Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Historical Marburg's Most Interesting People.

Recently I visited the medieval German city, Marburg. Towering the city, is Marburg Castle which houses a fabulous local history museum where art and history buffs from all over the world flock to see these beautifully constructed portraits of Marburg's most interesting people. (click to enlarge)

Marion Zwiebel (1790 - 1840): The town's most enthralling raconteur. People would flock to hear her* stories about her days fishing the Lahn for prize winning pike.
Bildnis Auguste Von Knoblauch (1750 - 1810): A stunner in her youth (look here, cor!), Von Knoblauch gave so much to the city's fledgling fashion industry, organising the first of many more biennial Modellierung Marburg Festivals.
Kylie Von Minogue III (1802 - 1840): Minogue was one Marburg's most promising young tennis stars until she tore her hammy during the grand final junior pennant stoush against traditional rivals Butzbach. People still talk about her thundering backhand.
Countess Cristina Apfel Flugsteig (1790 - ): Known mostly for her zesty performances in Married With Children and Anchorman, Apfel Flugsteig attributes her longevity to a stable diet of carrots, gruel and horse meat.
Baroness Angelina Pflaume (1802 - 1829): Renowned flautist and heiress to the Pflaume fortune. Threw it all away to join the three piece afrobeat group Afrikanish Rhythmus - the band that helped made most of Germany rethink their attitudes to the African diaspora.
Carly and Paul Simonich (1802 - unknown): Brother and sister known all over Hesse for their cocksure japery and zany pranks. Infamous for burning down the local haberdashery. Peter Weir has been connected to a film adaption of John Steinbeck's book about the incident, "Jene Verrückten Kids"  
Professor Peter Hanswurst (1790 - 1870): One of the main players behind Marburg's short love affair with Romanticism, Hanswurst was best known for his entertaining lectures. Vilified in later life for backing the Prussians with a series of awkwardly worded letters to the editor of a local gentleman's picture magazine.
Rear Admiral Davide Sylvian (1795 - 1870): One of Otto Van Bismark's closest confidants, Rear Admiral Davide Sylvian (friends called him 'RADS'), hung up his battle boots soon after the famous victory at Königgrätz to grow the whitest spargel in the land.
Matthias Grammp (1802 - 1888), Gloria Grammp (1802 - 1855) & Nanette Grammp (1820 - 1860): Matthias and Gloria were Marburg's power couple. Matthias ran the local abattoir while Gloria edited all three of the city's major newspapers. Their child, Nannette, invented the telephone 20 years before Bell and Edison 'just came up with the idea'. 

* there's some doubt.