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Happy #DeutscherDonnerstag! This is the Neuschwans

Happy #DeutscherDonnerstag! This is the Neuschwanstein Castle located in Schwangau, Germany. The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1868 as a retreat and in honor of Richard Wagner. This is the castle that inspired the looks for Disney Princess castles like Cinderella. The surrounding wintery forests make this place look magical.
The castle is open to the public and is one of the most visited castles in the world! 👸

#deutscherdonnerstag #gahcqc
#Neuschwanstein #castle #palace #disney #germany #landscape #deutschland #Schwangau

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is die Frühlingslust.

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is die Frühlingslust. It means wanting or yearning for Spring. Do you have Frühlingslust? 🌷

#gahcqc #Frühlingslust #spring #lesson #german #seasons #vocabulary #flowers

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German Jugends

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German Jugendstil artist Hans Christiansen. He was a main contributor to the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) movement. He studied at the school of applied arts in Munich, he taught at a technical college in Hamburg, as well as working as a freelance decorative painter.
In 1896 he moved to Pairs to study at the “Academie Julian” for three years. After that, he joined the Darmstadt artists’ colony. There he designed furniture, ceramics, tapestries, stained glass, and graphic posters. The Darmstadt Artists' Colony in the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site as of 2021.
After a couple years he settled in Paris and worked as a painter. In 1911 he moved and taught at the School of Applied Arts in Wiesbaden.
In 1933, his work was banned by the Nazi Party because Christiansen's wife was Jewish. His work was mostly forgotten until after his death in 1945.

Our Jugendstil exhibition closes soon! Make sure to stop by before it's gone!

#popKulturmondays #gahcqc #german #hanschristiansen #deutschland #jugendstil #darmstadt #mathildenhöhe #art #museumfromhome #artnouveau

Our gorgeous exhibition Jugendstil: Art for All cl

Our gorgeous exhibition Jugendstil: Art for All closes soon! Make sure to come and check out the exhibition with intricate detail and magnificent works in the Art Nouveau style.

The Blautopf (blue pot) is a natural spring locate

The Blautopf (blue pot) is a natural spring located in Blaubeuren, Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany. It is stunningly blue in color when the sunlight reflects off the water. This is caused by limestone particles in the water.
There are many legends and folk tales that refer to the Blautopf. Its characteristic color was explained by the account that every day someone would pour a vat of ink into the Blautopf. Another myth stated that every time someone tried to measure the Blautopf's depth with a leaden sounding line, a water nix stole the sounding line. Therefore, it was not possible to determine the depth of the Blautopf.

#deutscherdonnerstag #gahcqc
#blautopf #lake #spring #Blaubeuren #germany #water #legend #deutschland

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German science

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German science-fiction drama Metropolis. Metroplois was released #onthisday in 1927. This film was directed by Fritz Lang and was based off the novel of the same name written by Thea von Harbou. She and Lang worked together on the film and it is considered a pioneering film, being among the first feature-length science-fiction movies.
The film was made in Germany during the Weimar period. Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the city master. The film's message is encompassed in the final inter-title: "The Mediator Between the Head and the Hands Must Be the Heart".

#popKulturmondays #gahcqc #german #fritzlang #deutschland #film #metropolis #theavonharbou #movie #museumfromhome

Know any kiddos who love to read? Join our FREE re

Know any kiddos who love to read? Join our FREE reading club which meets the 2nd Sunday of each month. The German American Heritage Center (GAHC), in partnership with the Bi-State Literacy Council and the Davenport Public Library, is hosting a reading club for students ages 10-14. Because we know what a monumental impact immigrants have had, and continue to have on this community, and throughout the United States, the stories of immigrants, refugees and their families will be the focus of our club. Each month a selection will be offered on loan in physical copy. E-reader and audiobooks will also be available for students who may prefer to utilize those options.
On the second Sunday of each month, students will be asked to meet- in person or via Zoom- to discuss that month’s selection, hear the perspective of others and socialize with their peers. Meetings will last 1.5 hours and a light breakfast will be served. Discussions will be moderated by GAHC staff.
For more info visit our website: https://gahc.org/young-adult-reading-club/

Today, January 6th, is the Feast of the Epiphany.

Today, January 6th, is the Feast of the Epiphany. In Christianity, this marks the day when the Magi visited Jesus after he was born and brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
In Germany, groups of young people called, Sternsinger go from door to door and sing traditional songs. German Lutherans often happily emphasize that the Bible never specifies that the Weisen (Magi) were men, or that there were three.
A tradition of this holiday is to eat Three Kings cake or Dreikönigskuchen, which is soft and fluffy. A proper Three Kings Cake always has a little king figure hidden inside, or if there is no little king available some use an almond or hazelnut instead. Whomever gets the piece with the prize inside becomes "king" or "queen" for the day. 👑

#deutscherdonnerstag #gahcqc
#Dreikönigskuchen #epiphany #threekings #tradition #germany #austria #switzerland #cake

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is Hamsterkäufe. Liter

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is Hamsterkäufe. Literally it means "hamster purchases." It is used when talking about stockpiling supplies or panic-buying like a hamster stuffing its cheeks! 🐹
#gahcqc #Hamsterkäufe #hamster #lesson #german #stock #vocabulary #panicbuying

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German opera s

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German opera singer, Henriette Sontag. She was born #onthisday January 3rd, 1806. She was internationally renowned and traveled to many countries in Europe and North America. She was born in Koblenz, Germany into a family of performers. Her parents and her brother were actors and her sister was also an opera singer.

