Abstract

Those who have attended any Hegel congress in Stuttgart in the past may remember disappointment on seeing the house in which Hegel was born. I well remember my own embarrassment, a few years ago, taking a group of Italians to the 400 years-old house at No. 53 Eberhardstraße. We found nothing to remind us of the philosopher but a miserable plaque. Worse, the ground floor of the building was apparently occupied by a firm specializing in bathroom equipment. This sad and unsatisfactory situation was all the more surprising, given that this house was among the few old buildings not destroyed during World War II.