Germany honours author with museum

Grass recently celebrated his 75th birthday

A museum devoted to the work of Nobel prize winning author Guenter Grass has opened in the German town of Luebeck.

The Guenter Grass House focuses on Grass's literary and visual work, displaying manuscripts, sketches and sculptures by the author.

The museum, whose opening coincides with the author's 75th birthday, will also host regular cultural events and exhibitions devoted to the work of other authors and artists.

Grass, who was born in Danzig, has lived and worked in Luebeck since 1995, and is known for dealing with controversial issues in his books.

He shot to fame with his 1959 novel The Tin Drum, which is set in his home town and chronicles the rise and fall of Nazism through the eyes of a young boy.

Commentator

His most recent novel, Crab Walk, deals with the 9,000 German war dead from a refugee ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff, which was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in January 1945.

Grass's other works include Cat And Mouse and My Century.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999, making him the first German to secure the award since Heinrich Boell won in 1972.

Grass is a constant commentator on German affairs past and present, through his fiction, essays and speeches, and also in interviews and talk shows.

He is also known for his visual work, which includes 2800 drawings and water colour paintings, 450 graphic prints and over 100 sculptures.

Officials say they are hoping the museum, which also has a study centre and research library, will attract around 30,000 visitors per year.