TOURISM-NEWS MEDIA INFORMATION TOURISMUS MARKETING GESELLSCHAFT SACHSEN ITB SPECIAL EDITION | HIGHLIGHTS SAXONY | 2021
SAXONY ON ITB 2 DRESDEN ELBLAND 4 LEIPZIG / SURROUNDINGS 13 CHEMNITZ / ZWICKAU 21 ORE MOUNTAINS 25 VOGTLAND 29 SAXON SWITZERLAND 33 UPPER LUSATIA 36
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 1
SAXONY ON ITB
Saxony is the first ‘Official Cultural Destination of ITB Berlin’
Dear colleagues,
This year sees the Free State of Saxony achieve a notable world first with its Press contact: appointment as ‘Official Cultural Destination of ITB Berlin 2021’. In the process, it Saxony Tourism Marketing becomes the first Federal State to earn such an exclusive honour since what is now (Tourismus Marketing the world’s largest tourism industry trade fair started, over half a century ago. Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH), Ines Nebelung, Bautzner Str. 45-47 This new cultural partnership initiative fits Saxony perfectly, seizing the opportunity to 01099 Dresden showcase its exceptional cultural and city break credentials as well as highlighting Tel: +49 (0)351 49 17 0-25, Mobile: +49 (0)171 446 99 stand-out nature experiences. Saxony Tourism Marketing is set to join forces with 26 30 state-wide partners in a collective effort to attract inbound guests from 9 to 12 March 2021 under the motto ‘SAXONY – FEEL THE ART BEAT’. This will see STM presse.tmgs@sachsen- tour.de; www.sachsen- leverage the impact of lectures and presentations via multilingual webinars, animated tour.de sequences, interviews and live streams in the Culture Café and talks in the Press Café. Spotlight areas include ‘Culture & Cities’, ‘Active & Nature’ and ‘Family Holidays’. Following its designation as an ‘Official Cultural Destination’, Saxony is moving into pole position as the ITB 2022 guest country.
Background: This year, all online, guests can enjoy the globally unrivalled ITB Berlin NOW 2021 travel trade show as a central portal for industry networking, business and content from 9-12 March 2021. Please note that ITB Berlin NOW 2021 and the accompanying ITB Berlin NOW Convention target trade visitors only.
Key Dates
9 March 2021, 11.00-11.30am, Online press conference: Saxony as an ‘Official Cultural Destination of ITB 2021’. On the agenda: new trends and developments, stand-out cultural events and innovation in 2021 and 2022 and Chemnitz’s nomination as European Capital of Culture 2025. Addressing these topics will be the Saxon Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Barbara Klepsch, and the Managing Director of Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH, Veronika Hiebl. Link:
10 March 2021, 11.00-12 noon, Online press conference: In the Saxony Press café ‘The Must-See Three’, Topic: ‘Augustus – the first elector with a vision & the Renaissance’; Patrizia Meyn, Managing Director, gives us her take on the 450 years of Augustusburg Castle, set to be celebrated in 2022 with a special exhibition and a comprehensive accompanying program. Link:
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 2
11 March 2021, Presentation ‘Saxony Official Culture Destination’, 2.00-2.10pm, 2.15-2.40pm and 2.45-2.55pm, https://www.itb.com/ITBBerlinNOW/Program/
Reunion in the digital Press Café: Requested – the pleasure of your company for a chat with us at the Press Café Saxony: either individually or in smaller groups, for interviews, rounds of discussion, presentations or just to have a natter. Here, check out some references to current press material.
• Your points of contact in the various meeting venues: • Ines Nebelung – Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen • Karla Kallauch and Christoph Münch – Dresden Marketing Gesellschaft • Andreas Schmidt – Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing Gesellschaft • Caroline Langer/Lucia Schaub – Chemnitz Economic Development Corporation • Marika Fischer/Sandra Loos – Tourismus Region Zwickauer Land/Zeitsprungland • Bärbel Borchert und Dirk Heinze – Tourismusverband Vogtland e.V.
All you need to access the press conference and the Press Café Saxony is online accreditation, obtainable via the link: https://www.itb-berlin.de/Presse/Akkreditierung/. Once your data has been successfully registered and verified, your access data for the ITB Berlin NOW platform will be emailed from the trade show organisers. Alternatively, contact STM anytime: [email protected].
