experience wetzlar
Personal Guided Tours of Wetzlar, Germany, Leitz Park and Leica Design Office in Munich
by Bill Rosauer
Derleicaman Tours is not affiliated with LHSA, the International Leica Society
Derleicaman Tours is not affiliated with LHSA, the International Leica Society
Join Bill Rosauer, LHSA President Emeritus and Viewfinder Journal Editor for a once in a lifetime experience visiting the home of the Leica, Wetzlar, Germany. Bill will personally guide you on this discovery tour of the new facilities at Leitz Park as well as the historic places important to Leica history in the old city of Wetzlar. This year we will also particiapte in the Leica Celebration of Photography events.
Following the CoP, we will depart for Munich for an exclusive tour of the Leica Design Office there. We will also be taking in the very photogenic sights to be had in Munich!
From our home base at the Vienna House Ernst Leitz Hotel, we will begin with a Tour of Leitz Park. Highlights of the tour will be the new Leica Factory, Customer Care Department and Museum, and an exclusive visit to the Archives. In addition, we have many other special events planned at Leitz Park. You will meet Stefan Daniel, Product Manager Photo and Peter Karbe, Head of Optical Design at Leica. We will also visit the newly opened Leica World Photo Exhibition Spaces and of course the Leica Store will be on our list as well. Join Leica employees for lunch at the Casino Restaurant at Leitz Park. Take a break for coffee and pastry at the Café Leitz. We will also be joining in Leica’s celebration of photography for the Leica Oscar Barnack Awards (LOBA). Leica has many special events planned for us.
In historic old Wetzlar, known for its picturesque half-timbered buildings and cobble stone streets, we will visit the places Oskar Barnack and the Leitz family knew so well. At the historic Eisenmarkt, you will stand on the same spot where Oskar Barnack took one of the first images with the Ur-Leica. We will visit the old Leitz factory Hochhaus and its adjacent Administration Building where the Leitz Museum is located. We will visit the historic Hausertor Werke, where the Leica camera was originally produced. as well as the original Leitz Administration Building, site of the famous Board Meeting of 1924 when Ernst Leitz II made the fateful decision to take the risk and make Barnack’s Leica camera. A visit with Lars Netopil, VP of Leica Historica is planned at his shop and gallery in Wetzlar. During this visit, you will have a chance to obtain a personalized copy of Lars Netopil’s new book, “Museum Leica”. Lars has also invited us to join with members of the German Leica Society, Historica, while we are there.
Located just up the Kalsmunt hill behind the old Leitz Hochhaus, is the home that Ernst Leitz II built for his family, Haus Friedwart. From the house, you can enjoy a view of historic Old Wetzlar and the old Leitz Factory. We are planning an exclusive tour of the Leitz family home. Haus Friedwart provided the Leitz family with a suitable space for a rich social life, and has hosted many notable guests over the years. The house is listed as a State of Hesse historic landmark site, and remains a venue for public events in the areas of music, literature and politics.
We will have an exclusive visit to the Leica Design Office in Munich on Monday the 16th. On Saturday and Sunday, we will take in the sights of Munich. The Altstadt with the Marienplatz and Neues Rathaus with the famous Glockenspiel, and Frauenkirche will be all within easy walking distance. Some other attractions in the city are the original Hofbrauhaus, Rezidenz, the Deutsches Museum and the Olympiapark are some of the possible places we will visit.