Welcome back! We’re excited to continue our series of travel tips to help the end of your summer not feel like the end of fun.

Last week we talked about the Pfalzgrafentstein, a castle in the middle of the Rhine near the town of Kaub. Today we’re talking about another attraction Kaub has to offer that makes it a destination worth going to.

 

The Blücher Museum

In 1813, much of the French emperor Napoleon’s power in Germany had been diminished, but not entirely. Those fighting his forces wanted his power completely gone, and one of the men with that mission was Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, a Field Marshall in the Prussian military.
That’s why on the last days of 1813 and the first of 1814 in the town of Kaub, Blücher crossed a pontoon bridge made over the Rhine by Russian allies with his army of 50,000 men, 15,000 horses, and all the equipment those men and animals needed. He was chasing Napoleon’s troops, en route to driving them completely out of Germany.

While running this operation, Blücher made his headquarters at the inn Zur Stadt Mannheim in Kaub. Today, that location is a museum dedicated to Blücher and his crossing. It has displays showing how the crossing likely looked and military items from the time period. Also, the rooms where Blücher stayed have been preserved and look almost exactly like they did when he was there over 200 years ago.

Additionally, the museum has recently expanded and renovated some areas, creating more to see and a better visitor experience. Currently, they have an exhibition related to the heritage of the Rhineland Palatinate, with artifacts from former residents of the area or important visitors to the region.

So, enjoy your visit there.

 

Vocabulary

destination – Zielort

French emperor – französischer Imperator

had been diminished – hatte an Macht verloren

entirely – vollständig, komplett

to fight forces – Truppen bekämpfen

Prussian military – preussisches Militär

pontoon bridge – Pontonbrücke, Schiffsbrücke

Russian allies – russische Verbündete, russische Alliierte

to chase – verfolgen, jagen

troops – Truppen

dedicated to – gewidmet

displays – Anzeigen, Bildschirme

how the crossing likely look – wie die Überquerung wahrscheinlich ausgesehen hat

have been preserved – sind (bis heute) erhalten, aufbewahrt

currently – zur Zeit

an exhibition – eine Ausstellung

heritage – Tradition, Erbe

Rhineland Palatinate – Rheinland Pfalz

artifacts – Artefakte, Werkzeuge

former residents – frühere Bewohner