More than likely, you’ll also find the program we’ve put together for you in our showroom and at the Culture Café inspiring, including exclusive interviews, films and presentations. Details will be published well ahead of time on our Brand Card.
Catch Saxony highlights for this year and beyond in Tourism News for ITB Berlin NOW 2021 or on the tourism news section at www.sachsen-tourismus.de. For imagery, check the picture archive on our website or download your images of choice from this document.
We hope this press release has helped power up your penmanship!
Ines Nebelung, Head of Corporate Communications
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 3
DRESDEN ELBLAND
View across vineyards in Dresden Elbland. © Erik Gross. Download
Dresden Elbland is ready to welcome back visitors. Its theatres and museums are poised on standby, likewise their creative event planners, not to mention other active Elbland service providers. All hope to make as many of their plans and projects a reality as possible, despite these challenging times.
Parties and Festivals 2021 Press contact:
Dresden Marketing GmbH Jazz lovers should make a beeline for Dresden Elbland come early June. The XJAZZ Press Officer Edition Radebeul event (from 3-6 June 2021) gives musical fans the chance to enjoy Karla Kallauch, a triple-header of top-class performers at three different venues: The Martin Luther Tel: +49 (0)351 50173124
Church in Radebeul, the Karl Friedrich Aust Winery and the Radebeul Kultur- karla.kallauch@marketing. Bahnhof. Meanwhile, the Moritzburg Festival, an established part of the Elbland dresden.de www.marketing.dresden.de region and Dresden cultural landscape, will welcome numerous musicians and fans of international chamber music in midsummer (8-22 August 2021).
And it doesn’t stop there – regional organisers also hope to bring back open-air events in 2021. On the itinerary: Film Nights on the Elbe embankment (24 June to 22 August 2021), the Dresden Castle Night (17 July 2021), the Palais Summer (16 July
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 4
to 22 August 2021), the Dresden City Festival ‘Canaletto’ (20 to 22 August 2021) and the Christmas City with the Dresden Striezelmarkt (25 November to 24 December 2021) as a smorgasbord of super shared experiences to come.
Another tried and tested draw for Elbland visitors is the Neue Burgfestspiele Meißen (12 to 27 June 2021). Gracing the venue this time, the Landesbühnen Sachsen theatre, presenting the opera Der Freischütz in the Albrechtsburg Castle courtyard to mark the 200th anniversary of its premiere.
Vines refined over centuries of time – and while not vast, they match the best. Welcome to the Saxon Wine Route between Pirna and Diesbar-Seußlitz, where no matter how many hectares and hectolitres, taste remains key. There’s no better way to acquaint yourself with Saxon wine than regional initiatives like the Open Winery Days in Saxony (28-29 August 2021) or the wine festivals in Radebeul and Meißen (1-3 October 2021).
For more information: . www.filmnaechte.de . www.Dresden-schloessernacht.de . www.palaissommer.de . www.canaletto-fest.de . www.striezelmarkt.dresden.de . www.neue-burgfestspiele-meissen.de
Key dates:
XJAZZ Edition Radebeul 3-6 June Neue Burgfestspiele Meißen 12-27 June Night of the Dresden Palaces 17 July Moritzburg Festival 8-22 August Film Nights on the Elbe embankment 24 June to 22 August Palais Sommer 16 July to 22 August Dresden City Festival ‘Canaletto’ 20-22 August Saxony Winery Open Days 28-29 August Wine festivals in Radebeul and Meißen 1-3 October Dresden Striezelmarkt 25 November to 24 Dec
Showcasing and Setting History Alive
Captivating children as well as older visitors is what those behind the Dresden Elbland museums have done time and time again and the latest example sees visitors navigating the Albrechtsburg Meißen via HistoPad. Over and above this though, 2021 sets the scene to embark on new journeys through time with an ultra- modern tablet guide helping you navigate the world-famous Moritzburg Baroque Palace and breathe new life into its age-old surroundings. Expect A1 authenticity from popular exhibits taken from the Three Wishes for Cinderella fairy-tale classic. At Moritzburg Castle, meanwhile, where the film was shot, the exhibition sheds new
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 5
light onto how the production came together and welcomes visitors into the world of Cinderella with original costumes, among other things (from November 2021).
