User:Lytschy

Paragraph 4 of Zürich Underground Railway
On 28 March 1949, the private initiative "Committee for an Underground Railway in Zurich", led by construction engineer Adolf Weber, submitted an application for a constructing and operating concession to the Swiss Confederal Post and Railway Department. The plan was to build a widespread underground network which would cover 158 stations and have a length of 107 km - including lines from Zurich to Küsnacht, Witikon, Dübendorf, Kloten, Weiningen, Dietikon, Sellenbüren, Adliswil and Thalwil. After revision, the overall length was reduced to 90km. The required capital investment of approximately two billion Swiss francs was to be supplied from private investors, at an interest rate partly guaranteed by the state. Considering the horrendous costs, an acceptance of the application by the Federal Assembly seemed to be unfeasible. Thus, the proposal was withdrawn.

Remarks / difficulties:

1st sentence:

Structuring the sentence was quite difficult. I did not stick to the German syntax but inserted a relative clause for this part: “von Adolf Weber präsidiertes” -> “led by construction engineer Adolf Weber”. Also, I was wondering whether it would have been correct to leave these special characters « » or replace them by “ “ (like I did)?

2nd sentence:

I was not sure how to handle the “Entstehen sollte…” at the beginning. That’s why I chose a different expression -> “The plan was…”. Could “stops” and “stations” be used interchangeably in order to translate “Stationen”?

In general:

After having done the translation I noticed that I had stuck to the German syntax quite often. I am wondering now if that’s ok or if it sounds too German? Working on Wikipedia can be complicated sometimes. It took me 10 extra minutes just to structure my page and insert my text and so on.. but after a while I felt like I know which features are the most important ones.

Paragraph 7 of Zürich Underground Railway
The publication of the reports caused an intense debate over transport policy. While the expansion of the street network was uncontroversial, the public transport plans provoked continuous discussions. The city council preferred the moderate project suggested by Leibbrand/Kremer. The city parliament, on the other hand, preferred the wide-ranging project suggested by Pirath/Feuchtinger. In 1956, Professor Walther Lambert was consulted as an additional expert for network design and operational management. In March 1957, a technical commitee was appointed as well. Finally, city council and city parliament reached an agreement to work out an underground project of their own. This task was handed over to a working group, which was led by city councilor Walter Thomann and the director of the VBZ, Werner Latscha. In addition to Kurt Leibbrand, the working group also included representatives of several underground construction and engineering companies. In January 1961, the city council presented a project which covered a tunnel section with a total length of 12.3 km. The costs (excluding land aquisition) were estimated at around 329 million Swiss francs. In December of the same year, the city council added a further stipulation: The underground network was to have a length of 21.15 km at a cost of 544 million Swiss francs. As an extension to the original project, sections to Oerlikon and Schwamendingen were added, as well as smaller modifications in the city centre.

Remarks / dificulties:

Dealing with technical terms (Netzgestaltung, Betriebsform, Tiefbau- und Ingenieruunternehmen,..)

Does VBZ has to be translated or can I just use the German abbreviation here?

Paragraph 9 of Zürich Underground Railway
All the parties represented in the city parliament supported the project. However, it was rejected in the town referendum with 58,393 to 34,307 votes on 1 April 1962 (63% No). An ‘unholy alliance’ of two groups with completely different motivations was responsible for this. A non-partisan committee had fundamentally spoken against lowering the tram and criticized the indignation of the traffic planners to restrict motorized private transport. However, a second group, which especially promoted the drivers' needs, demanded the abolition of the tram and requested the construction of an adequate underground. In 1959/60, 15 open coaches of the type Be 4/4, also known as ‘carps’ and designed for a potential use in tunnel sections with high platforms, were delivered to the VBZ. As a consequence of the underground rejection, no further production series of this type of railcar was ordered.

