Outdoor Stop: House and Monument @museum.de

F: In July 1911, all of Stavenhagen was out and about. Just a few months after the centenary of the town's most famous son, he was to be given an impressive memorial.

M: That tribute to Fritz Reuter, probably the most important and successful author writing in Low German, would stand in the middle of the market square, right in front of his birthplace, the late baroque town hall. Reuter's novels and verse narratives had sold millions of copies and started a veritable craze for Low German. All over the country, Low German clubs had been set up to learn and promote the language. Beyond Germany's borders, his works were translated into more than a dozen languages. So it was high time to honour this famous writer!

F: Located between the festival hall, the grandstand and the marquee for the grand-ducal family, the monument from sculptor Wilhelm Wandschneider's studio was finally unveiled. It shows a contemplative Reuter sitting in an armchair with a half-open book on his knees. Two stone benches flank the raised figure, their backrests decorated with scenes and figures from his works: from the verse narratives "Kein Hüsung" and "Hanne Nüte", for example, or the great novels " Ut de Franzosentid", "Ut mine Festungstid" or "Ut mine Stromtid". Books every child was familiar with back then!

M: The commemoration continues: since 1949, Stavenhagen has officially adopted the appellation "Reuterstadt". And since 1960, the former town hall has housed a museum where the poet's life and work is presented on two floors. A specialist library and an extensive archive with numerous manuscripts by Reuter and other illustrious Mecklenburg authors are also based there.

F: Feel free to come inside and let Fritz Reuter and his books take you on a tour of rural Mecklenburg as it once was!