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Heidelberg Castle History

2011-07-27T04:32:00.000-07:00

The Heidelberg Castle (in German language named: Heidelberger Schloss) is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps.

The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is located 80 metres (260 ft) up the northern part of the Königstuhl hillside, and thereby dominates the view of the old downtown. It is served by an intermediate station on the Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway that runs from Heidelberg's Kornmarkt to the summit of the Königstuhl.

The earliest castle structure was built before AD 1214 and later expanded into 2 castles circa 1294; however, in 1537, a lightning-bolt destroyed the upper castle. The present structures had been expanded by 1650, before damage by later wars and fires. In 1764, another lightning-bolt destroyed some rebuilt sections.

Early history

Heidelberg was first mentioned in 1196 as "Heidelberch". In 1155 Conrad of Hohenstaufen was made the Count Palatine by his half-brother Frederick Barbarossa, and the region became known as the Palatinate.^[1] The claim that Conrad's main residence was on the Schlossberg (Castle Hill), known as the Jettenbühl, cannot be substantiated. The name "Jettenbühl" comes from the soothsayer Jetta, who was said to have lived there. She is also associated with Wolfsbrunnen (Wolf's Spring) and the Heidenloch (Heathens' Well). The first mention of a castle in Heidelberg (Latin: "castrum in Heidelberg cum burgo ipsius castri") is in 1214, when Ludwig I received it from Hohenstaufen Emperor Friedrich II. The last mention of a single castle is in 1294. In another document from 1303, two castles are mentioned for the first time:

The upper castle on Kleiner Gaisberg Mountain, near today's Molkenkur (destroyed in 1537);
The lower castle on the Jettenbühl (the present castle site).^[2]

All that is known about the founding of the lower castle is that it must have taken place between 1294 and 1303.

The oldest documents that mention Heidelberg Castle are:

The Thesaurus Pictuarum of the Palatinate church counsel Markus zum Lamb (1559 to 1606);
The "Annales Academici Heidelbergenses" by the Heidelberg librarian and professor Pithopoeus (started in 1587);
The "Originum Palatinarum Commentarius" by Marquard Freher (1599);
The "Teutsche Reyssebuch" by Martin Zeiller (Strasbourg 1632, reprinted in 1674 as the "Itinerarium Germaniae").

The castle as it appears in the Thesaurus Pictuarum, circa 16th c.

The castle and town by Matthäus Merian, (highlight)

Castle floor plan, 1888

All of these works are for the most part superficial and do not contain anything of importance. The case is different with Merian's Topographia Palatinatus Rheni from 1615, which describes Prince Elector Ludwig V as the person who "started building a new castle one hundred and more years ago". Most of the descriptions of the castle up until the 18th century are based on Merian's information. Attempts to find an earlier year of the castle's foundation revealed that underRuprecht I, the famous court chapel had been erected on the Jettenbühl.

[edit]Palace of kings, prison of popes

When Rupert III of Germany became the King (Emperor) of Germany in 1401, the castle was so small that on his return from his coronation, he had to camp out in the Augustinians' monastery, on the site of today's University Square. What he desired was more space for his entourage and court and to impress his guests, but also additional defences to turn the castle into a fortress.

After Ruprecht's death in 1410, his land was divided between his four sons. The Palatinate, the heart of his territories, was given to the eldest son, Ludwig III. Ludwig was the representative of the emperor and the supreme judge, and it was in this capacity that he, after the Council of Constance in 1415 and at the behest of Emperor Sigismund, held the deposed Antipope John XXIII in custody before he was taken to Burg Eichelsheim (today Mannheim-Lindenhof).

On a visit to Heidelberg in 1838, the French author Victor Hugo took particular pleasure in strolling among the ruins of the castle. He summarised its history in this letter:

"But let me talk of its castle. (This is absolutely essential, and I should actually have begun with it.) What times it has been through! Five hundred years long it has been victim to everything that has shaken Europe, and now it has collapsed under its weight. That is because this Heidelberg Castle, the residence of the counts Palatine, who were answerable only to kings, emperors, and popes, and was of too much significance to bend to their whims, but couldn't raise his head without coming into conflict with them, and that is because, in my opinion, that the Heidelberg Castle has always taken up some position of opposition towards the powerful. Circa 1300, the time of its founding, it starts with a Thebes analogy; in Count Rudolf and Emperor Ludwig, these degenerate brothers, it has its Eteocles and its Polynices [warring sons of Oedipus]. Then the prince elector begins to grow in power. In 1400 the Palatine Ruprecht II, supported by three Rhenish prince electors, deposes Emperor Wenceslaus and usurps his position; 120 years later in 1519, Count Palatine Frederick II was to create the young King Charles I of Spain Emperor Charles

Roosevelt University History

2011-07-26T12:16:00.001-07:00

Roosevelt University is a coeducational, private university in Chicago, Illinois with a satellite campus in Schaumburg, IL. Founded in 1945, the university is named in honor of both former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university's curriculum is based on principles of social justice. Currently the university enrolls around 7,500 students between its undergraduate and graduate programs and is ranked #88 in the US News and World Report Regional Universities-Midwest category.^[2] The current president is Charles R. Middleton; he was inaugurated in 2002.

History

The university was founded in 1945 after the president of Central YMCA College in Chicago, Edward J. Sparling, refused to provide his board with the demographic data of his student body, fearing that it would provide the basis for a quota system to limit the number of African Americans, Jews, immigrants, and women at the school. As a result, Sparling was fired by the board and left, with a number of faculty and students, to start a new college after a vote in favor 62 to 1 (for faculty) and 488 to 2 (with the student body).^[3]^[4] In the beginning, the university had no library, campus, or endowment.

The new college was chartered as Thomas Jefferson College on March 28, 1945 and had financial backing from Marshall Field III, the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union and numerous other individuals and organizations. Two weeks later, however, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away, and with the permission of his widow Eleanor, the college was renamed Roosevelt College in their memory. In 1947, the Auditorium Building was sold to the university for one dollar and became the permanent home of Roosevelt University. The college was rededicated to both Franklin and Eleanor in 1959. Early advisory board members included Marian Anderson, Pearl Buck, Ralph Bunche, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Gunnar Myrdal, Draper Daniels and Albert Schweitzer. In August 1996 the Albert A. Robin campus was opened in Schaumburg, after a donation from entrepreneur and immigrant, Albert A. Robin.

The institution is accredited as a Higher Education University by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.It has been ranked the tenth most diverse private university in America by the New York Times and the second most diverse in theMidwest by U.S. News and World Reports.^[5]

Auditorium Theatre of roosevelt university

2011-07-26T12:11:00.001-07:00

In the same spirit in which the City of Chicago created the theatre district, Broadway In Chicago and Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University join forces to light up the Auditorium Theatre. Broadway In Chicago reaches out to form an unprecedented partnership between not-for-profit and for-profit. The two organizations have formed a long-term alliance that allows Broadway In Chicago the theatrical rights to book the prestigious Auditorium Theatre.

Opened in 1889 by famous architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, the Auditorium's architectural ingenuity, perfect acoustics, technical versatility and sightlines became internationally revered. The Auditorium building was the first multi-purpose building incorporating a hotel, offices and retail spaces along with the theatre, and one of the first public buildings to use newly developed modern technologies of its time: electric lighting and air-conditioning. There are hundreds of Sullivan’s intricate stencil patterns, ornate gilded and bas-relief designs and endless floor and wall mosaics. Radiant 24-karat gold-leafed ceiling arches and exquisite murals adorn the house of the theatre. Frank Lloyd Wright, who received much inspiration working his first job as a draftsman on the project said the Auditorium is, "The greatest room for music and opera in the world-bar none."

Broadway In Chicago's loyal season ticket holders and group clients will share the new programming at the Auditorium Theatre. Broadway In Chicago will continue to actively work on bringing the newest and the best of Broadway to Chicago. The Auditorium and its newly formed board will also be actively presenting the finest cultural and community programming in Chicago at the Historic Auditorium Theatre.

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, an independent not-for-profit organization, is committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural and community programming in Chicago, and to the continued restoration and preservation of the Historic National Landmark Theatre.

Orientel Theatre History

2011-07-26T12:10:00.002-07:00

As one of the first motion picture palaces whose décor was inspired by the Far East, Chicago's Oriental Theatre opened to much fanfare on May 8, 1926. Also, designed by George L. and Cornelius W. Rapp for theater managers Balaban and Katz, the theatre, a virtual museum of Asian art, presented popular first-run motion pictures, complemented by lavish stage shows. Turbaned ushers led patrons from the lobby, with polychrome figures and large mosaics of an Indian prince and princess, through an inner foyer with elephant-throne chairs and multicolored glazed Buddhas, to the auditorium's "hasheesh-dream décor." Among the many stars that played the theatre are Paul Ash (billed as "the Rajah of Jazz"), The Three Stooges, Judy Garland, Al Jolson, Stepin Fetchit, Sophie Tucker, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Fanny Brice, Danny Kaye and Alice Faye. During a record-breaking week in 1930, as many as 124,985 patrons visited the Oriental to see the hit film "Flight." Although management changed hands several times in the subsequent decades, the theatre continued to feature films until the early 1970s, at which time the M&R Amusement Company briefly presented live performances by such artists as Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Little Richard.

Soon the theater fell into disrepair. In an effort to preserve the theatre, it was added to the Federal National Registry of Historic Places in 1978, but the building continued to crumble. The theatre was closed to the public in 1981, and the site was considered for a two-story, 50,000 square-foot shopping mall and a 1,600 seat cinema. In 1996, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that the Oriental would be restored to its original grandeur for the presentation of live stage musicals by Livent, Inc. Renamed Ford Center for the Performing Arts in 1997, the restoration of the theatre was completed in October 1998, at which time it was opened with the Chicago premiere of "Ragtime." The venue was acquired by SFX Theatrical Group in 1999, and its production of "Fosse" debuted at the Ford Center before embarking on a national tour. The list of hits goes on including the pre-Broadway of "Blast" in 2000, the world premiere of "Sing-A-Long Wizard of Oz" in January 2003 and the record-breaking run of Wicked from 2005 to 2009.

Cadillac Palace

2011-07-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

The Palace Theatre opened at the corner of Randolph and LaSalle Streets in Chicago on October 4, 1926. Designed by legendary theatre architects the Rapp Brothers, the theatre's interior featured a splendor previously unseen in Chicago — a breathtaking vision inspired by the palaces of Fontainebleau and Versailles. The theatre's distinctive characteristics included a lobby richly appointed in huge decorative mirrors and breche violet and white marble, which swept majestically through a succession of lobbies and foyers; great wall surfaces enhanced with gold leaf and wood decorations; and 2,500 plush, roomy seats. The theatre was originally opened as the flagship of vaudeville's legendary Orpheum Circuit, and among the stars believed to have played the Palace in its early years are Jimmy Durante, Mae West, Jack Benny, Sophie Tucker and Bob Hope.

Despite the popularity of such acts, audiences in the late 1920s and early 1930s had begun to lose interest in vaudeville, and in 1931 the theatre was converted into a movie palace, initially presenting films with live stage shows, and then eventually showing only movies. When movie audiences began staying at home to watch television in the 1950s, the theatre managers, hoping to attract larger audiences, booked occasional Broadway shows into the theatre, such as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" starring Carol Channing.

During the late 1950s, the Palace was fitted with special equipment to show films in Cinerama. During the mid-1970s, the management of the Bismarck Hotel transformed the auditorium into a banquet hall by removing the seats on the orchestra level and bringing the floor flush with the stage. In 1984, the theatre, now renamed the Bismarck Theatre, was converted into a rock venue. Sporadically used during the 1990s, the venue was completely restored and renovated during 1999, and renamed the Cadillac Palace.

The renovated theatre was reopened during the fall of 1999, with the premiere of Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida." Since then, the Cadillac palace has been the home to several pre-Broadway hits including "The Producers - The New Mel Brooks Musical" and "Mamma Mia!” as well as long-run engagements of "Disney's The Lion King" and “Oprah Winfrey presents The Color Purple.”

Bank Of America History

2011-07-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

The Bank of America Theatre opened as the Majestic Theatre in 1906 and was Chicago's first million-dollar-plus venue and the city's tallest building at the time. A hot spot on the vaudeville circuit and later host to such luminaries as Harry Houdini and Lily Langtry, the Majestic closed during the Great Depression and was shuttered for 15 years. Much of the original design was retained when the theatre was remodeled and reopened in 1945, in time for the heyday of favorites like Carousel, South Pacific, and Guys and Dolls. The Bank of America Theatre has hosted the pre-Broadway world premieres of Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out and Monty Python's Spamalot. Recent shows include the Chicago favorite, Jersey Boys and Rock of Ages featuring American Idol's Constantine Maroulis

The History Place Ptoho Of Week

2011-07-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

A refreshing drink of cool water for little puppies courtesy of their young caretaker. c1935. (Photo credit: courtesy Library of Congress)

November 9 in German history

2011-07-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

9 November has been the date of several important events in German history. The term Schicksalstag (fateful day) has been occasionally used by historians and journalists since shortly after World War II, but its current widespread use started with the events of 1989 when virtually all German media picked up the term.

There are five major events in German history that are connected to 9 November:

1848: After being arrested in the Vienna revolts, liberal leader Robert Blum is executed. The execution is often seen as a symbolic event for the ultimate failure of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states.

1918: Monarchy in Germany ends when Emperor Wilhelm II is dethroned in the November Revolution. Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the Weimar Republic from a window of the Reichstag. Two hours later Karl Liebknecht proclaims a "Free Socialist Republic" from a balcony of the Berliner Stadtschloss. Der 9. November (The Ninth of November) is the title of a novel by Bernhard Kellermann published in Germany that told the story of the German insurrection of 1918.

1923: The Beer Hall Putsch (8-9 November) marks the emergence of the Nazi Party as an important player on Germany's political landscape.

1938: In the Kristallnacht, (9-10 November) synagogues and Jewish property are burned and destroyed on a large scale. More than 1,300 Jews are killed.

1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall ends German separation and starts a series of events that ultimately lead to the German reunification. 9 November was considered as the date for German Unity Day, but as it was also the anniversary of Kristallnacht, this date was considered inappropriate as a national holiday. The date of the formal reunification of Germany, 3 October 1990, therefore, was chosen as the date for the holiday instead.

The establishment of the Schutzstaffel in 1925 is sometimes mentioned as having taken place on 9 November as well.