From 'light seeing' to bookworm bashes: what are the unmissable events in Germany this week?
Here's a look at the big cultural events and news set to take place in Germany this week.
Monday, October 8th
Every night this week, from the Museum Island to Potsdamer Platz, Berlin lights up in epic colours as part of the global “Festival of Lights.” Head through one of the “walks of light” in order to catch glimpses of illuminated monuments and art work or go on a guided “light seeing” tour.
Later on Monday the German Book Prize winner will be announced and awarded 25,000 euros. The most prestigious prize for German language literature, the jury will decide out of six nominated books.
This year's nominees for the German Book Prize. Photo: DPA
The group British in Bavaria will also be hosting a talk at 7 p.m. by Colin Monro, a UK diplomat and first-hand observer of European politics and politicians over the whole period of the UK´s membership of the EU. Expect a lively discussion about what to expect leading up to, and following, the Final Deal.
Wednesday, October 10th
The 21-year-old student Celina Kühl from Hanover will speak at the Federal Ministry of Finance on Wednesday and demand more commitment to the rights of girls in Germany from Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD).
"We demand binding structures to strengthen the participation of girls and women in Germany and worldwide," Kühl told DPA.
On Wednesday, the Frankfurt Book Fair will also kick off, stretching until Sunday. The weekend days of the festival, which started in 1454, are exclusively for business, but it opens up to the public over the weekend.
Thursday, October 11th
To honour the annual United Nations’ World Girl’s Day - established in 2011 to showcase the potential of girls and young women - over 30 landmarks throughout Germany will light up on Thursday night in pink, including the St. Petri Church in Hamburg, the Funkturm in Berlin and the Neues Rathaus in Hamburg.
Germany is known as being the country of “Dichter und Denker” (Poets and Thinkers), and its braininess shows every year at the 70th annual Nietzsche Congress in Naumburg in Saxony-Anhalt. Starting on Thursday, philosophically-minded participants from all over the world gather to discuss the ideas of one of Germany’s most prized intellectuals, this year focusing on topics such as history, memory and tradition.
The Nietsche Documentation Center in Naumberg, where the congress is held. Photo: DPA
Friday, October 12th
We’re already getting teary eyed thinking of the Zwiebelmarkt, or Weimar Onion festival, the oldest folk festival in the state of Thüringen. Counting its 365th anniversary this year, the weekend-long festival which kicks off on Friday, will host no less than 600 stands selling onion-related ware and of course crown the Zwiebelmarkt Queen.
Sunday, October 14th
Sunday will be a suspenseful day in Bavaria, as the southern state elects 180 members to the state’s 18th Landtag, or legislature. The results will likely shake-up politics, with conservative CSU currently polling at a history low, and losing several voters to the right-wing Alternative for Germany. In a surprising development to the left, the Green party poised to snag second place.
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Monday, October 8th
Every night this week, from the Museum Island to Potsdamer Platz, Berlin lights up in epic colours as part of the global “Festival of Lights.” Head through one of the “walks of light” in order to catch glimpses of illuminated monuments and art work or go on a guided “light seeing” tour.
Later on Monday the German Book Prize winner will be announced and awarded 25,000 euros. The most prestigious prize for German language literature, the jury will decide out of six nominated books.
This year's nominees for the German Book Prize. Photo: DPA
The group British in Bavaria will also be hosting a talk at 7 p.m. by Colin Monro, a UK diplomat and first-hand observer of European politics and politicians over the whole period of the UK´s membership of the EU. Expect a lively discussion about what to expect leading up to, and following, the Final Deal.
Wednesday, October 10th
The 21-year-old student Celina Kühl from Hanover will speak at the Federal Ministry of Finance on Wednesday and demand more commitment to the rights of girls in Germany from Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD).
"We demand binding structures to strengthen the participation of girls and women in Germany and worldwide," Kühl told DPA.
On Wednesday, the Frankfurt Book Fair will also kick off, stretching until Sunday. The weekend days of the festival, which started in 1454, are exclusively for business, but it opens up to the public over the weekend.
Thursday, October 11th
To honour the annual United Nations’ World Girl’s Day - established in 2011 to showcase the potential of girls and young women - over 30 landmarks throughout Germany will light up on Thursday night in pink, including the St. Petri Church in Hamburg, the Funkturm in Berlin and the Neues Rathaus in Hamburg.
Germany is known as being the country of “Dichter und Denker” (Poets and Thinkers), and its braininess shows every year at the 70th annual Nietzsche Congress in Naumburg in Saxony-Anhalt. Starting on Thursday, philosophically-minded participants from all over the world gather to discuss the ideas of one of Germany’s most prized intellectuals, this year focusing on topics such as history, memory and tradition.
The Nietsche Documentation Center in Naumberg, where the congress is held. Photo: DPA
Friday, October 12th
We’re already getting teary eyed thinking of the Zwiebelmarkt, or Weimar Onion festival, the oldest folk festival in the state of Thüringen. Counting its 365th anniversary this year, the weekend-long festival which kicks off on Friday, will host no less than 600 stands selling onion-related ware and of course crown the Zwiebelmarkt Queen.
Sunday, October 14th
Sunday will be a suspenseful day in Bavaria, as the southern state elects 180 members to the state’s 18th Landtag, or legislature. The results will likely shake-up politics, with conservative CSU currently polling at a history low, and losing several voters to the right-wing Alternative for Germany. In a surprising development to the left, the Green party poised to snag second place.
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