| Bertha Benz Memorial Route | |
|---|---|
| Official signpost: | |
| Country: | Germany |
| Length: | 194 km (121 mi) |
| Location: | roughly between Frankfurt/Main and Baden-Baden |
| State: | Baden-Württemberg |
| Region: | Northern Baden |
| Course: | North-South, South-North |
| Start: | Mannheim |
| Most distant point: | Pforzheim |
| Finish: | Mannheim |
| Altitude: | 89 m to 359 m above sea level |
The Bertha Benz Memorial Route is a German tourist and theme route in Baden-Württemberg[1] and member of the European Route of Industrial Heritage[2]. Since its opening in 2008 everybody can follow the tracks of the world's first long distance journey by automobile of the year 1888.
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Bertha Benz's husband, Karl Benz, patented the first automobile designed to produce its own power in January 1886.(Reich Patent No. 37435)[3][4]
In early August, 1888[5], without her husband's knowledge, Bertha Benz, with her sons Richard and Eugen, fourteen and fifteen years old, drove in one of Benz's newly-constructed Patent Motorwagen No. 3 automobiles from Mannheim to Pforzheim, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over more than a very short distance[6]. The distance was about 104 km (65 mi). Distances traveled before this historic trip were short, and merely trials with mechanical assistants[7][8].
Although the ostensible purpose of the trip was to visit her mother[9], Bertha Benz also had another motive: to show her brilliant husband – who had failed to consider marketing his invention adequately – that the automobile would become a financial success once it was shown to be useful to the general public[10].
On the way, she solved numerous problems. She had to find Ligroin, a solvent available only at dispensing chemists' shops, to use as fuel[11]. Thus the still existing Stadt-Apotheke (Town Pharmacy) in Wiesloch, some kilometers south of Heidelberg, became the world's first filling station[12]. A blacksmith[13] had to help mend a chain in Bruchsal. Brake linings were replaced in Bauschlott/Neulingen[14] north of Pforzheim. And Bertha Benz had to use a long, straight hairpin to clean a fuel pipe which had become blocked, and a garter[15] to insulate a wire.
Bertha and her sons left Mannheim around dawn and reached Pforzheim somewhat after dusk, notifying Karl of their successful journey by telegram[16]. They drove back to Mannheim three days later.
Along the way, several people were frightened by the automobile and the novel trip received a great deal of publicity[17] – as she had sought. The drive was very helpful for Karl Benz, as he was able to introduce several improvements after his wife reported everything that had happened along the way – and she made important suggestions, such as the introduction of an additional gear for climbing hills[18].
In 2007 a not-for-profit initiative, led by Edgar and Frauke Meyer, founded two societies, Bertha Benz Memorial Route e.V. and Bertha Benz Memorial Club e.V., to commemorate Bertha Benz and her historic pioneer's deed.
On February 25, 2008, Bertha Benz Memorial Route was officially approved as a Tourist or Scenic Route by the German authorities, a dynamic monument of 194 km of German industrial culture.
Mannheim to Pforzheim, approx. 104 km (65 mi), southbound (S):
Mannheim, Mannheim-Feudenheim, Ilvesheim, Ladenburg, Schriesheim, Dossenheim, Heidelberg, Leimen, Nußloch, Wiesloch, Mingolsheim, Langenbrücken, Stettfeld, Ubstadt, Bruchsal, Untergrombach, Weingarten, Karlsruhe-Grötzingen, Berghausen, Söllingen, Kleinsteinbach, Wilferdingen, Königsbach, Stein, Eisingen, Pforzheim
Pforzheim to Mannheim, approx. 90 km (56 mi), northbound (N):
Pforzheim, Bauschlott, Bretten, Gondelsheim, Helmsheim, Heidelsheim, Bruchsal, Forst, Hambrücken, Wiesental, Kirrlach, Reilingen, Hockenheim, Talhaus, Ketsch, Schwetzingen, Mannheim-Friedrichsfeld, Mannheim-Seckenheim, Mannheim
The authentic route taken by Bertha Benz not only links almost forgotten original sites she passed on her way, it also leads to one of the most attractive scenic regions in Germany, the wine region Baden.
This route of industrial heritage of mankind follows several Roman roads in the area of the Upper Rhine Plain, for example the Bergstrasse (Mountain Road), it leads along the foot of the Odenwald mountains and the Kraichgau, and shortly before reaching Karlsruhe it branches off into the Pfinz valley leading to Pforzheim, the entrance to the Black Forest.
As Bertha was afraid of some steep mountains[19], the return trip follows an alternative route and finally leads along the river Rhine to reach Mannheim again.
The Bertha Benz Memorial Route opened in September 2008. But the Ministry of State of Baden-Wuerttemberg suggested embedding the official inaugural run in the framework of the ceremony of Automobile Summer 2011, the big official German event and birthday party commemorating the invention of the automobile by Karl Benz 125 years ago.
The inaugural drive Bertha Benz Challenge will take place on Sept 10 and Sept 11, 2011. It will be a globally visible signal for a new automobile breakthrough, as it will only be open for sustainable mobility: Future-oriented vehicles with alternative drive systems – hybrid and electric vehicles, hydrogen and fuel cells – and other extremely economical vehicles.
The motto will be: Sustainable Mobility on the World’s Oldest Automobile Road!
On January 25, 2011 Deutsche Welle (DW-TV) broadcasted worldwide in its series Made in Germany a TV documentary on the invention of the automobile by Carl Benz, highlighting the very important role of his wife Bertha Benz. The report is not only on the history of the automobile, but takes a look at its future as well, shown by the Bertha Benz Challenge on Sept 10 and 11, 2011.[20][21]