Magellan Project
Hello! My name is Tucker Burg and I
am a Junior at Washington and Jefferson College. I am studying under the 3-2
Engineering Program with a major in Chemistry to become a Chemical Engineer.
Aside from academics, I play baseball for the Presidents as a right handed
pitcher, and I have been involved in both the Washington Fellows program as
well as the Alpha Lamba Delta honors society.
When I first approached the idea of
taking on a Magellan Project, I contemplated how I could turn my passion for
engineering into an independent research project to both better my education as
well as indulge myself in an international culture. After weeks of research, I
decided studying technology and engineering in Germany was a perfect fit. The
nation is a global leader of innovation in today’s international market. This is
an impressive feat considering the transition of renovation and rebuilding the
country was forced into following the Second World War. My project will
encompass traveling to the cities of Mönchengladbach, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt,
Aalen, Stuttgart, and Munich to examine how Germany transitioned from a
decimated, war-torn country to the leader in technology and innovation it is
today. To accomplish this task, I will conduct research at various museums
throughout the nation, speak with members of different cities and businesses
across the nation, and explore a plethora of historical landmarks which
represent the technology and culture of Germany in both the pre-war and
post-war eras.
Landing in Frankfurt and Cologne (Köln)
Today is the day I start my
adventure in Germany! This is my first time leaving the country, so I knew I
had quite the experience ahead of me.
The flight left at 7:35pm from Newark airport
and landed in Frankfurt, Germany at 9:20am. Seeing this the first time, I
figured I would have plenty of time to sleep without any problem of Jetlag.
After a little math, I realized this meant I was landing in Frankfurt around
3:30am Eastern Time. It was quite a shock when I woke up after a nap on the
plane to see the sun shining with 3am displayed on my phone. After a few cups
of coffee I felt ready to go, and the plane landed shortly after I awoke.
Frankfurt International airport is
one of the largest airports I have ever been to. It took almost 30 minutes
after we got off the plane to find our luggage. This happened because from the
plane we exited down a staircase onto the runway to a bus which shuttled us to
one of the terminal’s main entrance where a 15 minute walk and passing through
customs led us finally to baggage claim. Once we had our bags, we headed
straight to the train station within Frankfurt airport. An hour train ride led
us to the city of Cologne. After exiting
the train we met up with our cousin. His family was kind enough to be my host
for the first week of my stay in Germany. When I spoke with him, he agreed I
needed to visit Cologne not only because it would be a key component of my
project, but also because of its beauty. What a beautiful city it was.
Exiting the train station leads to
a flight of stairs and a large wall of windows. Through these windows is a
perfect view of the Cologne Cathedral. What a breathtaking sight it was. The
cathedral towers over the entire city. Construction for the building originally
started in August of 1248 but continued up until the late 1400s. By 1473 every
part of the cathedral was finished except for the two main towers. A period of
400 years without any construction followed until 1842 when a group was put
together committed on finishing the Dom. In 1880 the Cathedral was officially
declared finished.
What makes this building even more remarkable is the fact
that this was one of the only builds left standing after the bombing of the
city during WWII. Nearly the entire city surrounding the cathedral was
flattened by allied bombing. The bombers even used the two towers to navigate
themselves to the city. Despite the war and destruction to the city, the cathedral
stood tall. Yet today as I walked around the city, the only evidence of a
destroyed city lies within photographs and artifacts. Once a flattened
wasteland, Cologne is now home to Germany’s third largest city. This is a
remarkable feat. The cathedral now stands as a reminder of the history of
German as well as a symbol of its new beginning. One interesting thing I
learned about most German cities is that they are laid out in sections labeled
as the old city and new city. The old city mainly consists of historic
buildings from various decades, the city offices, and a few notable landmarks. Most
of these buildings were over 500 years old before they were destroyed. After
the war most were rebuilt to their original designs so today they represent the
villages and towns of 500 years ago but are actually built in the mid 1900s. Very
few of the originals are still standing. The rest of the city is a modern
metropolis with workers, businesses, and residential areas representing the
heart and soul of Germany’s economics. This layout evinced how Germany was able
to expand and grow after the war while maintaining its historical identity.
