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A visit to the house of Winnetou's creator
Features - January 08, 2006
Wahyuni Kamah, Contributor, Radebeul, Germany Anyone
visiting Dresden who knows Kar Ben Nemsi, Hadschi Halef Omar, Old
Shatterhand and Winnetou would not pass up the opportunity to drop by
the Karl May Museum in Radebeul, which is only a 30-minute drive from
Dresden.
Those names are key figures in May's books. Winnetou and Old
Shatterhand represent his adventure series in North America while
Hadschi Halef Omar represents his Oriental adventure series. And
visiting his museum in Radebeul provides a close look at his works and
life as well.
Karl Friedrich May was born on Feb. 25, 1842, in a small village,
Ernstthal, 90 kilometers west of Dresden. After gaining popularity and
financial success as a writer, he and his second wife, Klara, moved to
Dresden in 1883 and later to Radebeul. He lived in the house he called
Villa Shatterhand until he died in 1912. May was a talented writer
whose fantasi! es and research created adventure stories that have
conquered the imagination of many children.
In Villa Shatterhand, one can see his study, library, receiving room
and items that he brought back from his travels in the Middle East. All
entrances to these rooms are sealed with glass doors in order to
prevent any damage to the original items due to the large number of
visitors. The rooms are set up as they were when May lived there. His
wide collection of books are arranged in the tall bookshelves. The
souvenirs he brought back from his extensive trips to the Middle East
and Africa include wooden tables, chairs, cupboards, chests, carpets
and other ornaments.
Interestingly, May wrote his series of books on the Orient after he had
visited the Middle East and Africa, while his stories about native
Americans were not based on his observations. They were entirely based
on research and imagination. Other than his personal collections, several of his books tha!
t have been translated into several languages including comics are dis
played in the museum. Also on display are the weapons that he frequently used in his books, such as Henrystutze.
One striking item in the museum's collection is a postcard that he
wrote from Aceh, which at the time was under Dutch colonial rule. "Karl
May liked to show the people where he was, and sending a postcard was
his way of doing that," museum director Rene Wagner said. In the beginning of his career as a writer, May wrote books for teenagers such as Winnetou and the famous Oil Prince, which has been translated into 38 languages. According to Wagner, many admire Winnetou as a figure, though the description of him is limited.
"In terms of novels, the Indian stories are not too special," he added,
"When May matured, from 1900, he wrote romances that were very
religious and full of philosophy. The adventure is only the frame. But,
in fact, what he wanted to translate was the philosophical and
religious ideas," explained Wagner wh! o said Karl May touched on
Christianity, Islam, and native American philosophy in his books.
Other than Villa Shatterhand, there is Villa Baerenfett, which is
situated in the same complex. It houses paraphernalia of native
American tribes such as the clothes, pipes, kitchenware, weapons and
moccasins. These explain every item described by May in his series of
books on native Americans.
Karl Mayists can also find books, biographies, comics, films in DVD
format, T-shirts, pins and glasses, etc. in the Museum shop.
In comparison to other German authors in the 19th century, May's books
are widely read. Today, 100 million copies of his works have been
printed and have been translated into 40 languages. Karl May Museum, Karl-May-Strasse 5, 01445 Radebeul info@karl-may-museum.de Ticket: 2 euros (children), 5 euros (adult) Opening hours: 9 a.m to 6 p.m. from Tuesday - Sunday. (March to Oct.) 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday - Sunday (Nov. t!
o Feb.)
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