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'I'm embarking on a new railway adventure | 0:00:04 | 0:00:06 | |
'that will take me to the heart of Europe.' | 0:00:06 | 0:00:09 | |
I'll be using this, | 0:00:11 | 0:00:12 | |
my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
of foreign travel for the British tourist. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
'It told travellers where to go, | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
'what to see and how to navigate | 0:00:24 | 0:00:27 | |
'the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the Continent. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:30 | |
'Now, a century later, | 0:00:30 | 0:00:32 | |
'I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:37 | |
'Where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.' | 0:00:37 | 0:00:42 | |
I want to rediscover that lost Europe that, in 1913, | 0:00:42 | 0:00:46 | |
couldn't know that its way of life | 0:00:46 | 0:00:49 | |
would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war. | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
I'm continuing my journey through Germany. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:09 | |
I began in the city of Freiburg, | 0:01:09 | 0:01:11 | |
gateway to the beautiful Black Forest. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:15 | |
From there, I travelled north to Heidelberg. | 0:01:15 | 0:01:19 | |
Today, I'll explore Germany's financial powerhouse, Frankfurt, | 0:01:19 | 0:01:23 | |
before continuing to the university city of Gottingen. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:27 | |
I'll then travel 75 miles to Hanover, where my journey ends. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:32 | |
Along the way, in Frankfurt, I'll get to know Goethe, | 0:01:34 | 0:01:38 | |
the German equivalent of Shakespeare. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:40 | |
Throughout the whole 19th century, | 0:01:41 | 0:01:45 | |
he became something of | 0:01:45 | 0:01:46 | |
an identification mark of German-ness | 0:01:46 | 0:01:50 | |
for the Germans. | 0:01:50 | 0:01:51 | |
I'll get WIND of how early 20th-century innovation | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
shapes German transport today. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:58 | |
Whoa! | 0:01:58 | 0:01:59 | |
Blow me down! | 0:01:59 | 0:02:02 | |
Three, two, one... | 0:02:02 | 0:02:04 | |
I can't wait to be a passenger on that thing. | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
And I'll test drive a state-of-the-art tram. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
Move over, Hanover. | 0:02:14 | 0:02:16 | |
URGENT BEEPING | 0:02:18 | 0:02:20 | |
Oh, sorry. Sorry. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
Today, I'm in Frankfurt. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
Although the city on the River Main | 0:02:29 | 0:02:32 | |
was already a financial centre by 1913, | 0:02:32 | 0:02:35 | |
today's skyline is not something that Edwardians would recognise. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:39 | |
The first skyscraper went up in the 1970s, | 0:02:39 | 0:02:43 | |
and they kept on coming. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:45 | |
The city has been dubbed Mainhattan, after New York. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:49 | |
Frankfurt's banking families, like the Rothschilds, | 0:03:22 | 0:03:25 | |
helped to lay its modern economic foundations | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
in the 18th and 19th centuries. | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
Now this is a world-class financial centre, | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
home to the European Central Bank | 0:03:34 | 0:03:36 | |
and Germany's largest stock exchange, | 0:03:36 | 0:03:38 | |
which moved to this building in 1879. | 0:03:38 | 0:03:41 | |
I'm receiving a behind-the-scenes tour of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange | 0:03:45 | 0:03:49 | |
from spokesman Patrick Kalbhenn. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:51 | |
Hello, Patrick. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:53 | |
Hi, Michael. Nice to welcome you here. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:55 | |
Thank you. The first thing that strikes me is just how quiet it is. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
I see a whole load of people down here, | 0:03:58 | 0:04:01 | |
but there's no sort of commotion, nobody's yelling anything. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:04 | |
-How does it all work? -Well, that's the impression many people have, | 0:04:04 | 0:04:07 | |
when they come here they think that it's very loud here | 0:04:07 | 0:04:10 | |
and people are crying, but that isn't the case any more. | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
We have the floor trading over here | 0:04:12 | 0:04:14 | |
and that is a fully automatic system, | 0:04:14 | 0:04:16 | |
which was introduced in 1997. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
And trading is possible from wherever you are in the world, | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
you only need a computer. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:23 | |
So we have a volume of about six billion euros a day, | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
so that's about 85% of stock-exchange turnover in Germany. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:31 | |
'The Frankfurt stock exchange has come a long way | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
'since the 16th century, | 0:04:35 | 0:04:36 | |
'when business was conducted in the open air. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:39 | |
