Timeline / 1860 to 1930 /

Date Country Theme

1860 - 1910 Germany Fine And Applied Arts

Realism (a backlash to both Classicism and Romanticism) is exemplified by French artist Gustave Courbet’s Die Steinklopfer (1849), although long before then Albrecht Dürer had painted his highly realistic Junger Feldhase (1502).

1862 Germany Political Context

Otto von Bismarck becomes prime minister of Prussia.

1864 Germany Political Context

As a consequence of the Prussian–Danish war, Denmark retracts its demand for Schleswig and Holstein.

1864 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

The chemist Julius Lothar Meyer (1830–95) develops the first periodic table of chemical elements.

1866 - 1905 Germany Economy And Trade

Henri Nestlé founds the company Nestlé, which becomes the world’s largest corporation for comestible goods.

1866 - 1871 Germany Economy And Trade

Formation of the North German Confederation in 1866/7 sees a federation of the 22 independent states of northern Germany, with nearly 30 million inhabitants. It was the first modern German nation-state and the basis for the later (1871–1918).

1866 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Werner von Siemens invents the dynamo.

1867 - 1885 Germany Fine And Applied Arts

King Ludwig II of sets in motion the building of his second palace, Linderhof (1869–85), the smallest of the large palaces he had built, and the only one he lived to see completed. The king’s penchant for the so called Moorish style can be seen in several elements, such as the Moorish Kiosk (1867) and the Moroccan House (1878). The King’s House on the Schachen (1869–72), built with a Turkish Hall by Georg von Dollmann, further attests to Ludwig’s admiration for the “Oriental” style.

1868 - 1886 Germany Cities And Urban Spaces

Ludwig II (r. 1864–86) had several palaces built during his reign. The most famous among these are Neuschwanenstein (1868–92, still in construction when Ludwig died), Neues Schloss (1878–86, built along the lines of Versailles, Date Country Theme but never completed), and Linderhof (1869–85), the only palace the king lived to see completed.

1870 Germany Economy And Trade

The Deutsche Bank is founded by Georg von Siemens.

1870 - 1913 Germany Economy And Trade

The rail network transforms German industry, and merchant shipping multiplies.

Since 1870 Germany Migrations

The so-called Ruhrpolen migrate to the , where many work in coal mining.

From 1871 Germany Economy And Trade

The capital market is enlivened by France’s payment of 5 million French francs, paid to Germany as compensation following the war between the two countries (1870–1).

From 1871 - 1914 Germany Economy And Trade

Germany’s industrial production is now six times what it had been.

1871 Germany Political Context

The German Empire, a union of sovereign states and free cities, is established under Prussian leadership.

1871 Germany Cities And Urban Spaces

Berlin becomes the imperial capital.

1871 - 1914 Germany Cities And Urban Spaces

The process of urbanisation begins: in 1907 Berlin had more than 2 million citizens of which around 40% are locals, 20% German immigrants and 40% foreign immigrants.

1871 - 1910 Germany Cities And Urban Spaces

The second Industrial Revolution sees massive immigration; the population rises from 41 to 65 million, and from only eight cities with no more than 100,000 inhabitants, more than 48 cities are formed.

1872 - 1879 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

As a consequence of the the influence of the Catholic Church is limited in Germany.

1873 Germany Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion Date Country Theme

Levi Strauss, a German citizen in exile in America, requests the patent for blue Jeans.

1873 Germany Rediscovering The Past

The development of Classical Archaeology is strongly influenced by Heinrich Schliemann in the second half of the 18th century when for example he finds the “Gold of Troy”.

1873 - 1880 Germany Economy And Trade

The economic crash known as the Gründerkrise sees companies and banks shut down and a rise in unemployment and social dissatisfaction.

1873 - 1878 Germany International Exhibitions

The Moorish Kiosk, built for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878, was subsequently bought for Park by Ludwig II. The Moroccan House, which was actually built in Morocco for the International Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 and acquired by a private individual after the king’s death, was bought by the German state in 1980 and reconstructed in the Palace Park in 1998.

1873 Germany Economy And Trade

The Krupp Corporation is the largest industrial concern in Europe.

1874 - 1890 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

“Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing more than medicine on a large scale”, Rudolf Virchow stated in defence of public health and the building of hospitals in Berlin (i.e. Friedrichshain (1874), Moabit (1875, now closed) and Am Urban (1890); even parks and playgrounds were important to improve city life for the proletariat, Virchow continued.

1876 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Robert Koch discovers bacteriology.

1878 - 1890 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

The anti-Socialist laws known as Sozialistengesetz prohibit socialist organisations, meetings and publications.

1879 Germany Economy And Trade

The German Empire moves from a free-trade system to protective duty.

1879 Germany International Exhibitions

The Great Industrial Exposition is held at the Lehrter Bahnhof in Berlin, where one of main attractions is the first electric locomotive from Siemens & Halske. Date Country Theme

1880 - 1900 Germany Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion

The era of “Naturalism” in literature (i.e. the works of Hauptmann, Holz and Schlaf) is characterised by a reality without embellishment or subjective insight (the radicalisation of realism).

From 1880 Germany Migrations

Germany’s colonisation of Namibia, Tanzania, Cameroon and Togo.

From 1880 Germany Migrations

As the process of Industrialisation in the so-called Ruhrgebiet region develops, Polish miners and farmhands migrate to the Ruhr, which becomes a place known as Ruhrpoland.

Since 1880 Germany Migrations

Foreign workers (especially from Austria-Hungary, Russia and ) arrive in the German Empire in increasing numbers to work in seasonal agriculture.

1880 - 1914 Germany Migrations

More than 5 million migrants from Russia and the Habsburg Empire journey through Germany on their way to America.

1880 - 1900 Germany Fine And Applied Arts

The painting by Franz von Stuck, Die Sünde (1893), exemplifies the period in art known as Post-Imperialism and Symbolism.

1880 Germany Travelling

The dome of Cologne is completed (construction began in 1248). It is the tallest church building in the world at the time.

1881 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Werner von Siemens develops the tram.

1882 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Robert Koch discovers the cause of tuberculosis.

1883 - 1927 Germany Travelling

The warehouse district known as Speicherstadt Hamburg develops.

1883 - 1889 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck initiates German social laws and the basic system for a modern social state. Date Country Theme

1884 - 1890 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Gottlieb Daimler develops the petrol engine and Rudolf Diesel invents the diesel engine.

1884 - 1885 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Germany establishes protectorates in south-west Africa, Cameroon, Togo, East Africa and New Guinea.

1884 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

The goal in founding the Society for German Colonization was to acquire colonial territories overseas.

1886 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invent the modern automobile.

Since 1886 Germany Travelling

Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, – built in order that the king could withdraw from public life – opened to the public.

1887 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Emil Berliner invents the phonograph.

1888 Germany Rediscovering The Past

Julius Stinde writes Frau Buchholz im Orient. He has already documented the cities of Cairo, Jerusalem, Athens, and Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey).

1889 - 1917 Germany Travelling

Kaiser Wilhelm II visits the Ottoman Empire three times, in 1889, 1898 and 1917. On his second official tour he visits Constantinople, Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Beirut and Damascus, largely to show his support for Ottoman sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II whose Empire was already unstable. The strong connection between the countries is further cemented by a gift from the Kaiser to ‘Abd al Hamid: a “German fountain” that stands in Jerusalem to this day.

1890 - 1910 Germany Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion

The era of Modern literature (i.e. the works of Hesse, Hauptmann, Mann and Zweig) is characterised by pluralism, the merging of Art Nouveau, Symbolism, Impressionism, etc.

1890s - Around 1900 Germany Migrations

After the United States, the German Empire was the most popular country of immigration. Date Country Theme

1890s Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Sigmund Freud formulates his theory of psychoanalysis in Vienna.

1890s Germany Migrations

The Prussian policy of Abwehrpolitik sees Polish seasonal workers in agriculture forced to leave the German Empire during winter.

1890 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Emperor Wilhelm II dismisses Bismarck; and so begins the era of the emperor’s personal regiment.

1890 - 1910 Germany Fine And Applied Arts

The paintings by Heinrich Vogeler, Das Konzert (Sommerabend) (1893), and Gustav Klimt, Der Kuss (1908), exemplify the period in art known as Jugendstil or Art Nouveau.

1891 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Founding of the Pan-German League (Allgemeine Deutsche Verband; since 1894 the General German Association or Alldeutscher Verband) to advance an active, nationalistic German foreign policy in Europe and overseas.

1894 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Otto Lilienthal invents the glider.

1895 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

The Roentgen ray (X-Ray) is discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen.

1896 Germany International Exhibitions

The Great Industrial Exposition opens at Treptower Park, south of central Berlin.

1897 - 1904 Germany Fine And Applied Arts

Formation of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (now the Bode Museum), proposed by Wilhelm von Bode, and built by Ernst von Ihne and Max Hasak.

1898 - 1900 Germany Political Context

Development and rearmament (Aufrüstung) of the German Navy.

1898 - 1917 Germany Rediscovering The Past

Foundation of the Deutsche-Orient Gesellschaft (DOG) in Berlin is to promote research in the field of “Oriental” archaeology and bring it to a wider audience. One of the first archaeological excavations undertaken by the DOG was in Babylon, Date Country Theme with the discovery of the Ishtar Gate (now at the Museum of the Ancient Near East in Berlin). DOG was responsible for finds at Tell el-Amarna, the capital of the Pharaonic Empire where the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti was found (now at the Neues Museum). Kaiser Wilhelm II assumed patronage of DOG in 1901.

1900 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin invents the zeppelin, a steerable airship.

