2_0_DiscoverGermany_Issue30_September2015:Scan Magazine 1
28/8/15
10:22
Page 48
Discover Germany | Special Theme | Cultural Highlights in Germany
Hessische Kulturstiftung Promoting art and culture through funding Hessen’s museum landscape is quite a complicated one: The German Federal State emerged from three principalities and their three princely collections, amongst others, exist until today and are kept open to the public. What do they all have in common? Often enough they rely on funding from the Hessische Kulturstiftung to improve their collections. TEXT: JESSICA HOLZHAUSEN | PHOTO: HESSISCHE KULTURSTIFTUNG
Only recently the famous Städel Museum in Frankfurt was able to purchase two outstanding private photography collections with help from the Hessische Kulturstiftung, a foundation under public law. Even though the museum has a vast art collection, first-class photography was much coveted. By funding the purchase the foundation helped in establishing and exhibiting a meaningful photography collection. “It is our aim to help museums complementing their collection,”says the foundation’s managing director Eva Claudia Scholtz. But only special pieces with great artistic or historic
value are – according to the foundation’s guidelines – worth funding. The German Federal State of Hessen founded the Hessische Kulturstiftung in 1988 with the intention to promote and preserve the state’s art and culture.The Kulturstiftung relies on donations. Only when people engage – directly or financially – can the foundation keep running its programs. The foundation not only helps museums, libraries or archives to buy outstanding pieces of great importance, but also funds exhibitions and promotes young, aspiring artists through a scholarship program.
Eight locations, many historical moments International equestrian sports, the famous 'Aachener Printen'-cookies, a World Heritage Site: Aachen, Germany’s westernmost city, possesses a lengthy history dating back 5,000 years that can now be explored in all its facets thanks to the recent launch of a new cultural itinerary, the Route Charlemagne. TEXT & PHOTOS: ROUTE CHARLEMAGNE | TRANSLATION: EMMIE COLLINGE
Named after Charlemagne, a quick glance at the monumental archaeological showcase in the Elisengarten is testament to Aachen’s long history, which goes as far back as the Romans and even into the Neolithic Age.Visitors can delve into Carolingian times as the mystical silence within Aachen’s cathedral surrounds them, or indulge themselves into the acoustic backdrop of a medieval coronation’s dinner in the historic town hall. Located between the cathedral and the town hall, the ‘Centre Charlemagne – new city museum’ marks the start of the Route Charlemagne, which leads visitors to eight significant locations that testify to Aachen’s
48 | Issue 30 | September 2015
unique cultural heritage. The museum brings remarkable periods from the city’s history to life: from the Carolingian times, its role in the King’s coronation, and as the sophisticated spa town it was in the Baroque era. In the history lab you can dive into the daily life of the Carolingian times, discovering what everyday people used to wear and find out just how heavy chainmail was. Once the main draw that brought the nobility flocking to Aachen, the thermal springs at Elisenbrunnen still bubble. In the CouvenMuseum, there are a host of impressive artefacts that reveal how the upper class lived, from rococo right through to Biedermeier. The International Newspaper Museum pres-
Every year the Hessische Kulturstiftung offers eight different scholarships for postgraduates – from travel grants to an artist in residence program with studios in London, Paris, New York and Istanbul. “We do not only want to support existing art but the creation of new works as well,” says Eva Claudia Scholtz. There is only one restriction: The artist applying for a scholarship must either been born in Hessen or have studied there. www.hkst.de
Lewis Carroll (1832 - 1898) Xie Kitchen as Tea-Merchant, 1873, Albumin 19,8 x 15,2cm
ents the latest perspectives on global media in the 21st century. As the Charlemagne Prize city, Aachen is particularly committed to encouraging young people to engage themselves in the thought-provoking topic of Europe, with these efforts taking place in the Grashaus’‘European Classroom’. The Route Charlemagne provides yet another brilliant reason to drop by the young imperial city, allowing everyone to experience a spot of history up close. www.route-charlemagne.eu
A guided walk around the historic sites: Central point of the walk, Centre Charlemagne (A), town hall (B), cathedral (C), Grashaus (D), Elisenbrunnen (E), Couven-Museum (F), International Newspaper Museum (G) and the Super C (H) next to the main building of the RWTH Aachen University.