'The German economy is Europe's largest. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:42 | |
'Its top 30 companies are listed here on the Dax.' | 0:04:42 | 0:04:46 | |
Here on the floor we've got displayed various stocks, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
represented by three letters. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:54 | |
Why are they lighting up from time to time? | 0:04:54 | 0:04:56 | |
Because here we have the biggest German stocks. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:59 | |
If the light is green, then the stock price is rising, | 0:04:59 | 0:05:03 | |
and if it's red then, the stock price is falling. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
I'm investing in lunch, | 0:05:15 | 0:05:17 | |
so I'm making a pit stop at a famous Frankfurt sausage shop | 0:05:17 | 0:05:20 | |
that's been in business since before my guidebook was published. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:24 | |
While I'm in this city, there's one more place that I'm hoping to find | 0:05:26 | 0:05:30 | |
and, according to my book, it's just around the corner. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:33 | |
Bradshaw's tells me that at the Grosse Hirschgraben, number 28, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:43 | |
is the house of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, | 0:05:43 | 0:05:47 | |
where he was born in 1749. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:49 | |
"Interesting rooms, a museum and a library." | 0:05:49 | 0:05:53 | |
Goethe brought German literature to the attention of the world. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:57 | |
He is a sort of German equivalent of Dante, of Voltaire | 0:05:57 | 0:06:01 | |
and of Shakespeare. | 0:06:01 | 0:06:02 | |
-Hello, Anne. -Hello, Michael. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:09 | |
Welcome to the Frankfurt Goethe House. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:12 | |
A wonderful house, a huge house. Not at all what I expected. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:16 | |
'Professor Anne Bohnenkamp-Renken is the director of the Goethe House. | 0:06:20 | 0:06:25 | |
'It was restored to the 18th-century original | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
'after its destruction in World War II. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
'Goethe published over 100 volumes in his lifetime | 0:06:31 | 0:06:34 | |
'and achieved world-wide fame | 0:06:34 | 0:06:36 | |
'throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:39 | |
'Visiting his home would have been | 0:06:39 | 0:06:41 | |
'high on the Edwardian tourist itinerary.' | 0:06:41 | 0:06:44 | |
A wonderful room. The father's library? | 0:06:47 | 0:06:50 | |
Yes, the father's library and the room | 0:06:50 | 0:06:52 | |
where the children got their lessons. | 0:06:52 | 0:06:54 | |
Anne, I've heard it said that Goethe is to the German language | 0:06:55 | 0:07:00 | |
as Shakespeare is to the English language. Would you agree with that? | 0:07:00 | 0:07:03 | |
Yes, I think so, one...could put Goethe in this place. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:07 | |
Goethe's at first poet, | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
Shakespeare was very important for him | 0:07:09 | 0:07:12 | |
to invent himself as a poet. | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
Shakespeare was a great inspiration for Goethe. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:17 | |
He was very fascinated by the, erm... | 0:07:17 | 0:07:21 | |
free and original style of Shakespeare | 0:07:21 | 0:07:23 | |
in comparison to the French classicism. | 0:07:23 | 0:07:25 | |
And he said it was like someone must feel who has been blind | 0:07:25 | 0:07:30 | |
all his life and then suddenly learns to see the world, | 0:07:30 | 0:07:34 | |
and it was like this for him reading Shakespeare. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:37 | |
'As well as being influenced by Shakespeare's realism, | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
'Goethe wrote in German rather than French, | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
'which was the language of the elite. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
'He was the first German poet to be accessible to the masses.' | 0:07:48 | 0:07:52 | |
As the Germans during the 19th century | 0:07:54 | 0:07:56 | |
begin to develop, er, more self-awareness | 0:07:56 | 0:07:59 | |
and eventually develop a political German unity, | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
do you think that what Goethe had done for the German language | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
was important in that process? | 0:08:06 | 0:08:08 | |
Goethe was putting in words | 0:08:08 | 0:08:09 | |
something which was in the air of his time. | 0:08:09 | 0:08:12 | |
Goethe became important as a poet for...for the nation building | 0:08:12 | 0:08:18 | |
which took place in the 19th century | 0:08:18 | 0:08:20 | |
and he of course was one of the most important poets in German language. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
Throughout the whole 19th century, he became something of an | 0:08:25 | 0:08:31 | |
identification mark of German-ness for the Germans later on, yes. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:36 | |
'Goethe became a national cultural icon and a unifying figure. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
'It's a role that he still occupies, over 200 years later.' | 0:08:44 | 0:08:48 | |
Morning. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:04 | |
Thank you very much indeed. Thank you. Bye-bye. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:07 | |
I'm up bright and early to catch my train from Frankfurt. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
