About 10 km from here the first motorcar was invented, built and tried out. Carl Benz had his workshop in Mannheim and lived in Ladenburg. He developed the first practical car but was apparently loath to try it out on more than a few hundred meters when one fine summer’s day in 1888 his wife unbeknown to her husband loaded up their two barely teenage boys and drove 105 km to her parent’s house. On the way she managed to transform a pharmacy into the first petrol station and even repaired a blocked valve with her hat pin.
Today the Carl Benz Museum in Ladenburg houses many wonderful old and oldest models of Mercedes Benz cars.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Inventions
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That’s a wonderful bit of history. I never heard that before. Thanks for sharing that story. Great photos, too.
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Thanks. There is a Bertha Benz Memorial route that traces this first road trip with a motorcar ever, it’s approximately 105 km from Mannheim to Pforzheim. I plan to ride this route by bicycle this summer, with my sister, possibly in two installments.
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That sounds like fun!
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I’ve a hunch that you’ll be quicker on the bike. Is it known how long her journey took?
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What a wonderful story.
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