Impressions from Mönchengladbach
For the first week of my project in
Germany I am staying with my relatives in the city of Mönchengladbach. Mönchengladbach is in the
northwestern part of Germany. It has a long history (as most German cities do)
of early settlements, regional disputes/changes in ownership, and involvement
in the war. Mönchengladbach was subject to some degree of destruction during
the war, but not to the degree of Cologne. The main industry of Mönchengladbach
had been textile. Today, the majority of this industry has moved out of the
city and into other countries where labor is cheaper. A portion of the textile
industry still remains, but it mostly involves the weaving of plastics as
opposed to fabric. This has had a noticeable impact on the city. It is by no
means run down, but the decrease in manufacturing within the cities limits has
decreased the beauty of the outer parts of Mönchengladbach. Our host-mother
works outside of the city limits and my cousin travels to Dusseldorf to take
classes. It seems a once thriving city is now home to residents who seek work
elsewhere in Germany. This again mostly applies to the outer part of the city
because this is where the people I interacted with lived.
Downtown Mönchengladbach has been
impacted in a slightly different way. It is still a beautiful and popular city,
but it does not expand as much as before. The main square of the town was
filled with excitement, energy, and business. However it did not extend much
beyond the focal point. I walked down streets with a only a few open bars and
night clubs that had all the potential to be a bustling night life. My host
family described to me how this had once been the place to go for a night out
with friends but now it exists only as a reminder of what once was. The simple
answer to why this happened is there is not as much money flowing into and out
of the city as there used to be. Here is where a connection is drawn between
these observations and my research. The
history of Mönchengladbach as a textile industry and declining in economic
importance shows the transition of the area in innovation. The industrial
textile industry has phased out to other countries with less expensive labor
because the need for these occupations has become obsolete in Germany. Even the
house I stayed in used to house workers of the textile industry, but is now it
is home to my host mother who works with commerce and good exchanges with
farmers and my host father who works as a hydro mechanic.
Despite the ups and downs of the industrial
economy within the city, it maintains its identity within Germany. One of the
main attractions and engineering feats of cities around the globe are their
sport arenas. As part of my trip through Mönchengladbach I visited the home of their Bungesliga team at
Borussia Park. The stadium was marvelous and beautifully built. The complex is under continued expansion as well. While
on a tour of the stadium there was ongoing construction outside the entrance
for a new fan club (I am pretty sure that is what they said. I had a hard time
understanding the all “German” tour). Soccer clubs have held a long history in Europe of bringing people together as well as
representing hope in harsh times. The continual expansion and presence of the
German soccer clubs as well as their structures evinces the range of
engineering capabilities the nation has in the industrial markets as well as
the recreational. Mönchengladbach
is a microcosm of the transition and constant development of Germany
towards future technologies.
Journey through the Countryside
Today my host family took me to see
the famous Burg Eltz. The fortress is a castle built directly atop a mountain
which overlooks a major trading route in the Eltz forest. The family gained
their massive wealth through forcing travelers to pay a toll for each pass. The
Eltz is a major attraction and symbol of the legacy German royalty have left
throughout the ages. The fortress even appeared on the 500 Deutsche mark while
it was still in circulation. Seeing this castle was magnificent. Walking
through the courtyards and halls of the castle felt like a time travel to the
medieval era. The architectural design for the time period was extraordinary
along with how well kept it was. Unfortunately, the tours would not allow
photos to be taken within the houses themselves so unfortunately I cannot share
the experience with my research. However, I do have plenty of photos of the
outside of the area!
Lessons learned from my trip through the journey to Burg Eltz:
One of the most surprising things I
observed while traveling is how quickly the landscape changes. The organization
of the land and use of resources contributes to how the country has been able
to grow such a large industry within its borders. Leaving the city of Mönchengladbach
and traveling north towards the village of Eiffel, there were several different
regions I observed. The first of which includes the area surrounding the city
limits. This region was filled with manufacturing companies, power plants,
shipping yards, mechanic shops, and a plethora of other industrial businesses.