I'm travelling almost 150 miles north towards my next stop. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:23 | |
TRAIN ANNOUNCEMENT IN GERMAN | 0:09:35 | 0:09:37 | |
My next stop will be Gottingen, which Bradshaw's tells me | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
is "an old university town having picturesque streets. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:49 | |
"Tablets indicate houses where | 0:09:49 | 0:09:51 | |
"learned men associated with the university lived." | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
That list of men was growing. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:58 | |
In the years before the publication of my guidebook, | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
there had been four Nobel Prize winners. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
This was or was to be | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
the university of Max Planck, Max Born, Julius Robert Oppenheimer, | 0:10:06 | 0:10:11 | |
men whose contribution to science would change Germany | 0:10:11 | 0:10:15 | |
and indeed the world. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:16 | |
Around the time that my guidebook was published, | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
Germany was leading the way in science and technology. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
Inventions like aspirin and the diesel engine, | 0:10:32 | 0:10:36 | |
along with concepts such as quantum theory, | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
meant re-evaluating our human capabilities | 0:10:39 | 0:10:42 | |
and our position in the universe. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:45 | |
Gottingen University, founded in the early 18th century, | 0:10:47 | 0:10:51 | |
was synonymous with innovation by the late 19th. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
It's a legacy that the town is still proud to display. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:59 | |
The fountain of the Goose Girl is festooned with balloons and flowers | 0:11:03 | 0:11:08 | |
that have been left by exuberant students. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:10 | |
Indeed, when they receive their doctorates, | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
they have the custom of climbing up and kissing the girl's face. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
She's reputedly one of the most kissed girls in Germany. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:20 | |
In the 19th century, the students here began to concern themselves | 0:11:24 | 0:11:28 | |
with more than academia, | 0:11:28 | 0:11:30 | |
as their country was gripped in turn by war, revolution | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
and a growing nationalistic fervour. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:36 | |
I've arranged to meet up with Dr Marian Fussel | 0:11:38 | 0:11:40 | |
from the university. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:42 | |
Oh, hello, Michael. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:44 | |
-Hello, Marian. -Nice to see you. -Well met. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
It's very good to see you. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:49 | |
-I wanted to talk to you about the Burschenschaften. -Oh, yeah. | 0:11:49 | 0:11:53 | |
What is a Burschenschaften? | 0:11:53 | 0:11:55 | |
A Burschenschaften is a student organisation, | 0:11:55 | 0:11:57 | |
but they are also lifetime organisations. | 0:11:57 | 0:11:59 | |
You join for a lifetime and you don't stop | 0:11:59 | 0:12:02 | |
being a member of that corporation after you're studying, | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
and they became in the 19th century very politicised organisations | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
striving for German unification. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:11 | |
'The first groups, formed in 1815, attracted thousands of members. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:20 | |
After unification was achieved in 1871, | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
fraternities adopted distinctive military-style clothing | 0:12:23 | 0:12:27 | |
and behaved so badly that the university | 0:12:27 | 0:12:31 | |
had to establish its own prison. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:33 | |
Marian, this is the most extraordinary place. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
Who was put in these cells? | 0:12:46 | 0:12:49 | |
The deviant students, but mostly the Burschenschaft students left all | 0:12:49 | 0:12:54 | |
this graffiti around here, so we can still have the traces who was here, | 0:12:54 | 0:12:58 | |
imprisoned for damaging public lights, to drinking too much, | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
having duels, or committing crimes against public order. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
So what, nowadays, we would call laddish behaviour | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
was a big part of the Burschenschaften. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
Yes, it was part of their identity to, in a way, misbehave. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
A duelling scar was proof of a fraternity member's honour. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:22 | |
The goal was to cut the opponent on the left side of the face, | 0:13:22 | 0:13:26 | |
but often duellers mis-aimed. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:28 | |
Even then, the loss of a nose or another facial disfigurement | 0:13:28 | 0:13:32 | |
was worn with pride. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:33 | |
