This was a most interesting place. We first visited the home where he stayed until his death and then we walked about 1 km to his shop where he invented his first car. The owner and personal guide was Mr. Benz's Great Grand Daughter. She is the only living relative in the Benz family today. She seems to be pretty proud of her Great Grandfather who she refers to as Mr. Benz. I have to tell you a short story that was relayed to us about her great grandmother Bertha Benz.
The year was 1888 and Carl Benz was disheartened because his motorized vehicle failed to be a commercial success. Mainly because the Government would not allow him to test drive it for safety sake, and the other reason was that the church forbid him from driving it because it was surely of the devil. His wife Bertha Benz thought of a way to remedy the situation. Early one morning she woke her two sons, aged 14 & 15 and told them they were going to see Grandma in Pforzheim, a 90 km trip. They left a note for Carl which merely stated that they had gone to see her mother. Today that trip is lovingly made by many locals who hold Mr Benz in high esteem.
Her trip was not without its upsets however, Just as they were afraid, they had to find a way of obtaining more petrol or as they called it then, Ligroin, which could only be gotten from a Chemist shop. The engine getting hot was another problem because the first cooling system was not invented until 1901, so they had to stop to get water. They also found that the 2.5 hp motor had a hard time climbing hills, so they all had to get out and push at times. After going uphill, the trick was then on how to get down safely as the car had a single shoe brake, operated manually by the means of a single lever on one rear wheel. The leather brake shoe worn out very quickly and they had to be replaced several times. Luckily there were numerous shoemakers along the route.
Bertha must have been pretty ingenious herself as she cleaned a clogged fuel line with her hat pin and insulated a bare ignition cable with her garter. Way to go Bertha! By taking this first long distance trip in automotive history, Bertha Benz proved not only to her husband, but to the many doubters that the automobile was heading toward a great future. Between 1886 and 1894 a total of 25 models were built. I took pictures of every vehicle in the shop. Sorry I can't tell you what year they are. Maybe Pete can figure that out for me. I am dedicating this whole blog on Ladenburg to my son in law Pete Finlan who is the best pen striper in the whole world. You might remember him from the series Monster Garage with Jesse James. Well Jesse took one look at Pete and knew he had to have him on his team permanently. You can always tell a paint job that Pete has done, they are all special, so all of these pictures of motorcycles and cars were lovingly taken for you Pete, but you all can enjoy them too.
I saw a few posters there that I really liked so a threw those in also. If you get a chance be sure and come to Ladenburg for a real treat. It was such a fun filled day. On the way back we took a walk along the Neckar River and watched the leaves begin to fall. Have a good one. The Walters
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