In The Footsteps of Karl Marx (Self Guided), Trier

Apart from being a home to the largest number of Roman ruins outside Rome, Trier is also extremely popular with international tourists, especially those from China, as the hometown of Karl Marx.

Here, the father of socialism and one of the most important philosophers of the 19th century, who, as an adult, managed to change the course of the world's history, had spent the first 17 years of his life. For someone who had later changed cities like socks, this stint happened to be the second longest in any one place (in London Marx spent twice as long). Still, Trier was the city that had most shaped Marx's story.

Karl was born on May 5, 1818 in an 18th-century gabled house on Brückenstrasse, which is now the Karl Marx's House museum and the most important attraction for those keen on his legacy. The museum houses the famous bust of Marx sculpted by his great-grandson, the rare first edition of Das Kapital, Marx's seminal work, and other relics.

When the boy was just over a year and a half old, the Marxes moved to a different location, the pink house – presently known as Karl Marx Childhood Home – on Simeonstrasse, which is nowadays the main pedestrian street of the city. The family lived here until 1835, when Karl finished school.

Symbolically, Marx's wife, Jenny von Westphalen, also from Trier, used to live not far from his birthplace, just a few blocks away – on Neustrasse.

On the 200th anniversary of Marx's birth, the Chinese government added to the list of Marx-themed attractions in Trier a 5.5-meter statue, a nod to his birth date: 5.5.1818.

If you wish to follow in the footsteps of Marx in his hometown, take this self-guided tour. Whilst walking, make sure not to miss a pair of traffic lights, at the end of Fleischstrasse, with a cheerful bearded figure glowing not only with the classic revolutionary red, but also in green...;)