It seems that there was a lot of this going on | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
at the time of my guide book. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:41 | |
We've got 1905, 1911, 1913, | 0:13:41 | 0:13:46 | |
the very year of my guidebook. | 0:13:46 | 0:13:49 | |
What role do you think the Burschenschaften played | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
in the development of German nationalism? | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
Oh, I think without the Burschenschaften, | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
the culture of German nationalism would not have been the same. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:00 | |
They played a core role, for example, in mobilising the youth, | 0:14:00 | 0:14:04 | |
the students, the younger people and getting them into | 0:14:04 | 0:14:08 | |
this national movement, or the national spirit, in a way. | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
Really showing your commitment to the nation by your behaviour, | 0:14:11 | 0:14:14 | |
by your language, by your clothing and by the practices. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:18 | |
Over 100 years ago, here at Gottingen University, | 0:14:24 | 0:14:28 | |
a professor opened a centre that was to change forever the way we travel. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:34 | |
I'm at the Gottingen Aerospace test centre | 0:14:40 | 0:14:43 | |
to meet Jens Wucherpfennig. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
So, I'm guessing that this is a wind tunnel, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:51 | |
but not a new one, I think. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:53 | |
-This would be a piece of history, would it? -Yes, that's right. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
This wind tunnel made this facility famous all over the world. | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
The Gottingen-type wind tunnel was founded and invented here | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
and this is the cradle of modern aerodynamics, | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
where, for the first time in the world, in 1907, the state-run | 0:15:07 | 0:15:10 | |
research facility for aerospace research was founded. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:14 | |
Now, 1907 is incredibly early, | 0:15:14 | 0:15:17 | |
because the Wright brothers had only flown in 1903, | 0:15:17 | 0:15:21 | |
-and this was established just four years later. -Yes, that's right. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
Professor Ludwig Prandtl was the first to use science | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
to observe air flow. | 0:15:27 | 0:15:29 | |
With the wind tunnel, he showed how air moves | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
around different shapes | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
and how flaps on an aircraft wing can be adjusted to affect flight. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:38 | |
Today, Prandtl is considered to be the father of aerodynamics. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:42 | |
When the first people tried to build airplanes, | 0:15:44 | 0:15:47 | |
they just did it by trial and error. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:49 | |
They had an idea, built it and either it flew or it crashed. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:53 | |
And Ludwig Prandtl was the man who made aerodynamics a science, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:57 | |
so you can predict what kind of airplane will fly | 0:15:57 | 0:16:01 | |
and how it will fly. | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
For over 100 years, wind tunnels have been used to test air flow, | 0:16:03 | 0:16:08 | |
noise and turbulence not just in planes, but trains and cars. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:13 | |
The system is also used to improve the performance of athletes. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:17 | |
So, you're blowing air between these two points, are you? | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
Yes, that's right. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:21 | |
What speed is that running at? | 0:16:21 | 0:16:23 | |
At the moment, it's 25 metres per second. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:25 | |
That sounds quite rough. Would it be safe for me to stand in there? | 0:16:25 | 0:16:29 | |
Safe, yes, but tough for you. | 0:16:29 | 0:16:30 | |
I'm going to give it a go. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:34 | |
Whoa! | 0:16:34 | 0:16:36 | |
Whoa! Blow me down! | 0:16:38 | 0:16:41 | |
Wow. What is this facility, Jens? | 0:16:49 | 0:16:51 | |
This is a special track where trains, models of trains, | 0:16:51 | 0:16:56 | |
are fired with velocities up to 360km an hour. | 0:16:56 | 0:17:02 | |
Daniela, how very good to see you. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
Dr Daniela Heiner is part of the team | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
developing and testing new high-speed trains. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:11 | |
This is a model, really, of the train | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
that I probably arrived today in Gottingen. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
Yes, exactly. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:18 | |
And what about this one behind? | 0:17:18 | 0:17:22 | |
-So, this is something new? -Yes. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:24 | |
So, we have the next generation train and it's fast, | 0:17:24 | 0:17:28 | |
it will travel with about 400km per hour. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:32 | |
