Wiesbaden anecdotes
Christine Jendrasch is passionate about Wiesbaden and, as a tour guide, is very familiar with the state capital. We spoke to her about the best stories and most exciting anecdotes.
Käthe Paulus, the aerialist
June 1889 in Wiesbaden: Käthe Paulus crosses the road to the Kurpark and becomes aware of a balloon floating in the sky through the shouts of other people. Her breath catches when a man detaches himself from the basket and glides to the ground with a parachute. This man is Herrmann Lattemann. Spa guests, onlookers and walkers have gathered in the spa gardens especially to see him.
Käthe, who has come with her mother from Frankfurt to Wiesbaden for a cure, approaches Herrmann Lattemann, who is busy mending his balloon envelope. He spontaneously asks her if she would like to go up with him when the opportunity arises. She says yes without hesitation. Her enthusiasm for aviation is kindled from the very first moment - and not only for aviation. Herrmann and Käthe fall in love.
Käthe is a trained seamstress and initially mends his balloons. In 1893, she takes to the skies with him for the first time in Nuremberg. After his parachute jump, she brings the balloon safely to the ground.
On June 6, 1894, the two opened the "aeronaut season" in Wiesbaden: Käthe is already a real attraction thanks to her daring double descent with two parachutes - first she jumps out of the balloon basket with the parachute, detaches herself from it shortly afterwards and opens a second parachute at the moment of free fall. The couple earn their living with their performances.
Käthe Paulus, who performs throughout Europe as "Miss Polly" in a fantasy uniform, peaked cap and pluderhosen, is regarded as the first German female skydiver, achieves world fame and invents the parachute package.
An elephant in the duck cellar
The Franco-German Champagne War
The manipulated sources
Export hit: Mattiak balls
The invention of the Spätlese
By the way: Every Tuesday at 2 pm, the Wiesbaden tour guides will show you their favorite places in Wiesbaden on a 90-minute tour (opens in a new tab). For Christine, this is the fountain temple on Kochbrunnenplatz. This is where the healing thermal water that has made Wiesbaden famous bubbles up, visible and alive for all to see. You can immediately sense Wiesbaden's deep, more than two-thousand-year-old history, whose roots go back to the Romans. The water tells of times long past, of baths and of today's use.