A magical place for visitors to Neuruppin is the building that houses the Löwenapotheke pharmacy at Karl-Marx-Str. 84 – it was here that Theodor Fontane was born on December 30, 1819. His father had bought the house and pharmacy at a good price in 1819 shortly before the birth of his son, moving with his family to the small town in the Brandenburg Marches. As a pharmacist, his father was one of the town’s dignitaries. “Printer Gustav Kühn and painter Wilhelm Gentz were my playmates,” Fontane later wrote in his childhood memories. His father Louis Henry Fontane was popular as a charming conversationalist, but he had one flaw: he was addicted to gambling. After losing his entire fortune within seven years, he was forced to sell the house and the family moved to Swinoujscie.
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The Fontane House is a typical Neuruppin building with its two storeys and courtyard. It was built after the town fire of 1787 during the reconstruction of the town. The Fontane family lived on the 1st floor. Seven years later the family had to move and sell the pharmacy, however: Louis Henri Fontane had lost a small fortune. From here the family moved to Friedrich-Wilhelm-Strasse 94 and later to Swinoujscie on the Baltic coast in 1827.
The pharmacy with the golden lion on its façade is still in operation to this day. The house is privately owned and cannot be visited. Painter and graphic artist Robert Werner Wagner has found a creative home here. But do take a look in the shop windows of the Löwenapotheke: here you will find a wealth of information about Theodor Fontane.
The pharmacy with the golden lion on its façade is still in operation to this day. The house is privately owned and cannot be visited. Painter and graphic artist Robert Werner Wagner has found a creative home here. But do take a look in the shop windows of the Löwenapotheke: here you will find a wealth of information about Theodor Fontane.
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