Bertha Benz - what was her legacy?
As the daughter of a wealthy carpenter's family, Bertha Benz was born in 1849 at a time when women were still denied access to higher education. In spite of this, the desire to achieve something earth-shattering awoke in her at an early age. With her interest in engineering and railroads, she lays the foundation for your legacy.
What does the Bertha Benz ride mean?
When she marries the penniless engineer and inventor Carl Benz, Bertha Benz has no idea that she will play an epoch-making role in the history of the automobile. On the contrary, she learns about hunger, hardship and the ridicule of society. When, after years of hard work, her husband's invention does not meet with the hoped-for approval of the paying public, Bertha Benz decides to act. Together with her two sons, she undertook her first long-distance trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back again in August 1888 in the Benz Patent Motor Car. With extraordinary drive for a woman of that time, she proves to the world the functionality of the Benz Patent Motor Car with the "Bertha Benz Ride".
The Bertha Benz Memorial Route
Officially a tourist and vacation route since 2008, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route largely follows the historic long-distance journey of Bertha Benz in 1888. The Bertha Benz Route, which is about 194 km long and runs from Mannheim to Karlsruhe and back again, links original sites of her journey and leads through one of the most beautiful vacation regions in the world:
- Highlights such as the romantic city of Heidelberg with its historic castle, vibrant old town and one of the oldest universities in Europe
- the palace garden of the asparagus town Schwetzingen
- the world famous Black Forest
- Ladenburg with its beautiful medieval town center resting on Roman foundations, the Dr. Carl Benz Museum and the Benz family home
- the fan-shaped city of Karlsruhe, the birthplace of Dr. Carl Benz
- Hockenheim with its Formula 1 circuit and its Motor Sport Museum
The Bertha Benz Film - Mercedes shines the spotlight on the woman without whom the brand with the star would probably never have existed
Bertha Benz's pioneering journey now dates back more than 130 years and still serves as a role model today. In a four-minute movie, global mobile company Mercedes shines the spotlight on the woman without whom this car brand would probably never have existed. The Bertha Benz film is about a strong Bertha Benz as a timeless role model for all women and men on International Women's Day on March 8.
Accompanying the film, female executives from different sectors tell what they can still learn from Bertha Benz and her legacy today. Bertha Benz, a role model for all pioneers and pioneer women of the present!