Paragraph 12 of | U-Bahn Zürich
Description of Line 1

Line 1 would have been 27.521 km long – including the entrance to the depot in Opfikon (roughly located on the terrain of today’s Glattpark-area). 12.7 km would have been above ground and 14.8 km underground. 6km of the tunnel sections would have been constructed using a mining technique, the remaining parts using open construction. Thirty stations with a length of 138m each were planned. For the heavily used central section, trains headway every 3 minutes (later every 2 minutes) were planned. According to this plan, 70 seconds would have been technically feasible. First, a section between Sihlporte and the airport was to be built within seven to eight years. The section Sihlporte-Dietikon and the branch lines to Kloten and Schwamendingen were to be ready for operation after ten years.

The final destination of the northern line would have been Zurich Airport. Under the hills Butzenbüel and Holberg, this stretch would have led to the overground station Werft, where a short branch line from the train station Kloten would have terminated. Subsequently, the underground was to proceed from Opfikon to just after the Eisfeld street station, parallel to the existing SBB line. There, the northern gateway of the tunnel section was to be located. Following the route from Ohm street and Schaffhauser street, the intersection Hirschwiesen could be reached (in the area of the Milchbuck tram stop ). Here, 30 metres below the earth’s surface, two station pipes connected by cross-ribs were to be built, the western one for trains on the home line and the eastern one for trains from and to Schwamendingen. The branch line of Schwamendingen was to proceed partly under the Schöneich Tunnel of the planned motorway approach road A1L, and was to end temporarily at Hirschenplatz. From Hirschwiesen, the line would have reached Zürich Hauptbahnhof by the means of a broadly shaped S-curve, while the Milchbuck Tunnel, Letten Tunnel and the Limmat were to be crossed underground.



At the central station, the underground stop was to be underneath the southern adjoining station square. At a later time, a second tunnel section was to be built for line 3. After surpassing Sihl and the (till today not realised) motorway approach road to the A3, Stauffacher could be reached via a planned changing point on line 2. Near the junction with the Lake Zürich left-bank railway line, the overground Station Kalkbreite was to be located. Following the Badener street, the line was to be beneath the ground again, with the exception of Letzigraben station. The sections between Albisriederplatz and Letzigraben were to provide additional headshunts for turning trains. At the western margin of Altstetten a viaduct was to cross the   Zurich-Zug line, the marshalling yard Müllingen, and the   Zurich-Bern/Basel line. The underground would have continued north through Schlieren. A short tunnel near Post Street in Dietikon would have continued the line to the south side of the railway. The underground would finally have reached Dietikon railway station via a bridge. The terminus was to be located in the reception building on the first floor. Assigned, but not planned concretely, was a possible extention from Deitikon to Spreitenbach in the canton of Aargau.

The "Salvator-Battle" of 1888
The only violent exception in the history of the town festival occurred on 23 May 1888, when a minor quarrel turned into a mass brawl. The argument between soldiers and civilians developed out of an insignificant reason. When an artillerist drew his sabre, a major brawl broke out in which sticks and beer mugs were being used, too, causing a relatively large number of injuries. Bit by bit, the outrages spread across the hall and garden. The additional gendarmerie and even the jail guard from Neudeck could not control the mass until subsequently, a 50-man unit of the Heavy Cavalry arrived and rode sabre swingingly into the hall. When the conflicts broke out there was only one gendarmerie sergeant on duty at the Nockherberg. In a later investigation this was considered the reason for the escalation. It was also party claimed that a raised salvator prize would be the actual reason for the festival guest's excitability. The 'scandal year' 1888 remained a topic of conversation in Munich for many years.

Venue
The Salvator-Ausschank did originally not take place on the Nockherberg but in the old brewery building at Neudeck on the corner of Falken street and Ohlmüller street. In 1822, on the area of the Paulaner garden, the inn Zacherlgarten was constructed for a year-round drink serving of the lentbeer, which existed until 2008. From 1846 until 1860, the drink serving took place in the so-called Neudecker Garden in the meadow. In the year 1858, banker Georg Nockher sold his summer residence on the Nockherberg to the Paulaner brewery (called "Zacherlbräu" at that time), which was then rebuilt into a beer garden. Since spring 1861 the drink serving took place here in the new Zacherl-Keller, which was called Salvator-Keller at the latest since 1928. The inn Zum Nockhergarten, the former Nockherschlösschen, was knocked down in 1903/1904.

