Culture

Next exit: God

Street art

Some 300,000 travellers per year stop at the highway church St. Christopherus near Baden-Baden. The pyramid-shaped building, built in 1978, attracks visitors also because of it's architecture and the design by artist Emil Wachter. And it's not only for the highway; the local community also uses the church for religious services.

Next exit: God

Long tradition

As early as in the Middle Ages people built places of worship along their travel routes. Crosses or little chapels can still be found along the highways of yore. Today these routes are often footpaths and hiking trails, like in the case of the Wörmedsöd chapel in Austria.

Next exit: God

Old rivalry

One of the oldest highway churches is in Exter, between Bielefeld and Hanover. Built in 1666, it becaume a highway church in 1959 when the Protestant state church wanted to establish an equivalent to the rival Catholic highway church set up in Adelried in Bavaria. Along with the church, there's also a rest stop and a playground in Exter.

Next exit: God

Wearing many hats

The Exter church often had to reinvent itsef: After more than 500 years as a traditional church and more than 50 years as a highway church, there are now even services for policemen, firement and EMT workers.

Next exit: God

Writing on the wall

The invitation is to come in welcomes travelers in large letters. Each year there are more than 30,000 people who do come in and use Exter to take a break.

Next exit: God

Sleek design

The Bochum highway church can be found in the middle of Germany's industrial hearland. Once again, it was originally used as a traditional communty church until it was reassigned for a highway. The architecture is minimalist Bauhaus, but the interior is bright and the colorful windows invite the sunshine in.

Next exit: God

Link to heaven

The highway church in Medenbach near Frankfurt is also bathed in sunlight. The glass roof opens up to sky, clouds, sun, moon or stars - depending on what time of day or night you choose to pull over.

Next exit: God

Modern cube

Architectual beauty is not necessarily what you expect to find in a highway church. The Emmaus church near Stuttgart for is a simple cube with a glass front. Even from far away you can spot the huge cross at the entrance. The yard in front is sealed off by a wall to keep out the noise from cars and trucks rolling past.

Next exit: God

Experimental design

Germany's latest highway church looks a bit like a spaceship. Finished in May 2013, the Siegerland church was built - like many other examples - with money coming from private donors.

Author: Klaus Dahmann / ai | Editor : Kate Müser

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

Jeans for the East

For many years, blue jeans were a symbol of Western capitalization. Nevertheless, the GDR purchased a million pairs of jeans from US manufacturer Levi's in 1978. East Germans snatched up the opportunity to buy them. Jeans produced in the GDR, with names like Wisent or Shanty, were slow sellers in comparison. The material did not feel real, and the wash-out effect left plenty to be desired.

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

Almost nylon

DeDeRon was the latest trend in 1972, as the model on this catwalk demonstrates. Dresses, stockings and aprons were made of the synthetic fiber. The man-made material could be likened to nylon from the west. The DDR insisted on this socialist nylon variety, that referred to the German abbreviation for the DDR.

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

Socialist cola

While West Germans could quench their thirst with Coca-Cola, the GDR offered citizens two socialist variations of the beloved carbonated drink: Club Cola and Vita Cola. Both were supposed to taste like the US version. But that was an impossible challenge that even Coca-Cola’s top competitor Pepsi could not achieve. Visitors from the West were not taken by the bitter flavor of Vita Cola.

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

The East burger

In 1982, the Economization and Reseach Center for Restaurants introduced the Grilletta. The nifty kitchen device made it possible to copy another symbol of the Western culinary lifestyle - the hamburger. The recipe sounds familiar: a bread roll sliced in half, filled with a ground meat patty smothered in ketchup. The latter, however, was a scarce commodity, so an alternative was used.

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

Sweetening the socialist workday

A so-called sweet bar is concealed in this packet. The proportion of cocoa in this block of chocolate was only seven percent, meaning it could not officially be referred to as a chocolate bar. To cover up the absence of the key ingedrient, sugar, fat and a paste of hazelnut and peas were added. East German sweets makers, unlike their Western counterparts, had to learn to manage scarcity.

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

Rock 'n' roll

Through their record label, Amiga, the GDR was able to listen to Western music groups like the Beatles, even though the government labeled it “rubbish.” This album only distantly reflects the original. The records comprise a mix from different songs from the artists' various albums. No wonder the black market for Western records boomed.

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

Aerobic television

Aerobics became hugely popular amongst East Germans in the 1980s, though it was considered taboo as it represented foreign capitalism. Instead, “Popgymnastik” emerged. The aerobics television program “Enorm in Form” on West Germany's ZDF television station soon found its match in the East with “Medizin nach Noten” (roughly, Medicine to Music).

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

A digital dud

This computer, from GDR manufacturer KC compact is based on a western model Amstrad PC made by Amstrad Schneider. As East German computer technological advancement was so far behind that of the west, DDR engineers were happy to copy models from the west. The KC compact came into production shortly before the fall of the wall in 1989 – and as a simple East German copy, it was a non-seller.

Close but no cigar: Product plagiarism in the GDR

East German nostalgia

East Germans were only able to buy products from the West from the chain store Intershop with West German money. Today, they sell items once available in the GDR, profiting from a boom in East German nostalgia. Many products are available in their old GDR-styled packaging but have been adapted to meet Western standards. The chocolate content in the sweet bar, for example, has been quadrupled.

Author: Marc von Lüpke-Schwarz / jlw | Editor : Kate Müser