European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                 Berman towns Story and photos by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau you can t find the Small town of her Stein by balancing Germany on a Needle. But you could before the reunification of East and West Germany last week. At least that s How her Stein mayor Lothar Myrtke did it. Finding the town on a map could prove to be difficult. Depending on the map used the town of about 2,000 inhabitants May not even be marked. Myrtke used an almost foolproof a although time consuming a Way to find his town on any map of West Germany. The 62-year-old mayor would take a map of what had been West Germany mount it on a thin Sheet of styrofoam and then Cut it out. A Needle would be placed underneath the balancing Point of the cutout and pushed through the styrofoam and the map. The Needle Myrtke said always poked through her Stein. It was not the geographic Center of the country but its physical Center Myrtke said. And for the 40 years it could claim to be the Quot phys Kalischer Mittelpunkt Der bundles Republic Quot its claim to Fame was plastered on everything from town signs to restaurant napkins. Myrtke does t know where the balancing Point is on a map of the newly unified Germany. But he is certain it in t under her Stein. Luckily there is More to the Small town West of Fulda than an imaginary Needle beneath the ground. Myrtke who has spent 40 years As the town s mayor registrar arbitrator and Justice of the peace knows her Stein and its history Well. He said the town was first mentioned around the year 1000. Sometime before that it had been settled by tribes from the area around Tirol Austria. The Early tribesmen brought their customs to their new Home. At least one of those customs is still alive once a year on Rose monday during continued on Page 4 her Stein mayor Lothar Myrtke shows How he locates his town on a map of West Germany he balances a cutout of the map on a Needle stuck directly under the town. Hop on Over Toh Erbstein october 11, 1990 stripes Magazine