Goodness gracious. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:33 | |
The team experiments with different shapes to see how | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
these 250-mile-per-hour trains will perform on the track. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:45 | |
-So this is the catapult. -Yes. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:47 | |
Yes, it is. So, Michael, would you, please, pull the rope to prepare | 0:17:47 | 0:17:51 | |
-this side of the catapult and I go and prepare the other one? -OK. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:55 | |
Jens, what was it that gave you the idea of having a catapult? | 0:17:59 | 0:18:04 | |
Yes, with this facility we had the task to accelerate train models | 0:18:04 | 0:18:08 | |
very, very fast in a short moment of time, | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
and our scientists got inspired by Roman catapults | 0:18:11 | 0:18:16 | |
and we kind of transformed this idea | 0:18:16 | 0:18:21 | |
to fire models of trains instead of arrows, | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
-and that's what we're doing here. -A 2,000-year-old of technology. | 0:18:25 | 0:18:29 | |
Yes, definitely, and it's working to improve the trains of the future. | 0:18:29 | 0:18:33 | |
Firing the models at high speeds allows the team to see how | 0:18:37 | 0:18:41 | |
trains will cope with crosswinds and tunnel pressure. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:45 | |
So, three, two, one. | 0:18:48 | 0:18:51 | |
MICHAEL LAUGHS | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
I can't wait to be a passenger on that thing. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:01 | |
The new trains aren't due for release for several years yet, | 0:19:13 | 0:19:17 | |
so I'm catching the existing high-speed | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
Intercity-Express train north, | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
towards the final stop of my journey. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:24 | |
-May I see your ticket, please? -Here we are. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:39 | |
-Yes, thank you, sir. -Hanover. -To Hanover. | 0:19:39 | 0:19:43 | |
-Thanks a lot, sir. -Thank you. -Have a pleasant journey. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
-Thank you. Bye-bye. -Bye-bye. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:51 | |
Hanover was one of Germany's main manufacturing cities during | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
the 19th century and became a centre for arms production | 0:20:16 | 0:20:20 | |
during the Second World War. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
As a result, it was largely destroyed by Allied bombs. | 0:20:23 | 0:20:29 | |
It's been rebuilt, and in its history, | 0:20:29 | 0:20:33 | |
it has experienced several renewals. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:35 | |
"Hanover," says Bradshaw's, "is situated on the River Leine," | 0:20:41 | 0:20:44 | |
and I learn that it is the capital of a Prussian province. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:47 | |
This is the Rathaus, | 0:20:47 | 0:20:49 | |
which was brand-new at the time of my Bradshaw's guide, | 0:20:49 | 0:20:53 | |
and just imagine the success and the pride of this manufacturing city | 0:20:53 | 0:20:59 | |
that lay behind the creation of such a palatial city hall. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:03 | |
From the mid-19th century, Hanover's economy took off | 0:21:10 | 0:21:14 | |
and in the four decades before my guide book, | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
the population more than tripled. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:18 | |
When British tourists came here in 1913, they discovered a city | 0:21:23 | 0:21:27 | |
flexing serious economic muscle, | 0:21:27 | 0:21:29 | |
visible in its streets and architecture. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
Katrin Baumgarten is an expert on the town hall's history. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:42 | |
Katrin, this is a magnificent city hall. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:45 | |
Hanover must have been a great city by the end of the 19th century. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:50 | |
Yes, this is true. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:51 | |
In the second half of the 19th century, a lot of companies | 0:21:51 | 0:21:56 | |
were founded in Hanover, | 0:21:56 | 0:21:58 | |
people moved from the countryside to the city, so the population | 0:21:58 | 0:22:03 | |
was growing, the tax was growing as well, so they decided to build | 0:22:03 | 0:22:09 | |
this really huge and impressive city hall | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
to show the power of the people. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
The mayor, Heinrich Tramm, | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
decided to pour Hanover's new-found wealth into building | 0:22:21 | 0:22:25 | |
a grand northern hub. | 0:22:25 | 0:22:27 | |
By 1913, the city was of such importance | 0:22:29 | 0:22:31 | |
that the Kaiser came to open the town hall. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:35 | |
Even my great-grandmother, she was there, | 0:22:37 | 0:22:40 | |
she was about 13 or 14 years old. | 0:22:40 | 0:22:43 | |
Nearly all schoolchildren got the day off | 0:22:43 | 0:22:47 | |
to stand in the streets and wave to the emperor. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
It impressed her, really, a lot, she was telling the story for decades. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:56 | |
It wasn't just the building's grand facades | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