The special exhibitions of the German Hygiene Museum never fail to fascinate and come packed with perspective to boot. The content now on show, up to 26 September 2021 and reflecting an edible theme, is entitled ‘Future Food’ and addresses how we will eat going forward. Namely, which trends and social developments will affect our eating habits and how. Meanwhile, the special exhibition section, ‘In Prison – Detained and Deprived of Liberty’ (26 September 2020 to 31 May 2021), is dedicated to life behind bars as the name suggests. Perhaps it seems overly obvious – prison is for lawbreakers who endanger society and tasked with protecting the public, while punishing and rehabilitating the former. But is it really that simple?
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Dresden became a hotbed for reformers, as embodied by its School of Arts and Crafts and the garden city of Hellerau. Reflecting this heritage, the city is now playing host to the first comprehensive presentation of the history of design in East and West Germany, entitled ‘German Design 1949- 1989. Two Countries, One History’ in the Kunsthalle venue, within the Lipsius Building on Brühl’s Terrace (15 October 2021 to 20 February 2022).
Another highlight set to debut in spring 2021 is the Zwinger Xperience, a new permanent presentation set in its namesake venue. Within the museum, enjoy an unfolding 3D experience, fascinating panoramic projections and thrilling virtual reality, all of which bring you up to speed with the Dresden Zwinger story since 1719. Plus, venture under Brühl’s Terrace for a further bonus and more multimedia magic. Fortress Xperience transports you back to the 16th century, right to the time when the Dresden city fortifications took shape, then among the most modern of their time. Both stations are just ten minutes’ walk from each other and pave your way to delve further into Dresden’s dynamic history.
For more information: . www.albrechtsburg-meissen.de . www.schloss-moritzburg.de . www.dhmd.de . www.lipsiusbau.skd.museum . www.zwinger-xperience.de . www.festung-xperience.de
Key dates: In prison – Detained and Deprived of Liberty up to 31 May Future Food up to 26 September Three Wishes for Cinderella from November 2021 German Design 1949-1989 15 October to 20 Feb 2022
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 6
Highlights of the Dresden State Art Collections Press contact:
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen ‘Johannes Vermeer. On Reflection’ – paintings proudly on show from the Dresden Dresden State Art Collections, with Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Media and Communication Holger Liebs Window’ the centrepiece. Acquired in Paris in 1792 as part of the collection of the Tel: +49 (0)351 4914 2643 Saxon Elector Friedrich August II, Dresden’s Old Masters Picture Gallery has been [email protected] home ever since for this venerable work of art, now restored to a spectacular new www.skd.museum lease of life.
This current show puts a pre-eminent pair within the 19th-century museum building under the spotlight, when the Old Masters Picture Gallery and the Sculpture Collection up to 1800 collectively host works for the first time. After almost a decade of painstaking renovation, the museum reopened in early 2020, allowing visitors to enjoy world-famous masterpieces once again like Raphael’s ‘Sistine Madonna’, Rembrandt’s ‘Ganymede’ or Bernardo Bellotto’s ‘Dresden Vedute’. Also fresh on the menu for visitors, the new museum café ‘Algarotti’, evoking the dazzling namesake art dealer of August III.
Following the inauguration of the Baroque parade rooms of Augustus the Strong in 2019, completion is now in sight for the ongoing reconstruction of the Dresden Residence Palace. As things stand, historical models are also the benchmark for the redesign of colourful Renaissance frescoes in the loggia of the Great Courtyard. Meanwhile, the Long Corridor is set to play host to the 500 most magnificent firearms of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in the possession of the Saxon elector.
For more information: . www.visit-dresden.travel . www.skd.museum
Key dates: Johannes Vermeer. On Reflection 4 June to 12 November
Magic of the Dresden Music Festival
Europe-wide, the scale and success of the Dresden Music Festival now have few Press contact: peers. First launched in 1978, the event is synonymous with an international festival Dresden Music Festival atmosphere, amid guest performances by over 1500 artists worldwide to date. Press and Public Relations Artistry that has been arranged since 2009 by cellist Jan Vogler, who has broken Nicole Czerwinka Tel: +49 (0)351 478 56-43 new ground in bringing the event from strength to strength and combined musical traditional and innovation in the process. Unfolding at various venues across the czerwinka@musikfest spiele.com board, including a classical concert hall, an historic winery and a modern factory, the www.musikfestspiele.com Music Festival is a microcosm of Dresden’s own diversity; inspiring its people to embrace and discover music in all its forms.
