The former home of Helmut Schmidt, who was Germany's chancellor from 1974 to 1982, and his wife Loki, was the house of art lovers. Their foundation is offering a virtual tour of the couple's residence.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
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What former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's home reveals
The former home of Helmut Schmidt, who was Germany's chancellor from 1974 to 1982, and his wife Loki, was the house of art lovers. Their foundation is offering a virtual tour of the couple's residence.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
An entrance filled with art
The virtual tour of the house which can be found on the webpage of the Helmut und Loki Foundation starts in the entrance hall. As can be seen, the Schmidt's were art lovers. Their collection includes unknown artists as well as famous ones such as Chagall, Nolde and Kokoschka. On the app, the camera symbols can be clicked to enlarge the pictures of the artworks. The circles lead to the next rooms.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
Still filled with life
Although Helmut Schmidt died in November 2015, his office gives the impression that he's just left the room. Different small objects, from a shaving mirror to half-burned candles as well as a pack of menthol cigarettes, do not give the impression this house is a museum. The app allows virtual visitors to zoom into details and move around the room.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
The sailor's bar
Coming from Hamburg, the Schmidt's designed their home bar in the style of a typical harbor pub. It included paintings with nautical motifs, a model of a ship, ropes with sailor knots and souvenir from travels abroad. To the right is the dining room, where more details can be discovered.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
A lively dining table
The Schmidts ate surrounded by paintings and sculptures. The marks left on the dining table allow us to imagine their meals at home - a visual revealing detail that wouldn't appear in any ordinary biography.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
Around the chimney
Helmut Schmidt used to keep his huge collection of records next to the fireplace. At the end of his life, he couldn't hear well enough to enjoy them, so he donated the collection to a music and acting school in Hamburg.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
The favorite game
Loki and Helmut Schmidt were passionate chess players. They not only played at home but also on holidays (such as pictured here, in Gran Canaria). "I learned to play chess as a child from my father, and haven't learned anything more about the game since," Helmut Schmidt once said.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Fischer
Schmidt, the musician
Helmut Schmidt was an excellent pianist. In the 1980s, after his time as chancellor, he gave concerts. An album was recorded of him playing Mozart's F Major Concerto for Three Pianos. Schmidt was accompanied by two of Germany's best pianists: Justus Frantz and Christoph Eschenbach. He kept playing until the end of his life, despite hearing loss.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
Books everywhere
There isn't one of the rooms in the virtual tour without a wall of books. The cozy corner in the living room received many prominent guests over the years, such as the Spanish royal family, Juan Carlos and Sophia, as well as Leonid Brezhnev and Henry Kissinger.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
The garden of a environmentalist
Loki Schmidt loved flowers and plants. As an environmentalist, she initiated a German foundation for the protection of endangered plants. The collection of plants in her greenhouse went to a botanical garden in Hamburg, which is now called the Loki-Schmidt-Garten.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
A green view
Apple trees, roses, camellias and a garden pond made up the view Helmut Schmidt could enjoy from his study. The complete virtual tour can be found on the Helmut und Loki Schmidt Foundation website.
Image: Filmreif-Pictures
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For their golden wedding anniversary in 1992, Helmut and Loki Schmidt established a foundation for the promotion of science and research, as well as for the preservation of their cultural and political heritage.
It's a huge one. Throughout their lives, former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (1918-2015) and his wife Loki (1919-2010) collected an extensive archive in the fields of art, music, literature, society and politics. Their house in Hamburg was so full that they even added an additional building on their property to accommodate these works.
Now, just over a year after Hemut Schmidt's death on November 10, 2015, the public can view parts of this exceptional collection - through a virtual tour, for now.
On the website of the Helmut and Loki Schmidt Foundation, visitors can stroll through the estate and the surrounding gardens, with a 360-degree-view. It is possible to zoom into objects and many of them can be clicked to find out more information.
Helmut Schmidt in 1976Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Fischer
Helmut Schmidt: Germany's fifth chancellor
Helmut Schmidt was chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. He saw through the resolution of great political crises, such as the oil crisis in the 1970s or the terror of the Red Army Faction (RAF) during the events known as the "German Autumn."
Schmidt's decisions were often controversial, but the population admired his straightforwardness and his iron will. In 1982, as a result of strong parliamentary opposition to his policies, the chancellor was ousted from his office through a vote of no-confidence. He retired completely from politics in 1986.
After his political career, Schmidt became a sought-after across-the-board counselor, analyzing the political, economical and social issues of the country.
He stayed alert until the very end of his life. Despite smoking bans, he would typically smoke his menthol cigarettes wherever he was.
The private life of the Schmidt couple
Helmut and Loki Schmidt were married for almost 70 years - until her death in 2010.
The virtual tour through the Schmidt residence provides insight into the everyday life of the couple, without intruding in their intimacy by avoiding the bedrooms and bathrooms.
The tour was realized by the Hamburg-based production company Filmreif Pictures. The editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit," Giovanni di Lorenzo, serves as the guide for this virtual tour. As Schmidt was the director of the paper for several years, the journalist was a close associate who knew the house very well. Di Lorenzo tells different stories about the objects that can be seen, about the paintings, and what happened in each room of the house.
The whole house radiates warmth. Even though the Schmidts had other residences, this one was truly their home. They wrote in their will that they wanted to have this property open to visitors. This virtual tour is the first step towards the realization of their last wishes.