that were meant to show off the city's success. | 0:22:59 | 0:23:04 | |
A lift with a sloping floor. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:06 | |
We've got a glass roof as well | 0:23:10 | 0:23:12 | |
and I can see the weirdest thing, which is a curved lift shaft. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:17 | |
The addition of Europe's only curved elevator | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
was designed to showcase the very latest | 0:23:20 | 0:23:23 | |
in Germany's engineering prowess. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:25 | |
And such an odd feeling as the lift tips to one side | 0:23:25 | 0:23:30 | |
and now, of course, the floor is straight again. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:34 | |
Amazing - early 20th century German technology. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:41 | |
When he came to open the city hall, | 0:23:50 | 0:23:52 | |
Kaiser Wilhelm II did not ascend the dome to enjoy | 0:23:52 | 0:23:56 | |
this magnificent view. | 0:23:56 | 0:23:57 | |
In that respect, I am luckier than an emperor. | 0:23:57 | 0:24:01 | |
50 years before the grand town hall was opened, | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
the kingdom of Hanover had been annexed by Prussia. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:20 | |
A new era began of manufacturing, an industry that lasts to this day. | 0:24:20 | 0:24:26 | |
As the city grew, it developed a modern network of trams, | 0:24:26 | 0:24:29 | |
which is still in use. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:31 | |
-Hello, Udo. -Hello, Michael. Welcome. -Thank you very much. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:43 | |
I'm meeting Udo Iwannek from Uestra, | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
the company which runs the tram system. | 0:24:47 | 0:24:49 | |
Well, Udo, this is a very, very smart new tram. | 0:24:56 | 0:25:00 | |
What are the new features? | 0:25:00 | 0:25:01 | |
It has a lot of new features. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:03 | |
We cover kinetic energy like they do in Formula 1. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
When the tram brakes, then it produces electricity, | 0:25:07 | 0:25:10 | |
it turns into a generator, and we put this energy | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
into the wiring, by this we save up to 50% energy. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:17 | |
Made in Germany, I assume. | 0:25:17 | 0:25:19 | |
Yeah, it's... Well, it's an example of German engineering. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:23 | |
Well, I can't pass up the chance to drive the Formula 1-inspired tram | 0:25:23 | 0:25:28 | |
on its test track. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:30 | |
-Hello, Frank. -Hello, Michael. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
-Please, take a seat. -Thank you very much. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:33 | |
-I'll put my Bradshaw there. -OK. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:38 | |
OK. We have to close the doors, please. | 0:25:38 | 0:25:40 | |
-Like that? -Yeah. -BELL CHIMES | 0:25:40 | 0:25:42 | |
-Aha! Let's ring the bell. -BELL RINGS | 0:25:42 | 0:25:46 | |
Stand clear, everybody. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:48 | |
Lovely smooth ride, Frank. | 0:25:52 | 0:25:55 | |
A little faster, please. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:57 | |
Oh, I didn't expect that, we turned left! | 0:26:02 | 0:26:05 | |
And it feels good. | 0:26:08 | 0:26:10 | |
I'm really enjoying this, Frank. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:12 | |
A little bit of acceleration. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:19 | |
Into another curve. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
A nice straight. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:26 | |
BELL RINGS | 0:26:26 | 0:26:28 | |
I have control of a tram, move over, Hanover. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:35 | |
BELL RINGS | 0:26:35 | 0:26:36 | |
Trams still travel at 15km per hour through the city - | 0:26:36 | 0:26:40 | |
the same speed as 100 years ago. | 0:26:40 | 0:26:43 | |
Into the bend. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:49 | |
Coming around towards the station. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
German technology - smooth and green. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:04 | |
ALARM BLARES | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
-Oh, sorry, Frank. Oh, sorry, everybody. -OK? | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
200 years ago, amongst the many German states | 0:27:29 | 0:27:32 | |
that had been overrun by the French emperor Napoleon | 0:27:32 | 0:27:35 | |
and whose people were proud to speak the language of Goethe, | 0:27:35 | 0:27:39 | |
there arose the idea of creating a nation. | 0:27:39 | 0:27:43 | |
It drew inspiration from the landscape | 0:27:43 | 0:27:46 | |
and from the fairy tales gathered in the forests. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:49 | |
By 1913, Germany was a great power, with industry surging ahead, | 0:27:49 | 0:27:55 | |
thanks, not least, to the breakthroughs made by scientists | 0:27:55 | 0:27:59 | |
at Gottingen University. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:01 | |
A modern version of Bradshaw's would point to this country's lead | 0:28:01 | 0:28:06 | |
in technology and, | 0:28:06 | 0:28:08 | |
for this traveller at least, its excellence, quality | 0:28:08 | 0:28:12 | |
and reliability would provide | 0:28:12 | 0:28:14 | |
an up-to-date definition of German-ness. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:17 |