She began singing at a very young age and by 18, she was invited to be the soprano soloist in the first performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Missa Solemnis. She became extremely popular and traveled Europe. In 1852, she toured America and in 1854 she was performing in Mexico City. Unfortunately, she contracted cholera and died on June 17th, 1854 at the age of 48. She is buried at St. Marienthal Abbey in Ostritz, Saxony, Germany, where her sister was a nun.

#popKulturmondays #gahcqc #german #henriettesontag #deutschland #opera #sining #beethoven #music #museumfromhome

Bleigießen, or lead pouring, is a New Year's trad

Bleigießen, or lead pouring, is a New Year's tradition in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other countries. It is meant to predict the future for the coming year. Traditionally, small portions of lead are melted over a candle or flame and then the liquid is poured into water. The liquid metal hardens into various shapes, and the shapes are interpreted based on the resemblance to various animals, structures, objects, etc. Due to the toxic nature of lead, it is also common to use alternative materials like tin or wax. 🕯

#deutscherdonnerstag #gahcqc
#Bleigießen #molybdomancy #newyears #tradition #germany #austria #switzerland #leadpouring

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is Rückreiseverkehr. I

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is Rückreiseverkehr. It is used when talking about the increase in homeward bound traffic at end of the holidays. 🚙🚗🚕
#gahcqc #Rückreiseverkehr #traffic #lesson #german #holiday #vocabulary

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German compose

Today's #popKulturMonday highlights German composer and record producer Hans Zimmer. He was born in Frankfurt, West Germany in 1957. His family is Jewish and his mother survived World War II because she escaped Germany in 1939 and fled to England.
His mother was a musician but Zimmer never had any formal music training besides 2 weeks of piano lessons—he is primarily self-taught. He has composed music for over 150 films including The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, and Dune. He has received many awards including, four Grammy Awards, three Classical BRIT Awards, two Golden Globes, and an Academy Award.
He now lives in the United States and is the head of the film music division at DreamWorks studios. 🎵
#popKulturmondays #gahcqc #german #hanszimmer #deutschland #composer #filmscore #lionking #dune #music #museumfromhome

We will be closed December 24th-26th and December

We will be closed December 24th-26th and December 31st- January 1st. Schöne Feiertage!

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tr

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. The origins of Christmas trees appear to be rooted in present-day Germany during the Middle Ages.

In 1419, a guild in Freiburg put up a tree decorated with apples, flour-paste wafers, tinsel and gingerbread. In “Paradise Plays” that were performed to celebrate the feast day of Adam and Eve, which fell on Christmas Eve, a tree of knowledge was represented by an evergreen fir with apples tied to its branches. There is documentation of trees decorated with wool thread, straw, apples, nuts and pretzels. The “first decorated indoor tree” was recorded in 1605, in Strasbourg, decorated with roses, apples, wafers and other sweets.
What do you put on your Christmas tree? 🎄
#deutscherdonnerstag #gahcqc #christmas #weihnachten #german #tree #christmas #christmastree #Weihnachtsbaum #museumfromhome

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is schlittschulaufen. I

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is schlittschulaufen. It literally means "slippery shoe running."
Ice skating sounds graceful, so if you're not very good at it, maybe "schlittschulaufen" is more accurate! ❄️⛸
#gahcqc #schlittschuhlaufen #iceskating #lesson #german #winter #vocabulary

Today's #popKulturMonday is Grimms' Fairy Tales. T

Today's #popKulturMonday is Grimms' Fairy Tales. The Brothers Grimm published their collection of Fairy Tales #OnThisDay in 1812. The first edition contained 86 stories and was called, "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" (Children's and Household Tales). The first edition was highly criticized because it was not suitable for children despite the title. The stories contained certain subject matter, violence, and even sexual references that were not appropriate for children. Some of the stories in this edition include, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Rumpelstiltskin.
There are many Disney adaptations of The Brothers Grimm stories, but they have been adjusted so that they are child-friendly.
What's your favorite Grimms' story?

(#popKulturmondays #gahcqc #german #grimmsfairytales #deutschland #brothersgrimm #museumfromhome

Stop by the GAHC this weekend to see our last grou

Stop by the GAHC this weekend to see our last group of pop-up vendors! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we will have local artists in our lobby. Shop their handmade goods as well as our authentic German ornaments and treats!
We're open 10-4 on Friday and Saturday and 12-4 on Sunday.
#gahcqc #shopsmall #localartists #davenport #keepitqc #german #QC

Today's #DeutscherDonnerstag, highlights Studio Ba

Today's #DeutscherDonnerstag, highlights Studio Babelsberg. Founded in 1912, it is the oldest film-studio in the world. It is located in Potsdam, Germany, outside of Berlin. They describe themselves as "a professional production partner, production service provider and one-stop shop for German and international filmmakers." With a singular range of services in Germany, the studio covers all phases and areas of film production in one facility.
Some notable films made at Studio Bablesberg include, Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel. More recent productions include V for Vendetta and Captain America: Civil War.

#gahcqc #babelsberg #film #potsdam #berlin #studio #deutschland #fritzlang #german #germanfilm

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is der Erholungsbedarf.

The #GermanLessonOfTheWeek is der Erholungsbedarf. It means a "need for relaxation" It is used when someone is needing relaxation or a vacation.
"Ich brauche einen Urlaub, weil ich Erholungsbedarf habe."
(I must take a vacation because I need relaxation).
#gahcqc #erholungsbedarf #relax #lesson #german #vacation

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