Wartburg College Eisenach Immersion

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On February 16, 1247, Heinrich Raspe, the last of the Ludowiger Landgraves, died. And with it one of the richest principalities of the medieval Holy Roman Empire came available. This territory, stretching from Thuringia through Hesse sustained one of the greatest courts of the High Middle Ages, where the German version of the troubadours, the Minnesänger competed for the attention of great ladies and even greater lords. Wagner wrote a whole opera about it.
But now it has become a free-for-all.
Three parties emerge as the main competitors for the inheritance, the archbishop of Mainz, the Markgraf of Meissen and Sophie of Brabant, the daughter of the most revered member of the Ludowiger family, Saint Elisbeth of Hungary.
What exactly is the process by which such territories changed hands? How important were legal claims? where would they adjudicated? Who did win the contest and how?
All that is what we discuss in Episode 186 - Origin Stories of the History of the Germans Podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. For maps, transcripts and links, go to the episode website here: https://historyofthegermans.com/2025/03/20/mainz/

Germany is about to run out of teachers. And it's turning away people who already know how to teach.

Germany currently has more than 26,000 unfilled teaching positions. By 2035, that gap is projected to reach 177,000. To fill the shortage, some states are letting people with zero teaching experience enter classrooms as Quereinsteiger (career changers).

But if you already have 10, 15, or 20 years of teaching experience abroad? The system may require you to complete an adaptation course or full retraining before you can set foot in a German public school classroom. Even if you hold a master's degree and have taught hundreds of students.

The rules vary wildly by state. Berlin and Bremen are more flexible. Bavaria requires strict equivalence with German teacher training standards. What's consistent: your foreign teaching certificate doesn't simply transfer.

If you're a qualified teacher thinking about Germany, research the recognition process with the Kultusministerium of the state you're targeting before you move. It can take months.

Share this with an international teacher who's considering Germany. They need to know what they're walking into before they get there.

Die Porzellanmanufaktur Kahla/Thüringen GmbH hat Insolvenz angemeldet. Die Produktion laufe jedoch uneingeschränkt weiter, Aufträge würden weiterhin angenommen, erklärte der vorläufige Insolvenzverwalter Thomas Jacobs. Die Löhne der 120 Beschäftigten seien über das Insolvenzgeld abgesichert.

Das Unternehmen nennt mehrere Gründe für die finanzielle Schieflage. So sei die Auftragslage in dieser Saison schlechter als erwartet. Hinzu komme, dass die ohnehin sehr hohen Energiekosten wegen des Krieges im Nahen Osten weiter ansteigen.

Nach Informationen von MDR THÜRINGEN wurde der Insolvenzantrag bereits am 27. Februar gestellt.

? Because you get to discover how another culture sees the world, even something as simple (and beautiful) as your favourite flowers.

As a little nod to yesterday, we’re celebrating one of the first true signs that spring has sprung: the daffodil.

In true German style, daffodil becomes a wonderfully descriptive compound noun - Osterglocke. Literally ‘Easter’ and ‘bell’. It captures both the flower’s shape and the season it ‘rings’ in!

Sixty-five percent. That's the share of international students in Germany who say they plan to stay and work here after graduating.

A new DAAD survey from the winter semester 2023/24 put a number on something a lot of us already sensed: most people who come here to study aren't just passing through. They're building something.

The survey covered degree-seeking international students across German universities, and the finding is striking because it flips the narrative. For years, the conversation was about "brain drain," about Germany investing in education only for graduates to leave. Turns out, two out of three want to stay.

Why this matters right now: Germany has roughly 570,000 unfilled positions. The Fachkrafteeinwanderungsgesetz was designed to make it easier for skilled workers to stay. The Chancenkarte opened a new path for job seekers. And DAAD just launched its Campus-Initiative Internationale Fachkrafte, which connects international students with employers before they even graduate.

If you're currently studying in Germany and already thinking about staying, the infrastructure is moving in your direction. Universities are building career pipelines. Companies are starting to recruit from campuses instead of waiting for graduates to cold-apply.

But there's a catch, and anyone who's tried knows it: the gap between "I want to stay" and "I got a job offer" is still real. German language skills, Werkstudent experience, and understanding how the local job market actually works are the things that close that gap.

The 65% who want to stay will not all succeed. The ones who start preparing in their second or third semester, not after graduation, tend to be the ones who do.

Are you planning to stay in Germany after your degree, and what's been the biggest hurdle so far?