Following in Einstein's Footsteps
April 18, 2005
The physicist who developed the theory of relativity was born in the German town of Ulm on March 14, 1879. Although his family moved to Munich soon after his birth, Albert Einstein felt a sense of belonging to his town of origin.
In return, Ulm dedicated several monuments to its most famous son and has even immortalized him in a stained glass window in the cathedral. He, along with his famous "E=mc2" formula, takes pride of place next to Copernicus, Newton and Galileo.
Einstein spent his childhood in the Bavarian capital, where he showed an early interest in natural science and mathematics. In 1941 he moved to eastern Germany where he spent two decades working in Berlin and Potsdam.
Walking back through time
Both cities are key locations in the Einstein year calendar of events. The historic Einstein walk through Berlin and Brandenburg passes numerous sites key to the physicist's life, including the Humboldt University in central Berlin, his summer house in Caputh and the Einstein Tower on Potsdam's "Telegraph Hill."
The exhibition entitled "Albert Einstein - Engineer of the Universe" in Berlin's Kronprinzenpalais is the main feature of the jubilee year. But from May to September visitors to the various events will gain an insight into Einstein, the person, and the shifting scientific world view spawned by his theories.
Scientific Potsdam
After a complete overhaul, Einstein's summer house in Caputh will be reopened on May 5. The country haven just outside Potsdam, was once a meeting place for the scientific avant-garde. Until May 6 and then again from Sept. 1 to 30, the exhibition entitled "Relatively Jewish: Albert Einstein - Jew, Zionist, Non-conformist" will show the physicist's relationship to Judaism.
The Einstein Tower, which is a well-known landmark in Potsdam, is the subject of a special exhibition until June 26 at the Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preussischen Geschichte. In the tower itself, the place where the relativity theory was once empirically tested with the help of the first tower telescope, visitors can learn about the history of Potsdam as a scientific center.