Under the motto ‘DIALOGUE’, the die is cast for world-class orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouwork under Fabio Luisi or the London Symphony under Sir Simon Rattle, to meet protagonists from singer/songwriter, jazz, rock and world music genres scenes from 14 May to 21 June 2021. The Senegalese world musician
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 7
Pape Diouf, for example, set to make his German debut in Dresden and the American songwriter Aoife O’Donovan, who kicks off the first music lounge in the Löwensaal. Alongside jazz greats such as Till Brönner, Jamie Cullum and chanson singer Ute Lemper, the audience will also be treated to celebrated classical soloists, including singer Regula Mühlemann and violinist Gil Shaham. Artist-in-Residence, conductor Daniele Gatti, is set to make his podium debut with the Dresden Festival Orchestra and who better than rock icon Sting to round off the final chord? More glittering gems also await all guests enjoying the 45th Dresden Music Festival program. Once again, Jan Vogler has invited top international orchestras and soloists to the Elbe in May and June 2022. Next year’s program will also feature guest performances by the Vienna Philharmonic under Andris Nelsons, the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Sir Simon Rattle.
For more information: . www.musikfestspiele.com
Press contact:
The Frauenkirche Dresden builds Musical Bridges Frauenkirche Foundation Press and Public Relations Grit Jandura Bonding is the buzzword for the new season at the Frauenkirche: welcoming Tel: +49 (0)351 656 06 120 musicians from Germany, Europe and overseas, alongside established orchestras Mobile: +49 (0)173 75 44 739 and young ensembles and a repertoire tailored to the Frauenkirche itself, a watchword making waves toward reconciliation and musically transposing the presse@frauenkirche- concept in a unifying approach. dresden.de www.frauenkirche- dresden.de Across the Atlantic with amarcord, the Leipzig vocal ensemble, building bridges to America with Artistic Director Daniel Hope and a program moving between Elgar and songs from jazz, musicals and R&B. Other guests include the young pianist Maxim Lando and ‘The Hope Orchestra’. Finally, enjoy the gloriously versatile range of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra in a concert triple-header, to be conducted by soloist and Artistic Director Daniel Hope alongside Christoph Eschenbach, while the London Bach Choir brings British Christmas cheer to Dresden.
Regula Mühlemann, meanwhile, brings with her all the myriad magic of Mozart in an evening with the Basel Chamber Orchestra. This concert, headed by Markus Becker, fuses classical composition with the coolness of jazz, namely Haydn and improvised jazz juxtaposed, underlining the scope of Frauenkirche to bring more unusual timbres to the fore. And it’s back in time to an 18th century repertoire for the church’s own choir. Together with the Frauenkirche Dresden ensemble and the Bad Elster Chursächsische Philharmonic orchestra, they regale listeners with Vivaldi’s Gloria setting and Haydn’s Theresienmes, among others.
A total of 45 evenings in 2021 have been set aside for the Frauenkirche to pay tribute to the so-called queen of instruments – the organ. On this occasion, organisers have also taken the chance to honour two titans of early music, namely Michael Praetorius and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, set to take centre stage in the Dresden Organ Cycle as part of events to mark 400 years since their passing. The stand-out significance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s organ music for the Frauenkirche is reflected in the Bach+
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 8
series.
Taking the floor in The Young Artists series, groups of up-and-coming artists hailing from Dresden, Switzerland, America, Russia and Japan perform nine recitals in the Unterkirche. A special sound space on offer to young musicians for whom promising horizons unfold and talents deserving of a wider audience.
For more information: . www.frauenkirche-dresden.de
The Semperoper Premieres Semperoper Dresden
The Semperoper is once again abuzz with planning and rehearsals in full swing as Head of Communication & Marketing moves to bring back its loyal audiences gather pace. Come autumn, the venue is set Susanne Springer to welcome the premiere of a 3-part ballet evening in September, featuring Tel: +49 (0)351 4911 251 choreographies by William Forsythe, Nicholas Palmquist and David Dawson. Slated susanne.springer@semper for the following month, the premiere of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma under the musical oper.de direction of Giampaolo Bisanti, staged by Peter Konwitschny and with a set by www.semperoper.de Johannes Leiacke. Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola debuts in November, followed in December by the ballet evening of Romeo and Juliet by David Dawson. January 2022 should bring with it a world premiere for Torsten Rasch’s The Other Woman, to be followed in March by the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida (musical director: Christian Thielemann).
