdam, Koblenz, Mainz,
Wiesbaden, Bonn, Konstanz, Arnhem, Speyer, Chur and Vaduz.
9. The Rhine is the inspiration for many
legends poems, songs and works of art such the Nibelungen, The Lorelei, works
of JMW Turner, Anselm Kiefer, The Watch on the Rhine.
10. Today the Rhine, because of its
commercial importance unites the countries that it flows through.