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Ratzinger Uncovered in Guide to Pope's Bavaria

DW staff (nda)July 11, 2005

Not content with providing guided tours of his current address, an Italian entrepreneur based in Germany has copied the business ideas of her Vatican-based cousins by compiling a guidebook to the pope's Bavaria.

https://p.dw.com/p/6uG5
Visitors can expect a warm welcome in the pope's home townImage: AP

Now with the help of the 152-page book "The Bavaria of Joseph Ratzinger; a practical guide to the origins of Benedict XVI", papal devotees can plan their vacations in the southern German state around the places where the pope lived, the churches where he celebrated Mass and his favorite places to eat.

The book, which also contains essential information such as where the young Joseph Ratzinger first raised a bierstein of Weizen, goes on sale this week in Italian bookstores. "It's a different way to get to know this holy man, for Catholics and non-Catholics," Jeanne Perego, the Italian author, told reporters.

"He comes from a small town in an area that isn't well known. I live there and know and love it well, so the idea came naturally," she added.

Places of Ratzinger interest

Regensburg Altstadt mit Dom Sankt Peter
RegensburgImage: dpa

Those taking up their guidebooks and walking the pope's trail can look at the small church in Regensburg where the pope said Mass every morning as a "volunteer" because it didn't have a priest before he headed to work at the nearby university where he taught theology.

Moving further afield, the dedicated and devout can wonder at the house with peaked eves in Aschau am Inn where the Ratzinger family lived after his father spoke out against the Nazi regime in 1932 and was forced to move.

Refreshments detailed in guide to pope's Bavaria

There is even advice as to where pilgrims can get hold of "Pope Beer" bearing portraits of a white-robed Benedict and restock their energy levels with "Ratzinger cake" made of chocolate and marzipan. And for devotees from Italy there is a list of Italian restaurants along the trail so no one has to get too homesick.

Galerie: Papst Benedikt Bild 16, Priesterweihe
Image: KNA-dpa

As well as highlighting places of interest, tips for accommodation and recommended eating and watering holes, the guide features interviews with friends and family who talk about the "modest and generous" young seminarian and priest who went on to become one of Bavaria's most famous native son.

A deeper insight into the man behind the pope

Joseph Ratzinger
Joseph Ratzinger, the current popeImage: dpa

"This book is for people who want to get to know the man behind the Pope," said Perego who hopes the guide will attract the same kind of interest that was shown during the recent sale of Ratzinger's second-hand Volkswagen, which was snapped up for nearly 190,000 euros ($228,000) after a frantic Internet bidding war.

The guide retails at a more modest 14 euros.