January

The low temperatures of what was once known as the “hard” or “ice” month brought much of public life to a standstill; military campaigns and were put on hold and those who could afforded it hunkered down in the warmth of their parlours. Only people that needed the money ventured out to perform work vital to society. One exception to this social split was provided by the German King Henry IV, who was forced to set out through the ice and snow to Canossa on 25 January 1077 to seek an audience with the pope. Henry had been excommunicated during the Investiture Controversy, and his purpose for the journey was to beg in person that the sentence be rescinded so that he could retain his crown. Carl Benz had fonder memories of the coldest month: 29 January 1886 saw him file a patent for the Motor Car No. 1, and in so doing, launch the automotive age. German women had to leave hearth and home on 19 January 1919 to exercise their right to vote for the first time in a German national election. They were casting their vote for the National Assembly in Weimar which was to be entrusted with drawing up the constitution for the first democratic German nation state.