1900 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

The establishment of the beneficence “Nobel Prize” by Alfred Nobel.

1900 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Planck’s Law, which describes electromagnetic radiation.

1903 Germany Rediscovering The Past

A large part of the richly ornamented south facade of Qasr al-Mushatta – one of the most important works of early Islamic architecture – was presented as a gift from the Ottoman Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II to Emperor Wilhelm II and transported from Jordan to Berlin via rail and sea.

Around 1914 - 1918 Germany Economy And Trade

In 1914 Germany becomes the biggest industrial nation within Europe as a result of munitions production before and during .

1904 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Publication of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber is known as the originator of social science.

1905 Germany Migrations

Foundation of the German field-workers central office (Deutsche Feldarbeiter Zentralstelle; later Deutsche Arbeitszentrale), initiated by the Prussian Ministry of Agriculture, in order to control work-based migration to Germany.

1905 - 1916 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Physician Albert Einstein formulates his Theory and publishes Relativity: The Special and General Theory.

1906 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Alois Alzheimer describes a type of dementia, Alzheimer’s, for the first time.

1908 Germany Political Context

Austria-Hungary annexes the Ottoman provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following international protests, Germany shows solidarity with Austria. Date Country Theme

Since 1908 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Women are admitted to study at German universities.

1910 - 1925 Germany Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion

The era of Expressionism in literature (i.e. the works of Benn, Kafka, Lasker- Schüler, Mann and Döblin) is influenced by the human experience of World War I and other influences such as Darwinism, Friedrich Nietzsche’s “despair of civilisation” and Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory.

1910 - 1930 Germany Fine And Applied Arts

Foundation of the Pergamon Museum (including the Museum of Islamic Art), conceptualised by Wilhelm von Bode, and built by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann.

1910 Germany International Exhibitions

A groundbreaking exhibition on Islamic art opens in Munich, “Ausstellung von Meisterwerken Muhammedanischer Kunst”.

1911 - 1913 Germany Rediscovering The Past

The international reputations of the Orientalist, archaeologist and investigator of inscriptions Ernst Herzfeld and art historian Friedrich Sarre were assured when they found 8,000-year old (6th-century) painted pottery known as Samarra-Ware. Some of these finds from Samarra are in the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin.

1911 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Foundation of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (later Max-Planck-Gesellschaft).

1913 - 1917 Germany Cities And Urban Spaces

The last palace (Cicilienhof) of the House of Hohenzollern (a dynasty of former princes, electors, kings and emperors) was built under Wilhelm II. The palace hosted the Conference of Potsdam in 1945.

1914 - 1918 Germany Political Context

World War I is declared and fought.

1914 - 1918 Germany Migrations

One in every ten members of the workforce in the German Empire is foreign (many of them prisoners of war).

1914 Germany Political Context

The heir apparent of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, is murdered in Sarajevo by a member of the Serbian intelligence service known as the “Black Hand”. As a consequence, the Austrian government issues an ultimatum to Serbia; Germany Date Country Theme declares war on the Russian Empire and on France; and Great Britain declares war on the German Empire.

1915 Germany Migrations

Introduction of the Legitimationszwang in Prussia allows police to tag foreign workers and their German employers.

1917 Germany Political Context

The United States declares war on the German Empire.

1918 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

The so-called November Revolution results in the withdrawal of Emperor Wilhelm II; the Council of People’s Deputies (SPD and USPD members) take over government.

1918 Germany Political Context

Woodrow Wilson declares his “14 points” program in front of Congress.

1919 Germany Reforms And Social Changes

Rudolf Steiner, originator of the Waldorfpädagogik, opens the first Steiner School in Stuttgart (the basis of which is human anthropology).

1919 Germany Political Context

On signature of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany must face up to its responsibility to make reparation payments, abandon territory and let go of its colonies. The League of Nations is founded.

1920 Germany Political Context

Foundation of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP); the party’s first selection for the German Reichstag is on 6 July.

1920 Germany Political Context

The Conference of San Remo was an international meeting convened to decide which parts of its territories the Ottoman Empire would lose, to become the mandated territory under the League of Nations. For example, France received mandated territory for Syria and Lebanon (and King Faysal of Iraq goes into exile after losing Greater Syria to the French).

1920s - 1930s Germany Rediscovering The Past

The Museum of Islamic Art, the German Oriental Society and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, undertake two excavations during which several iwans and stucco ornaments, as well as numerous other finds from houses, in layers of occupation from the late Sasanian period through to the early Islamic periods, are found. The stucco finds form the foundations for later stylistic developments in Date Country Theme Samarra. Many of the stuccos are now found at the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

1925 Germany Great Inventions Of The 19th Century

Oskar Barnack invents the compact camera.

1927 Germany Travelling

The first stage of the racing circuit Nürburgring is constructed comprising the old “North loop” built around the village of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains.