Culture calendar

Festivals galore

It's been nearly two and a half years since it dawned on two publishers from Hamburg that the city's harbor setting and popularity with tourists makes it the perfect place for an international literature festival. The quickly turned their idea into reality, and the second "Harbor Front Literature Festival" is set to run this year from September 8 - 18. Over 100 authors from more than 20 countries will read onboard ships, in the Speicherstadt district filled with old marine storehouses and in the city's famed red-light jaunt, the Reeperbahn.

Berlin's International Literature Festival is another relatively new festival celebrating its 10th anniversary this year from September 15 - 25.

Not to be outdone, the Ruhr Valley is also hosting two more festivals for the literary-minded as part of its year as a European Capital of Culture. On the docket are the International Fairy Tale Festival from September 29 - October 3 and Europe's biggest event for fans of mysteries and thrillers, called "Mord am Hellweg" ("Murder along the Hellweg"), from September 18 - November 13. Star authors like Hakan Nesser from Sweden and Simon Beckett from Great Britain will be among the participants during the festival's eight weeks of suspense and sleuthing.

Beethovenfest in Bonn

The city of Bonn is proud to be the birthplace of composer Ludwig van Beethoven and will host the Beethovenfest once again this year, from September 10 - October 9. The festival can be traced all the way back to composer Franz Liszt, a great admirer of Beethoven's, who was frustrated by the city's inability to collect enough money for a monument honoring the great composer. Liszt took it upon himself to collect the finances for a Beethoven statue. In 1845, the statue was erected on Bonn's Muenster Square in conjunction with the city's first Beethoven Festival. Since then, the celebration has had its share of highs and lows, but it is now a fixed part of Bonn's cultural scene. This year's motto is "Into the Open: Freedom and Utopia in Music."

Monuments open to the public

It all started in France. In 1984, French politician Jack Lang inaugurated the "Journees portes ouvertes monuments historiques" or "Open House of Historical Monuments." It was an idea that quickly took hold elsewhere and became official a few years later under the title "European Heritage Days." Now, 49 nations participate, and Germany does its part with the annual Day of the Open Monument. Once a year on the second Sunday in September, (this year, on September 12th), historical sites that are otherwise closed to the public open their doors. Last year, around 4.5 million people took advantage of the opportunity. And since every occasion needs a motto, this year's event features "Culture in Motion - Travel, Trade and Traffic." Old-fashioned trade and warehouses are on display, as well as places where other countries left their mark, like the Dutch District in Potsdam.

Modern art from Latin America

An advisor to Bonn's Federal Art and Exhibition Hall got a different perspective on South American life and abstract art during a visit to an exhibition in Miami three years ago titled "The Sites of Latin American Abstraction." He was so impressed that he proposed bringing the exhibition to Germany. His plan comes to fruition from September 17 - January 1, 2011, an appropriate time given that many of the countries involved are celebrating 200 years of independence. The Frankfurt Book Fair in October will also highlight the region by featuring Argentina as a guest country. Bonn's exhibition is titled "VIBRACION: Modern Art from Latin America" and also features the work of three Jewish artists who went to Latin America to flee the Nazi regime. They include German photographer Grete Stern, German sculptor Gertrude Goldschmidt (Gego) and Swiss artist Mira Schendel.

Knowledge on display in Berlin

What do math genius Albert Einstein, the universal scholar Wilhelm Leibniz and the Brothers Grimm have in common? The answer: None of them were from Berlin, but all of them spent an important part of their lives in the city. Einstein completed his theory of relativity there, Leibniz acted as the first president of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, and the Brothers Grimm wrote their "History of the German Language" in Berlin. Their original works will be displayed at the Martin-Gropius-Bau exhibition hall in Berlin, starting this month. "World Knowledge - 300 Years of the Sciences in Berlin" from September 24 - January 9, 2011 is the exhibition's title and takes place as part of Berlin's Year of Science. Five of the city's major scientific centers - the Berlin State Library, the Charite University Hospital, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Humboldt University and the Max Planck Society - are taking part and providing some of the approximately 1,600 items that will be displayed. Those objects include manuscripts, books, mounted animals, tools and a replica of an enormous precursor to the calculator called the Z3. It was created by Konrad Zuse and presented in 1941 for the first time to a group of scientists and scholars.

Oktoberfest in Munich

It may be called Oktoberfest, but it actually starts in September! From September 18 - October 3, millions of people will head to the Bavarian capital to drink beer, enjoy regional dishes and then drink more beer of course. Most visitors will wear Bavaria's traditional attire, regardless of whether they're from Munich, Australia or Japan. Oktoberfest isn't just the world's biggest beer festival; it can also be traced back to a centuries-old tradition - to be exact, to a horse race in October 1810 that marked the marriage of then crown prince Ludwig I. The celebration was so much fun that it was repeated the following year and beyond. Oktoberfest was born. Those who plan to come may want to get their arms in shape, though. The beer isn't served in normal glasses but in extra-large steins that hold up to a liter. Bottoms up!

Author: Petra Lambeck (gsw)

Editor: Kate Bowen