During World War II the massive arches of the brewery gallery were used as Munich's command post of the air-raid protection places. One part was also approved as a fallout shelter for the population. After the cellar was completely destroyed during a bombing raid on 24 April 1944, the reopening of the inn and the new Salvator-Keller, drafted by professor Franz Zell, took place on 11 March 1950.



On 28 August 1965, the extreme right-wing party NPD held its first federal party conference in the Salvator-Keller. In the night of 27 to 28 November 1999, the cellar, now called Paulaner-Keller, was almost entirely destroyed by arson. The firefighting operations using 89 emergency fire enginges lasted for two days. The resulting damage amounted to approximately 15 million Euro. In spite of intensive efforts the offender was not found amongst 650 suspects to this date. In March 2004, the 39-year-old Karl R., a so-called stepbrother of Nockherberg-publican Peter Pongratz and relative of the Fischer-Vroni-family, was remanded into custody. However, he was released after a few months for lack of evidence.

In the years 2000 to 2002, the Salvator-Ausschank took place in a specially-built tent on the Mariahilfplatz below the Nockherberg. The Paulaner-Keller was torn off in 2001 and in 2003 finally replaced by the newly constructed aboveground Paulaner ballroom, which offers place for up to 2500 guests. The costs for the reconstruction add up to circa 25 million Euro. One of the rooms in the vaulted cellar of the new inn Paulaner am Nockherberg is today again called Salvatorkeller. The famous fountain from the TV advertising is located in the beer garden, which is accessible since 2003 again.

Political kick-off: The strong beer tasting
The kick-off event of the annual Salvator-Ausschank is the strong beer tasting. The peculiarity of this event is the attendance of many bavarian regional and federal politicians. By means of Bavarian Television broadcast since 1982, the tapping of the strong beer keg on the Nockherberg is accessible for a broader audience. The television broadcast in 2004 was watched by approximately 2.8 million viewers. In 2015, the live-broadcast had been followed by 2.8 million viewers German-wide, of which 2,05 million were bavarian viewers.



The event begins with the actual beer tasting. The first Maß, which was originally entitled to the prince-elector, is handed to the bavarian minister-president since 1965. The head of the brewery passes the mug saying the traditional words: ''Salve pater patriae! Bibas, princeps optime!'' (lat. "Be welcome, father of the fatherland! Drink, best prince!"). However, the father of the nation is not expected to perform the 'classical' Salvator tasting, which would not function anyway due to a modified recipe: Back then, the lentbeer was considered to be strong enough when it could glue a bank, on which it was spilled earlier, to a person's Lederhosen when they tried to stand up.

The highlight of the event is the politician-Derblecken, a political cabaret in front of invited guests consiting of a speech and a following singspiel. In both contributions current issues of Munich as well as regional and federal politics are discussed with more or less sensitive irony and partly heavy side blows on politicians of whatever party. Not being "derbleckt", meaning not being taken for a ride in the festive contributions, can for a bavarian politician almost be interpreted as a sign of deficient importance or lacking personality.

"It is right, Mr. Rothemund, that you know 70 percent, because the other 30 percent have voted for you."

- Hannes Burger

In 1991, the beer tasting was cancelled due to the Gulf War, as well as in 2003 due to the Iraq War. In the year 2009, the strong beer tasting, which was scheduled for 12 March, was postponed to the end of the Salvator-Ausschank on 2 April because of the Winnenden school shooting.

Tradition of "Derblecken"
The Derblecken (bavarian for 'making fun of someone') traces back to the tradition of the inkeeper greeting his guests. Back then, he knew all villagers by name and was very familiar with the stories and rumours that went around the place. Regular guests were frequently teased with those stories by humorous and self-confident innkeepers. For events where the guests should be welcomed in a similar way rhetorically less talented innkeepers or hosts ordered professional Hochzeitslader or Gstanzl singers who informed themselves about the guest's peculiarites and sensivitities beforehand. The respective victims of mockery were expected to take it with a pinch of salt; an offended reaction caused an even greater amusement of the other guests.