For more information: . www.semperoper.de
Extravagant revue operettas, cult classics and Broadway musicals Press contact: Staatsoperette Dresden With an admirable determination to consign the cheerlessness of the ‘lockdown Jana-Carolin Wiemer Tel: +49 (0)351 32042-222 season’ to the dustbin of history, the Staatsoperette has come up with a mix of ambitious productions and light entertainment for the 2021/22 season. The full gamut [email protected] www.staatsoperette.de of musical theatre will be represented, with five premieres, nine revivals and a concert series.
The program opens with Ralph Benatzky’s evergreen Im Weissen Rössl, a revue operetta about nostalgic longings and social climbing. The premiere is on 10 September 2021. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is the title of the second premiere of the season on 23 October – an American musical that was made world famous by the Hollywood movie version starring Marilyn Monroe. Among the many show-stoppers is Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.
One of the most popular operettas in the German repertoire, The Cousin from Nowhere, has its Staatsoperette premiere on 29 January 2022. It is an intimately staged chamber piece, distinguished by lively dialogues and dazzling sitcom, into which composer Eduard Künneke incorporated American dance routines such as
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 9
tango and foxtrot for the first time. The dream of sudden wealth is the subject of The Two Neckties, a musical revue with the jazzy rhythms of Mischa Spoliansky and a libretto by Georg Kaiser, one of the most successful playwrights of the 20th century. This is a tale of ‘from rags to riches (and back)’. The premiere is booked for 9 April 2022. The season closes with the extravagant revue operetta Casanova. Ralph Benatzky borrowed from the works of Johann Strauss to weave mischievous, swaying melodies into this colourful and dazzling revue. The premiere is set for 18 June 2022.
The soloists and orchestra of the Staatsoperette will also perform three concerts in the 2021/22 season. The traditional New Year’s Concert will take us on a musical journey to America, featuring big band and Broadway sounds, jazz and themes from the movies.
Dresden Transport Museum – Starward Bound and On the Streets Press contact:
Dresden Transport Museum The special exhibition ‘To the Stars. The Adventure of Spaceflight’ (16 April to 7 Marketing Josephine Wolf November 2021) traces the key milestones in spaceflight history, examines Tel: +49 (0)351 8644134 developments of today and tomorrow and gives insights into what daily life for space station astronauts entails. [email protected] [email protected]
They were the first motorised vehicles on which many GDR youngsters cut their teeth. Fast forward to today and models like the Schwalbe have become cult. Simson mopeds are genuine two-wheeled classics and from October, the focus of an entire exhibition at the Transport Museum. Entitled ‘Generation Simson. 50 cubic CC on the fast lane’, it tells the story of the vehicles and their riders, united over the decades by collective enduring love for their ‘Simme’.
For more information: . www.verkehrsmuseum-dresden.de
Press contact:
Searching for Sparkling in Germany’s East Schloss Wackerbarth Leiter Kommunikation Martin Junge Saxony’s Elbe Valley is home to one of Germany’s smallest but most perfectly Tel: +49 (0)351 8955218 formed wine regions – where head-turning terraces, vineyard vistas and baroque Mobile: +49 (0)151 180 425 11 beauty abound. It is also one of the most sun kissed spots anywhere in Germany – no wonder its grapes and their bounty stand out. The coming together of a balmy junge@schloss- wackerbarth.de continental climate, cooler nights and an extended ripening phase are key to the www.schloss-wackerbarth.de pronounced aromas that prevail. The fruit also remains naturally fresh until late on in the ripening process. All of which explains how Saxony’s ‘Cool Climate’ wines inspire with aromatic elegance and structural subtlety.
Lying at the heart of the Saxon Wine Route, Radebeul plays host to Wackerbarth Castle and its unique ensemble of baroque grounds, picturesque vineyards and modern manufactory. Look no further than here for world-class wine and delicacies across the board, with a sparkling day at the adventure winery the stand-out for
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 10
oenophiles. Dive into one of the daily guided tours to find out how wines mature in the wine cellar and why tried and tested French craftsmanship still lies behind the sparkling creations to this day. And how better to round it all off than a short hike up the Wackerbarth mountain, enjoying picture-perfect views of the Elbe valley as far as Dresden or Saxon Switzerland.
