Communism began with a burgher

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Revisit Karl Marx if you are looking for answers to your financial woes.

The intent of this column is not to promote any ideology, but it seems that the long-dead Karl Marx is getting a revisit. The running joke among German booksellers has been to use the hefty Marxist handbook, Das Kapital, as a doorstop.

But with the global financial meltdown the book has been flying off the shelves in recent weeks — and Trier, the sleepy birthplace of Marx, has seen a spurt in visitors, maybe some of whom may have forgotten that the erstwhile USSR did fall not so long ago.

Nestled in the heart of Germany, Trier is no ordinary city. It makes the bold claim of being the oldest city in Germany. Ruins have been found dating back to 16 BCE, and it was one of the capitals of the Roman empire. But before you visit the ruins, the Karl-Marx-Haus is the most relevant first stop.

Marx was born here in 1818, and quickly outgrew the city. The house is a burgher’s home. Burgher is German for bourgeois, the upper middle class. Marx lived here till he finished school in 1835. The house remained nondescript until the Social Democratic Party purchased it in 1928. Hitler was no fan of Marx, so the house was finally reborn as a museum in 1947. In its present form, three storeys high, the house dates back only to 1983.

The exhibition at the Karl Marx Haus offers a rare peek into Marx’s early years growing up in a burgher family. Baroque touches in the house will surely charm visitors. More important are names associated with Marx but which never figure in discussions about him. Among the displays is an entire visual journey from his birth to death in exile in London — a goldmine for those politically inclined. And if that’s boring, the Roman ruins beckon.

There’s plenty more to see in Trier, spread along the Moselle River. Start with the Porta Nigra, said to be the best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps. Follow it up with the Constantine Basilica, the 67-metre-long throne hall of the emperor Constantine. It is today a Protestant church.

An upcoming attraction is the annual Trier Christmas Street Festival, from November 26 to December 22. It’s a great event to wind down with. Trier, you see, attracts the largest number of Chinese tourists — irrespective of the slowdown — and the festival is a welcome sweetener for them after the rigours of Marx.