Leandro Leviste buys German house where Jose Rizal wrote 'Noli Me Tangere'

Batangas First District Rep. Leandro Leviste has bought the house where Jose Rizal wrote the final chapters of Noli Me Tangere in Germany, with plans to preserve it as a museum.

In his Facebook post, Leviste said that the signing ceremony happened last week in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany. It was attended by Dr. Franz Hack Ullmer, great-grandchild of Ullmer, representatives from the Protestant church who previously owned the house, Wilhelmsfeld Mayor Dr. Tobias Dangel, and Herbert Ehses, the chapter commander of Knights of Rizal in Germany.

Rizal lived in Germany for over a year, from February 1886 to May 1887, when he was studying ophthalmology. He stayed for two months at Pastor Karl Ullmer’s vicarage, where he wrote the poem A las flores de Heidelberg, an ode to the Philippines, and the last chapters of Noli Me Tangere.

Leviste, the son of Sen. Loren Legarda, also received items from the Rizal collection of the Ullmer family, including a table similar to the one where the national hero wrote the novel.

According to him, it was previously occupied by pastors of Wilhelmsfeld, but has been vacant since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Kaya’t inilapit ito sa ina ni Cong. Leandro na si Senator Loren Legarda. Dahil walang ibang bumili ng bahay upang mapreserba ito, iminungkahi ni Sen. Loren kay Cong. Leandro na bilhin ito, nang walang gastos mula sa gobyerno, at gawing museo na bukas sa lahat ng mga Pilipino at dayuhang bumibisita sa Wilhelmsfeld upang maunawaan ang buhay at mga akda ni Rizal," he wrote.

In November 2025, Leviste bought Solidaridad Bookshop, which was founded in 1956 by National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose.