Literature Meets Nature: A Reluctant Berliner Between Hamburg and Havana
11 June 2019
Photo: Pixabay/dwoodsi
Here in Havana's Old Town, Alexander von Humboldt resides in the form of a bust.
Alejandro de Humboldt clearly feels at home in the middle of Havana: On a secluded, green-covered square, a bust dedicated to the explorer and naturalist observes the hustle and bustle of the city. Curator, author and Humboldt expert Peter Korneffel reports on Alexander von Humboldt between Hamburg and Havana on June 18.
In 1800, the real Alexander von Humboldt landed on the island for the first time and is unofficially considered the second discoverer of Cuba. He even corrected the map position of today's Cuban capital by one and a half degrees. In Hamburg, however, the enterprising adventurer and co-founder of the modern natural sciences was declared dead four years later - erroneously, as it soon turned out. The scion of a wealthy officer's family, however, never had much love for his native city of Berlin, which today is booming and bursting at the seams.
Curator, author and Humboldt expert Peter Korneffel
What view did Alexander von Humboldt have of the global North and South of the early 19th century and how did he shape his intellectual cosmos between Havana and Hamburg? Author and travel journalist Peter Korneffel will address this question in his feuilletonistic lecture "Humboldt - A Reluctant Berliner between Hamburg and Havana" in the "Literature Meets Nature" series. The view of the Hanseatic city is also interesting for the Humboldt expert because it was the starting point for many of Alexander von Humboldt's journeys.
Special exhibition until the end of September
In his lecture, Peter Korneffel also reports on little-known details about the complicated relationship between the siblings Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt and their father city Berlin. In addition to a permanent Humboldt exhibition in Havana, the author also curated the "Animals in the Tropics" section of the special exhibition "Humboldt Lives!" at the Zoological Museum. The exhibition is also on view at the Botanical Garden until the end of September, where Peter Korneffel will also lecture on July 3.
When: Tuesday, 6/18/19, 6-9 p.m.
Where: Exhibition of the Zoological Museum, Bundesstraße 52.
Registration not required, free of charge