Leviste acquires Rizal’s ‘Noli’ house in Germany

MANILA, Philippines — On the eve of the 140th anniversary in March 2027 of its publication in the German city of Berlin, Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere” – the book that changed the course of Philippine history – is in the headlines once again.

Rep. Leandro Leviste has just bought the house in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany, where Rizal would complete his first novel, which exposed the corruption in the country.

The historic home is finally in Filipino hands for the first time, paid for with Leviste’s private funds, not by the Philippine government’s. It stands at No. 7 José-Rizal-Strasse in Wilhemsfeld, the street named after Rizal by the town government in acknowledgement of this Filipino hero’s international importance.

Leviste has announced plans to turn the house into a museum honoring Rizal, a touchstone of Filipino identity in these volatile times, for all Filipinos living and working abroad, like Rizal.

The house was brought to his attention by his mother, Sen. Loren Legarda, a long-time culture advocate and Rizalist who was campaigning for the Philippines to land the spot as “Guest of Honor” at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year. That bid was successful, and the Noli became the theme of the country’s leadership role. Wilhelmsfeld is a mere 30 minutes by train from Frankfurt.

Rizal would arrive in Heidelberg in the spring of 1886 to study at Europe’s most advanced ophthalmology clinic of the time, in an attempt to save his mother’s failing eyes. He would take a room in Pastor Karl Ullmer’s home in the small farming town outside the university to save on his meager allowance.

That vicarage is where he discovered German philosophy and poetry, studying with the pastor every morning, while he worked on the ‘Noli’ every night in a second-story room. Pastor Ullmer would become a lifelong friend, and his influence is evident in the quotation from the German poet Friedrich Schiller on the Noli’s title page. — Delon Porcalla