2023-08-10 15:21:16
The town I originally come from is so small that I hardly ever mention its name here in Berlin, my second home, for many years now. When people ask where I’m actually from, I usually just say “near Frankfurt am Main” or at most (if they are a bit more familiar with the area in the south-west) “near Mainz”. Nobody here in Berlin knows Oppenheim anyway, I think to myself – or at least I assume so.
As an ex-Oppenheimer, it was already bizarre for me a few years ago when a gigantic poster advertised the Rheinhessen wine-growing region at Neukölln train station – with a photo showing the vineyards in front of Oppenheim. But now it’s even more blatant: I’ve been reading and hearing about Oppenheim for a few weeks now. Actually, of course, by Robert Oppenheimer and the film by Christopher Nolan. But the Jewish surname actually goes back to my hometown. A few artists also bear the name, from Max Oppenheimer to Meret Oppenheim. The Netflix reality show “Selling Sunset” is about the luxury real estate agents of the Oppenheim Group in Los Angeles.
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Here in Berlin there is a small Oppenheimer Weg in Frohnau. And of course the Villa Oppenheim in Charlottenburg. But what very few Berliners know: Two true Berliners, Klaus Wowereit and Gregor Gysi, were made wine knights in Oppenheim. They are therefore a kind of honorary brand ambassadors for the excellent Oppenheimer white wine.
Idyllic: the Gothic St. Catherine’s Church behind the typical Oppenheim vineyardsChristian Ditsch/Imago
But there is more: one of the most famous Berlin buildings, the Reichstag, was designed by an Oppenheim architect: Paul Wallot (1841–1912). Kaiser Wilhelm II is said to have hated the construction, but for Wallot it was a career breakthrough. A plaque on the house where he was born commemorates him in Oppenheim, where Wallot is also buried. I am pleased about these connections between my world-famous adopted home of Berlin and my small, rather unknown hometown of 7,500 souls, Oppenheim.
And who knows, maybe the “Oppenheimer” film will make even more people curious about the place behind the name? Klaus and Gregor already swear by the wine. Hopefully not just to be knights!
#city #secret #connections #Berlin