This background is known till this day, also for the politician Derblecken on the Nockherberg. Since the 'victims' are invited guests, overly rude or even insulting critique which would reflect on the host (or the brewery itsself) is prohibited. Consequently, the authors of the festive contributions strive to put forth particularly critical 'attacks' indirectly or with a wink.

Comemmorative speech


The first Salvator speaker was humourist Jakob Geist in 1891. In 1922 he was followed by actor Weiß Ferdl, master of ceremonies Adolf Gondrell, Gstanzl singer Roider Jackl and radio host Emil Vierlinger, who organised the radio broadcasting of the 'Derblecken' on the Nockherberg after World War II. After his serious illness in the 70s, Michl Lang, Klaus Havenstein, Franz Schönhuber, Ernst Maria Lang and finally the actor and Paulaner spokesperson Walter Sedlmayr (1982-1990) took over.

From 1992 to 2010 the speakers (with the exception of 2007) performed in the role of the monk Bruder Barnabas, who gives a lenten sermon for the guests. The role traced back to the Paulaner monk Friar Barnabas (* 1750; † 1795), whose original name was Valentin Stephan Still. He was master brewer in Munich since 1774 and is said to have invented the basic recipe of the modern Salvator strong beer.

The frist Salvator speaker who performed in the historical role of Brother Barnabas was Max Grießer (1992-1996), followed by Erich Hallhuber (1997-1998). Hallhuber demanded to be permitted to change the text of speechwriter Hannes Burger while Burger himself insisted on a verbatim performance of his text. Due to this argument Hallhuber cancelled his performance at short notice in 1999. His successor Gerd Fischer (1999-2003) presented his sermons in a tone that rather kindly pitied the 'derbleckt' people. With the cabaret artist Bruno Jonas (2004-2006) the lenten sermons became more sharp-tongued again. In 2007, the Lower Bavarian cabaret artist Django Asül gave the Salvator speech without a cowl. From 2008 to 2010, the former Edmund Stoiber-double Michael Lerchenberg gave the lenten sermon - again in the role of Brother Barnabas.

The author de:Hannes Burger wrote the commemorative speeches for 22 years, from 1982 until 2003. Since 2004 the speakers wrote their own texts. In the years 2008 to 2010, cabaret artist Christian Springer was co-author for the lenten sermons. He resigned as Derblecker, as did speaker Michael Lechrenberg, after individual people like Guido Westerwelle, Christine Haderthauer, and Charlotte Knobloch were offended by the content of the lenten sermon.

Since 2011 Luise Kinseher gives the Salvator speech (status: 2016). Thus, she is the first female to do so. She performs in the role of Mama Bavaria, whom she personified during the Singspiel in 2010.

Singspiel
The commemorative speech is followed by the Salvatorspiel in which numerous politicians are parodied. Until 1985 the singspiel was stage-managed by Olf Fischer. Then, until 1988 it was the leading BR entertainment head Helmut Kirchhammer, who also guided the team of authors. Until 2009, under the direction of Eva Demmelhuber, the singing cabaret was bit by bit expanded to a real stage performance, imbedded into an annual new theme with respective stage setting. In the year 2010 Alfons Biedermann took over the direction. For the first time the newly composed songs originate from Matin Lingnau (music) and Heiko Wohlgemuth (texts).

One of the main authors of the Salvatorspiel was Holger Paetz from 1999 to 2009, who also portrayed FDP-politician Guido Westerwelle. Particularly well-known as actors were also Walter Fitz as Franz Josef Strauß, Michael Lerchenberg as Edmund Stoiber, co author Ulli Bauer as Munich's mayor Christian Ude, Corinna Duhr als Angela Merkel, as well as Veronika Fitz, Georg Blädel, André Hartmann, Max Grießer, and Klaus Havenstein. After the singspiel the attendant politicians, together with the actors who parodied them, let themselves being photographed by the cameras of the journalists and television. The singspiel is show-managed by Marcus H. Rosenmüller since 2013.

Artistic appreciation


The traditional Salvator festival inspired numerous artist in Munich to create works about the strong beer and its serving on the Nockherberg, mostly in the form of poems and drawings. Many works can be found in the brewery's guestbook or were published in Munich's magazines, including input of well-known authors like Karl Valentin or Paul Heyse. The operetta Salvator (music by Theo Rupprecht; text by Max Ferner, Philipp Wichand and M. A. Weikone which was premiered in Munich in 1911 and featured Father Barnabas as a central character served as the model for the film Mönche, Mädchen und Panduren from the year 1952.

Eduard Ille (* 1823; †1900), painter, illustrator, caricaturist, and author from Munich advanced to become a Salvator poet. In many contributions of the humouristic magazine Fliegende Blätter he gamourized the Salvator beer and his 'founder' Father Barnabas. In the following poem he describes the electoral beer tasting, which was preponed to March. This can almost be considered a hymn to the lentbeer.

 War im März gen Judica / wiederum der Frühling nah, kam – zu ehren alte Sitten – / der Herr Kurfürst selbst geritten auf die Neudeck ob der Au / zum Paulaner-Klosterbau. Dort empfing den Landesvater / Barnabas, der Bräuhausfrater, ihm beglückt und freudeglänzend / einen Humpen Bier kredenzend mit dem Gruß, der bis zur Stunde / sich erhielt im Volkesmunde: „Salve, pater patriae! / Bibas, princeps optime!“

Translation Project 3: Luise Kinseher


Luise Kinseher (born 4 January 1969 in Geiselhöring) is a German cabaret artist and actress.

Life
Luise Kinseher, who was raised in the Lower Bavarian city of Geiselhöring, studied German philology, dramatics, and history in Munich. She wrote her Master's thesis about Sigi Zimmerschied and gained her first stage experience as a cabaret artist in 1992. From 1993 to 1998 she was an ensemble member of the Iberl Bühne, working with Georg Maier in Munich-Solln, where she performed in more than 800 shows.

In 1998 she showcased her first solo programme Ende der Ausbaustrecke - Silent Thrill of Kabarett.

Director Franz Xaver Bogner discovered Kinseher as a Bavarian actress and casted her for his TV shows in key roles, for example as Hanna Graf in Café Meineid and as police station manager Thekla Eichenseher in München 7. She was also shown in cinemas in Vorne ist verdammt weit weg and Marcus H. Rosenmüller's Beste Zeit. As personal assistant Gabi Blümel she regularly reviews the cabaret weekly review of the Bavarian Television programme Nix für ungut. In 2010, for the first time she played the role of the Bavaria during the singspiel during the traditional politician Derblecken on the Nockherberg. She was the first woman ever to hold the Salvator speech in this role in 2011. From 2012 to 2016 she again represented Mama Bavaria on the Nockherberg.

Her stage programme Einfach reich celebrated its premier in 2010 in Munich's Lach- und Schießgesellschaft.

Luise Kinseher lives in Munich.

Solo programmes

 * 1998: Ende der Ausbaustrecke - Silent Thrill of Kabarett
 * 2001: Schnop - der Weg ist weg
 * 2004: Glück & Co
 * 2007: Hotel Freiheit
 * 2010: Einfach reich
 * 2014: Ruhe bewahren

Discography

 * Schnop - Der Weg ist Weg, WortArt Köln 2002, ISBN 3-7857-1299-5
 * Glück & Co, WortArt Köln, 2005, ISBN 3-7857-3028-4
 * Hotel Freiheit, WortArt Köln, 2008, ISBN 978-3-86604-937-6
 * Einfach reich, WortArt Köln, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8371-0953-5