These industries are the heart and soul which power the cities and their
people. It was astonishing to see how the buildings were oriented to cover a
concise amount of land, and yet they fueled entire cities. To adapt and
progress forward through the changes of technology, the cities were able to
continue to hold their historical roots while maintain a level of innovation
and advancement.
Further outside the cities was
nothing but fields of green. These lands were used as farms to produce the
foods which fed the country. Living in Pennsylvania and having to travel from
the eastern side of the state (Philadelphia) all the way to the western side of
the state (Pittsburgh) I seen my fair share of farm land. However, Pennsylvania
is a little less than 300 miles wide and 160 miles long while Germany is 400
miles wide and 520 miles long. Pennsylvania however only harbors two major
cities (sorry Harrisburg you don’t count) and is one of 50 states. Yet here on
a brief trip across Germany, a highly populated area in comparison with
Pennsylvania, I was experiencing a transition from city and manufacturing to
nothing but farms in a mere 30 minute time change.
Within these fields lies part of
the answer to how Germany is able to power their massive industrial threshold.
Throughout the open land a plethora of windmills harness clean energy for the
nearby cities. These could even be seen from the towers in the city churning in
the horizon. (This reminds me to point out the remarkable number of solar
panels atop houses and buildings in the city). However harnessing wind energy
is not enough to power an entire nation so there is a reliance on coal. A
little further in our journey and we came to the “the largest hole in all of
Europe” as my host mother described to me. This was in fact the largest manmade
crater in Europe. We were able to park our car next to the edge of the work
zone and take a look for ourselves. The pictures attached do not do the scale
of this operation justice. It was massive. The hole was a mining operation to
collect brown coal. This coal was then used in the various energy plants
scattered across the nation. Talking to my host mother a little more, I learned
that we were looking at an area which had once been home to a village. The
government had purchased the land and homes in order to relocate the families
into an area further away from the coal. In fact, if it were not for the
immense price, the town we drove through would have been part of the mining
operation as well. The country is rich in natural resources which continue to
fuel its industry. The organization of the open landscape, cities, and
industrial parks facilitates the bridge between expansion of cities and
technologies with maintaining vital natural resources.
Impact of the Rhine River on Dusseldorf and
Cologne
The Rhine River region has been
steadily growing and expanding from Roman times through the age of Napoleon and
into the modern era. The economic growth and expansion of the area slowed down
leading up to the 20th century but rapidly expanded in necessity and
profit building up to, during and after World War One. This was due to the
increased needs to transfer of goods from the rapid industrialization the
country transitioned to in order to fuel its war machine. The port experienced
even more usage leading into World War Two. During the war, almost every part
of the ports and factories along the river were destroyed. Companies had nowhere
to turn due to the decimation. What saved the Rhine river ports was the rise of
motorboats and rebuilding process the city underwent. Ports once again were
fully operational and could process goods at even higher speeds with motor
engines. In the coming century the need and use of the ports declined as land transportation
increased through trucking among other methods. To adapt, the country turned to
recreational and business uses. Today, one of the ports which once took in and
carried out goods is used as a sport boat dock where private owners store and
use their water craft. Another port was transformed into a modern day business
complex. The business complexes are designed as modern art and several road and
walking bridges were added. The areas up and down the banks of the River are
decorated with gorgeous walking paths surrounded by restaurants, art, and
gardens. A TV and observation tower attracts tourists to have a drink at their
café or night club alongside a magnificent view of the city and river from 50
stories above the ground. And every 30 minutes or so once can see a boat
traveling the river full of passengers intently listening to a guided tour.
Although the Rhine River port and docks are not what they once were, their
transformation into a hybrid business and recreation-commercial usage continues
to bring in wealth and uphold the importance of the area.
