Even though the light bulb and the telephone were invented in Germany, others made fortunes with them. An overview of the most important inventions from Germany.

Germany, the land of poets, thinkers and engineers. In the nation's cellars and workshops, things were created that seem self-evident in today's everyday life. At the time, some inventions were a revolution. Some inventors even received a Nobel Prize, others simply did not apply for a patent and came away empty-handed. An overview of the most important inventions from the fields of natural sciences, technology and medicine that determine our everyday lives today.

The best and most successful German inventions of the last centuries

Johannes Gutenberg - the printing press

Around 1440, goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented letterpress printing. He forged movable type that could be placed on a rail and brushed with ink. A sheet of paper was then placed on top and pressed down with a machine. This is how Gutenberg produced the first printed Bible. coolest products

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An exhibitor shows the Gutenberg press that marked the beginning of book printing.

(Photo: dpa)

Together with Martin Luther's Reformation, letterpress printing marked a new engagement with language and writing. For the first time, texts could reach ordinary people. This was a decisive contribution to the literacy of society.

Samuel Hahnemann - homeopathy

Samuel Hahnemann made an invention from Germany in 1797 that is still controversial today. He invented homeopathy. The doctor, pharmacist and chemist developed an alternative medical treatment that was supposed to be less violent than the methods practised at the time, such as bloodletting.

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The treatment consists of two parts. First, patients are thoroughly interviewed. The background is to record all physical and mental symptoms. According to the principle "cure similar with similar", patients are given remedies in the form of drops or sugar globules - also known as globules. The active ingredient in them is diluted to such an extent that there is only a memory left. The potency described indicates how often the active ingredient has been "shaken up".

Despite many sympathisers, homeopathy is heavily criticised. An effect of homeopathy that goes beyond the placebo effect is not comprehensible from a scientific point of view.

Heinrich Göbel - the light bulb

If you now think that this invention comes from Thomas Eddison, you are unfortunately wrong. Eddison did indeed produce the first carbon filament lamp in 1879 and received the patent for it shortly afterwards.

The German watchmaker Heinrich Göbel, however, constructed the first functioning incandescent lamp as early as 1854, but Göbel, who later lived in New York, did not apply for a patent on it.

Replica of a telephone system invented by Johann Philipp Reis in 1859.