Filmography

 * 1996–1998: Anwalt Abel (2 episodes)
 * 1996: Tatort – Schattenwelt
 * 1999: SOKO MünchenSOKO 5113 – Das Doppelleben des Werner Eck
 * 2000–2003: Café Meineid (42 episodes)
 * 2000: Einmal leben
 * 2001: Alle meine Töchter – Der Bumerang-Effekt
 * 2001: Jenny & Co. – Kinder, Kinder
 * since 2004: München 7 (36 episodes)
 * 2006: Die Rosenheim-Cops - Tod eines Ekels
 * 2007: Das große Hobeditzn
 * 2007: Beste Zeit
 * 2007: Vorne ist verdammt weit weg
 * 2010: Die Rosenheim-Cops - Späte Rache
 * 2010: Nix für ungut! (4 Episoden)
 * 2010–2013: Auf dem Nockherberg (4 episodes)
 * 2011: Intensiv-Station - Die NDR Satireshow
 * 2011–2012: Ottis Schlachthof (2 episodes)
 * 2015: Die Anstalt (one episode, 20. Oktober 2015)

Awards

 * 1999: Passauer Scharfrichterbeil
 * 2002: Mindener Stichling, Solo prize
 * 2002: Deutscher Kleinkunstpreis, Sponsorship prize
 * 2003: Kabarettpreis der Landeshauptstadt München
 * 2012: Bairische Sprachwurzel, Straubing
 * 2013: Ernst-Hoferichter-Preis of the capital city Munich
 * 2014: Bayerischer Kabarettpreis, Main prize

Translation Project 4: Bundesjugendspiele


The Bundesjugendspiele are an annual sports event that take place at German schools and German international schools. They are obligatory for all students. The President of Germany acts as patron for this event.

The participating students are expected to achieve the best possible performances in specific disciplines, like athletics or gymnastics. Usually, a modification of the triathlon is performed, consisting of the disciplines ball-throwing (shot put in higher age groups), sprint (running), and long jump.

The performances achieved are rated with points. If the participant achieves a specific minimum score, they are given a simple certificate. Above a certain higher score they receive an 'honorary certificate', which bear the (printed) signature of the Federal President. Since 1991, all other students, who have neither received a 'certificate of achievement' nor an 'honorary certificate', get a 'certificate of participation'.

History
The Bundesjugendspiele were inspired by the sports official and sports scientist Carl Diem, who also initiated the German Sports Badge and the Olympic torch relay, and founded the German Sport University Cologne. At the same time he engaged in propaganda actions during the time of Nazi Germany and used sports for National Socialist actions. The precursor of the Bundesjugendspiele were the Reichsjugendwettkämpfe, which took place for the first time in 1920.

The event was first announced by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, then by the Federal Ministry for Youth, Family, and Health of Students between 8 and 19 years. Since 2001 there are nine Bundesjugendspiele that are advertised as individual competitions in apparatus gymnastics, athletics and swimming.

The National Paralympic Committee Germany and the Deutsche Behindertensportjugend have, in collaboration with the committee for the Bundesjugendspiele and the commission of sports in the KMK, developed a programme for the participation of students with disabilities.

Debate
In July 2015 a petition was started on change.org with the aim of abolishing the Bundesjugendspiele. Within a few days several thousand signatures were collected in favor of the abolition. Reports about this petition triggered a debate about the Bundesjugendspiele. In July 2015 another petition was started on change.org with the aim of maintaining the Bundesjugendspiele. This petition also gained several thousand supporters in a short time.

The proponents of the Bundesjugendspiele argue that the basic movements involved in athletics belong to something that was earlier called the classical canon of education. Exercise is said to be crucial for the development of cognitive abilities and the aspect of performance comparison is an inherent side effect of sports. Furthermore,the fact that others are better in some areas is said to be an important experience. They argue that dealing with failure is also be an important part of learning. Not least, especially within the scope of school education, there is a comparison of individual performance through grading in other subjects, too.

Critics of the Bundesjugendspiele point out that through a conformation of bad performance in written form physically weaker students are demotivated rather than motivated to do sports. The point of the sports is not the competitive character but the physical fitness paired with shared joy.

People criticize the obligatory participation, because in other branches like reading or singing there are no obligatory competitions. With this obligation physically weaker students are put under compulsion and pressure. Moreover, there is no basis for the distinction between the genders just before puberty, because no fundamental differences in performance are present. Beyond that, individual physical requirements are not considered.

Weblinks

 * Handbuch der Bundesjugendspiele
 * Bundesjugendspiele bei netSCHOOL

Museum in the Knights' House
The Museum in the Knights' House is a museum situated in [Offenburg], Baden-Württemberg. In 1900, it was opened as the Museum for Natural History and Ethnology by Carl Frowin Mayer. Since 1959, it has been housed in the former knights' house of the Ortenauer Reichsritterschaft (the Imperial Knighthood of the Ortenau). The museum's collections mainly focus on the themes town history, archeology, geology, natural history and ethnology, hunting trophies, and religious folk art. The city archive is stored in this house, too.

History
The knights' house was built in 1784 as a manor hall for the Reichsschulheiß Franz Georg von Rienecker and exhibits classical elements. Between 1803 and 1806, it housed the directorate of the Imperial Knighthood of the Ortenau, which was previously situated in Kehl. This knighthood was made up of a unity of noble people from the Ortenau, who were directly subordinate to the Empire. In 1806, the knighthood was mediatised, which resulted in the loss of its immediacy and its dissolution. The building became the internal audit office for the administrative division of the Baden region.

After the Baden Revolution of 1848/49 had failed, Offenburg was occupied by Prussian troops and the knights' house served as a barracks for several years. On 1 October 1864, the Baden courthouse for administration or justice moved into the building, which became the district court of Baden from 1879 on. Before the move, the building was altered with a new construction added behind the yard, which included the jury court room. Just before 1900, the attic was converted and expanded.



In 1957, the state built a new courte house in the eastern part of the city, which made it possible for the city of Offenburg to buy the knights' house in August 1958. As early as 1894, district secretary Carl Frowin Mayer (1827-1919) began to assemble municipal collections with the support of the councillors Georg Monsch and Adolf Geck. As part of the presentation he opened a Museum for Natural History and Ethnology in the building of the St. Andreas Hospital in Offenburg, which he was director of until 1917.

In 1917, Ernst Batzer (1882-1938) took over the management. Until his death in 1938, he re-focused the collection moving from natural history, mineralogy and ethnology towards local history. In 1924, the museum was renamed Municipal Collections. In 1959, the collection was placed inside the former knights' house, together with the Family and Youth Department. Five years later, the city archive was added. In 1978, the Family and Youth Department moved into a new building. Renovations took place between 1985 and 1988, and in 1989 the museum was reopened after it had been completely redesigned.

The Building
The building consists of a two-storied house with seventeen window axes. It is structured by a middle-avant-corps, which extends over three floors and is sealed off with a triangular shaped pediment. In the corner of the yard there is an 18th-century tower with corkscrew stairs, which are made of red sandstone, leading up to the attic, although without a spindle.

The Collection
The museum stores collections with a focus on town history, archeology, geology and natural history, ethnology, hunting trophies, and religious folk art. Furthermore, several branch offices belong to the museum:
 * the City Art Gallery, which exhibits contemporary art
 * the Salmen, a memorial to the history of the Baden Revolution and the Jews in Offenburg
 * the Atelier House Vollmer, in memory of Karl Vollmer, a glass artist who died in 1975
 * the lapidarium, with a collection of historical stone monuments, situated in the basement and garden of the Aenne Burda Foundation
 * the Mikveh, a late medieval or early modern Jewish bath
 * the Jewish cemetery situated inside the Waldbach Cemetery

Weblinks

 * Offizielle Website des Museums
 * Ritterhaus / Museum im Ritterhaus on the official homepage of the city of Offenburg
 * Museum im Ritterhaus, Offenburg on landeskunde-online.de