The Red Thread (German: Roter Faden) is a 4.2-kilometre (2.6 mi) urban walking trail in Hanover, Germany, to 36 significant points of interest about architecture and the history of the city centre.
Red Thread | |
---|---|
Length | 4.2 km (2.6 mi) |
Location | Hanover |
Established | 1971 |
Trailheads |
|
Use | Walking |
Waymark | Red line painted on ground |
Website | www |
Trail map | |
The Red Thread (●) is an urban walking trail through the city centre of Hanover, and in particular the site of its old town, shown here within the approximate location of the former 13th-century city wall (●) within the 17th-century inner bastion (●). [de ] It begins and ends near the main railway station.
|
It starts at Ernst August Square tourist information office near 52°22′31″N 9°44′29″E / 52.375366°N 9.741331°E approximately 120 metres (390 ft) south-southeast of the southern, ground level, entrance of the main railway station.[1][2] Threading through the city centre of Hanover and in particular the site of its old town (Altstadt) in a roughly clockwise direction, the Red Thread ends at the tail end of the equestrian statue of Ernst August. That statue is situated near 52°22′35″N 9°44′27″E / 52.376295°N 9.740774°E about 15 metres (49 ft) in front of that same, southern ground level, entrance of the main railway station.[3]
next to theBarrier-free for the entire course, the line is repainted annually with about 70 litres (18 US gal) of red paint. A brochure that explains each stop along the Red Thread is available in 10 languages, as is a mobile app for iOS called Roter Faden that supports 4 languages.
The Red Thread is based on the Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts, and was created in 1971 for a marketing campaign developed for the city of Hanover by an agency chosen in 1969 by city manager Martin Neuffer. [de ][4]: 185, 195–196 At that time Hanover had a reputation of being one of the most boring cities in Germany.[5][6][7] Appreciating art, city manager Neuffer initiated an image campaign comprising a street art program and a marketing campaign.
The walking trail comprises the following 36 numbered stops.
Hannover, die graue Maus unter den deutschen Großstädten, weckt auf fast unheimliche Weise keinerlei Assoziationen. Nicht mal einen kernigen Dialekt spricht man hier. [...] Wer in Hannover lebt, muss Spott ertragen können