The ceremonial Landesvater is a German college custom developed in the 18th century, where student caps are pierced with the blade of a sword, during the recital of a particular song. The song that accompanies this event is also called 'Landesvater'. The word Landesvater is also used as a name for the prime ministers of the individual German states, or Länder.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was common among students to pierce their hats in order to show their love for a girl. Later, the custom changed insomuch as it symbolised friendship between two students who henceforth said Du (brother) to each other. A further step in the development of this custom transferred the symbolic expression of friendship to their larger community. After 1770, academic orders were founded, following the example of the Freemasons. They used the rite in order to express their loyalty to their respective prince or the emperor. The original version of the 'Landesvater' that is still used today, with modified lyrics, hence praises Emperor Joseph II. The pierced parts of the caps are often embroidered with cloth in the form of an oak leaf. [1]
The ceremony is accompanied by the song Alles schweige, jeder neige / Ernsten Tönen nun sein Ohr, which was written by August Niemann in 1782. Whereas Niemann's version praises Emperor Joseph II, the lyrics of the 'Landesvater' were changed in the 19th century, and have since then praised Germany, instead of a single monarch. [2] The modern version emanates from Friedrich Silcher (1823).
Niemann's original 18th century lyrics (excerpts) were as follows: [3]
original German | translated English |
---|---|
Vorsänger | Precentor |
Chor | Chorus |
(...) | (...) |
Der Vorsänger, der nächste Sänger | The precentor, the one sitting next |
Heil dem Bande, | Hail to the ribbon, |
(...) | (...) |
Joseph lebe! | Joseph may live! |
Nun eine Pause von einigen Minuten, | A pause of several minutes. Then |
Heil, Kaiser Joseph, Heil! | Hail to thee, Emperor Joseph, hail! |
(...) | (...) |
Wir fühlen hohen MutH | We feel proud courage |
Bleibt, Deutsche, brav und gut! | Germans, remain brave and good! |
Er fühlt nicht deutschen MutH, | He does not feel German courage |
(...) | (...) |
The deposition was a semi-official initiation ritual which was common at universities throughout Europe from the Middle Ages until the 18th century. The ritual was introduced at German universities in the late 15th century, probably from the influential University of Paris. Models may have included the Freisprechung ritual in artisan guilds, where apprentices were admitted to the status of journeymen.
Reinhard Jirgl is a German writer.
Moditten was first a suburb of and then a quarter of Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Tsentralny District in Kaliningrad, Russia.
Chaikovskoye is part of the Moskovsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. It was formerly known by its German language name Kalgen as first a suburb of and then a quarter of Königsberg, Germany.
Liep was first a suburb of and then a quarter of Königsberg, Germany, located east of the city center. Its territory is now part of the Leningradsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia.
Hardershof was a suburban estate and then a quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Tsentralny District of Kaliningrad, Russia.
Corps Palatia is a fencing fraternity belonging to the Kösener Senioren-Convents-Verband, the oldest association of German and Austrian student corporations. It unites students of Munich's universities, most notably Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich and the Technical University of Munich. Palatia's members are known as Pfälzer, which is derived from the Bavarian region of Upper Palatinate.
Altstadt Gymnasium was a German secondary school in the Altstadt quarter of Königsberg, Germany.
Kneiphof Gymnasium was a gymnasium in the Kneiphof quarter of Königsberg, Germany.
Löbenicht Realgymnasium was a gymnasium in the Löbenicht quarter of Königsberg, Germany.
The Wilhelmsgymnasium, originally the Königliches Wilhelms-Gymnasium, was a gymnasium in the Tragheim quarter of Königsberg, Germany.
The Kunstakademie Königsberg was a visual arts school in Königsberg, Germany. It focused on genre works, landscape art, and marine art, especially of East Prussia, as well as sculpture and architecture. It regularly consisted of 8 teachers and 40–50 students.
The Internationaler Sekttag, Weltsekttag or Sekttag is celebrated on 9 April, occasionally also upon other days, mainly amongst German-speaking students and members of German Student Corps and Studentenverbindungen in general.
The Bell tower in Königsberg was a bell tower of the Schlosskirche (Königsberg). After being largely destroyed in World War II by Allied Forces and then annexed by the Soviet Union thereafter, the city was renamed Kaliningrad, and few traces of the former Königsberg remain today. As part of Königsberg Castle, the bell tower of the Schlosskirche (Königsberg) was devastated by the 1944 Bombing of Königsberg and 1945 Battle of Königsberg during World War II. The remnants were demolished in 1968, by which time the city was known as Kaliningrad.
Dieter Gutknecht is a German musicologist and former University music director.
The war guilt question is the public debate that took place in Germany for the most part during the Weimar Republic, to establish Germany's share of responsibility in the causes of the First World War. Structured in several phases, and largely determined by the impact of the Treaty of Versailles and the attitude of the victorious Allies, this debate also took place in other countries involved in the conflict, such as in the French Third Republic and the United Kingdom.
Matthias Stickler is a German historian.
Herbert Schwarzwälder was a German historian. With his decades of work and his extensive publications, he has had a major influence on the research and communication of the History of the city of Bremen.
Edgar Hartwig is an East German historian. In the GDR he taught scientific socialism at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar until 1989 and, within the framework of the "Arbeitsgruppe zur Geschichte der bürgerlichen Parteien" at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, he presented the history of the Pan-German League and the German Agrarian League.
Gottlieb Friedrich Adolf Olpp was a German missionary and tropical medicine doctor, accredited with spreading Traditional Chinese Medicine and aiding the development of sinology in Germany and the West in early 20th century. As a medical missionary from the Rhenish Missionary Society from 1898 to 1907 in Dongguan, Guangdong Province of China, he conducted extensive research on local diseases and healing practices, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and wrote extensively throughout his life for publication in Germany on the topic of tropical medicine, theology and missionary work. After his return to Germany, he was appointed to be the director of the German Institute of Medical Missionary, a director of the Tübingen Convalescent Homes and associate professor of Tropical Medicine at the University of Tübingen. A street in Tübingen is named in his honor.