Albert Einstein – the famous physicist in Caputh
Albert Einstein once said, 'Come to Caputh, don’t care about the world!' With these words Einstein invited his son Eduard to join him at his summer house in Caputh. Einstein called his timber house 'paradise'. Here at Caputh the famous Nobel prizewinner was able to escape the daily grind of the metropolis for a few months of the year, spending time sailing the Havel Lakes in his boat.
Einstein lived in this house in Caputh during the summer months from 1929 to 1932. He went on long hikes through the woods and went sailing on his boat on Lake Templiner See. The physicist in particular enjoyed the serenity and nature. He spent the best years of his life here. Still today, you can sense some of the atmosphere of the times when he used to live in Caputh.
Einstein, his wife Elsa, his stepdaughters Margot and Ilse, his son-in-law Rudolf Kayser, the mathematician Walther Mayer and his private secretary Helene Dukas enjoyed the rural tranquillity. Einstein invited scientists, writers and artists to come to Caputh on a regular basis. Among other, he received Max Liebermann, Käthe Kollwitz and Heinrich Mann.
You can see interesting models, photos and documents in his summer house which was designed by Konrad Wachsmann and in the exhibition 'Einstein's idyllic summer resort' at the Caputh Bürgerhaus.
The life of Albert Einstein
Born in Ulm on 14 March 1879
1896–1900 – academic studies at the Zurich Polytechnic
1902 – provisional employment at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern, on a permanent basis as of 1904
1905 – quantum theory, special theory of relativity
From 1909 – professor of theoretical physic at various universities
1913 – selected for membership in the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin
1914 – Einstein moved to Berlin
1915–16 – theory of general relativity
1921 – awarding of the Nobel prize in physics
1929 – construction of the summer house in Caputh
1933 – Einstein did not return to Germany after a lecture tour to the US and declared his resignation from the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin
From 1933 – fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, US
Einstein died on 18 April 1955 in Princeton
(Source: Initiativkreis Albert-Einstein-Haus Caputh e. V.)
History of the summer house
May 1929 – planning
September 1929 – completion
1929–1932 – Albert Einstein lived here with his wife Elsa, his stepdaughters Ilse and Margot, son-in-law Rudolf Kayser and the housekeeper Herta during the summer months
1933–1935 –the house is used as a Jewish orphanage and as a country house by school classes for short visits
1935 – the house was confiscated by the National Socialists
1936 – the municipality of Caputh bought the house and used it for different purposes
1944–1978 – residential house of the municipality of Caputh
1978–1979 – reconstruction and listing as a listed building with a special historic significance
1979–1990 – guest house of the 'Einstein Laboratory' of the East German Academy of Sciences
1994–2001 – the house was used by the Einstein Forum and the municipality of Caputh
From 2001 – closed to the public
May 2005 – opening after extensive restoration work
(Source: Initiativkreis Albert-Einstein-Haus Caputh e. V.)
Sites related to Albert Einstein
Einstein's House in Caputh
The prominent scientist lived with his ...
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