January 1 is New Year’s Day (Neujahr) and a public holiday in Germany. Find out more about customs around New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day here.

Cilly Aussem was born on January 4, 1909. She was the first German to win Wimbledon. In the final in 1931, she beat fellow German, Hilde Krahwinkel. She died March 3, 1963.

Read more here.

Konrad Adenauer was the first chancellor of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, founded in 1949 after WWII. He was born on January 5, 1876, and died in 1967 on April 19. Read here about some things you might not have known about Adenauer.

January 6 is Epiphany or Dreikönigstag, or Heilige Drei Könige. It commemorates the three Wise Men or Holy Kings visiting Baby Jesus. It’s a public holiday in Austria, in some cantons in Switzerland, in the three German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Saxony-Anhalt.

Read about it here.

Henny Porten was born on January 7, 1890. She was one of Germany’s first movie stars during the rise of the silent film industry. Porten also worked as a producer and made a successful transition to talking movies. She died October 15, 1960 in Berlin.

Find out more here.

Elisabeth Schwarzhaupt was born on January 7, 1901. She was the first female Federal Minister of Germany. From 1961 until 1966, she served as the Minister of Health. She died on October 30, 1986.

Read about her accomplishments here.

January 12 is Marzipan Day and marzipan in many shapes and forms is very popular in Germany, especially around Christmas time.

Click here to find out more about the history of Marzipan in Germany.

Luise Rainer was born January 12, 1910. The German actress was the first one to win an Academy Award two years in a row, 1936 and 1937. She is also the only German actor to win an Oscar. She died December 30, 2014 in London.

Find out more about her life here.

Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger was born on June 24, 1770. He was better known as the “Schneider von Ulm” (tailor of Ulm). In 1811, he attempted (and failed) to fly across the Danube with his invented flying machine. He died on January 28, 1829, poor and destitute.

Read more about him here.

January 30 is the Feast Day of Saint Aldegundis. The Merovingian nun and abbess died on January 30, 684. She is known for helping the poor and sick, and is one of the 14 Nothelfer (Holy Helpers or Auxiliary Saints). In the Koblenz region, a sweet pretzel called “Aldegundisbrezel” is sold in her honor.

The photo shows a shrine for Saint Aldegundis at the “Staffelberg” in Franconia in the state of Bavaria. It says: “Hlg Adelgundis bitte für uns”, meaning “Saint Adelgundis pray for us.” Notice that the spelling of “Aldegundis” varies.

More about Aldegundis and sweet pretzels here.

Melitta Bentz was born on January 31, 1873. She is the inventor of the coffee filter and the founder of the company Melitta which still exists today. She died on June 29, 1950.

Read more about her here.