The Salmen - a monument of national significance
155 years after this memorable event, the Salmen was transferred to civic ownership. Federal President Johannes Rau underlined with his presence the significance of this ceremonial act for the whole Federal Republic of Germany.
Offenburg had already laid claim to its role in the democratic tradition of Germany. On the 100th anniversary, on 12 September 1947, the city organised a large memorial celebration. From 12 to 14 September 1997 over 100,000 people took part in the Offenburg Freedom Festival. In the same year, the city acquired the property of the Salmen, with the objective of using the building in the future for cultural purposes.
The authors of the Offenburg programme wrote history in 1847. And that in the truest sense of the word. Initially developed as a political programme by opposition elements in Baden, the Offenburg Demands became incorporated in the draft constitutions of Germany. We find their contents again in St. Paul}s church. The Weimar Constitution was strongly influenced by them, as is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. Our forebears provided the generations to come with a political and spiritual standard. This is something we can be proud of.
The Salmen is an important memorial site for democratic traditions in Germany. It shows that democracy developed not only in the metropolises, but also in the German provinces. And it is still more. It is also a memorial to our Jewish community, which used the hall of the Salmen as its synagogue room for nearly 60 years, until the November pogrom in 1938. Both sides of German history are recalled by a representation on the gallery.
In addition, the Offenburg citizenry organised festivals and concerts in the Salmen inn.