For more information: . www.schloss-wackerbarth.de
Wanderlust – A World Trip in Porcelain
Doors will open in May 2021 to a special exhibition entitled ‘Wanderlust – A World Trip in Porcelain’, greeting visitors with contemporary concepts of travel as well as brainstorming how the world was explored over three centuries of porcelain history. Extra enticement, meanwhile, if any were needed, comes in the form of newly themed tours such as ‘Women at MEISSEN®’ and the ‘Figures of Meissen’s Nikolai Church’, giving eager guests fresh and exciting insights into the world of MEISSEN® time and again.
Key dates: Wanderlust – A World Trip in Porcelain From May 2021 Gourmet Evening 15 October Guided tour: The Figures of Meissen’s Nikolai Church 24 April - 11 Sep. Themed tour: Women at Meissen 25 September / 11 December
For more information: . www.erlebniswelt-meissen.de
A New Manual for the Elbe Cycle Route
Cherished by cyclists in Germany more than most, the long-distance Elbe Cycle Press contact:
Route runs for 1,300 kilometres from the source of the Elbe in the Czech Giant Press / Elbe Cycle Route Mountains across country right up to the North Sea coast. The official compendium Heike Grunow for the route is the ‘Elberadweg Handbuch’, with the most updated edition for 2021 Tel: +49 (0)3501 470141 downloadable immediately from www.elberadweg.de or available at any of the tourist [email protected] information stops en route free of charge. Super portable and practical, the www.elbe-cycle-route.com ‘Elberadweg Handbuch’ makes the perfect travel companion. Featuring a handlebar pocket format, the 100-page brochure maps out the entire route with detailed stages and elaborately researched service information. Travellers get the lowdown on cycle- friendly accommodation, the best stop-off points to recharge, places of interest and cycle repair shops. The scope even covers shelters, bridges and railway stations as well as ferries with travel times. Additional pointers updated daily are available via the official portal, www.elberadweg.de as well as the Elberadweg app, including offers for luggage transport, an interactive map, information on roadworks and diversions, travel reports and event tips. The app also brings riders safely to the nearest bike-friendly accommodation and even post-lockdown, the team will use
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 11
these channels to distribute key information on COVID-19 protection and hygiene measures in the various regions.
For more information: . https://www.elbe-cycle-route.com/
Steaming through Saxony on a Journey Through Time
Nowhere other than Saxony can you take a trip back in time with narrow-gauge Press contact: steam trains on any day of the year. The Zittau narrow-gauge railway connects Zittau SOEG mbH with its namesake mountains and nature park, with themed tours and the ‘Historic Project Mobile’ festival from 6-8 August leaving even more fun in store. A stone’s throw from DAMPFBAHNROUTE Tel: +49 (0)351 2134440 Dresden meanwhile, the Lößnitzgrundbahn runs daily from Radebeul via Moritzburg to Radeburg and is known and loved for its special events like ‘Weingenuss auf [email protected] www.steam-route- schmaler Spur’ (Wending along the Narrow Gauge for Wine Lovers) and the narrow- saxony.com gauge railway festival on 18/19 September. Steaming southwards daily, the Weißeritztalbahn runs from Freital-Hainsberg to Kurort Kipsdorf and is honoured with a traditional narrow-gauge railway festival on 17/18 July, while yet another steam- driven peer, the Fichtelbergbahn, runs daily from Cranzahl to Kurort Oberwiesenthal in the Ore Mountains. Topping off the traintastic experience are group offers and themed tours along the way. The Döllnitzbahn operates daily, with steam trains on selected days, between Oschatz, Mügeln and Glossen in North Saxony, while the 11/12 September will see rail fans of all ages flock to the station festival in Mügeln. Other museum railways operating on selected days are the Preßnitztalbahn and the Schönheide museum railway in the Ore mountains, as well as the Waldeisenbahn Muskau and Schwarzbachbahn in Saxon Switzerland.
Key dates:
Weißeritztalbahn Narrow-Gauge Railway Festival 17-18 July Historic Mobile 6-8 August Mügeln Railway Festival 11-12 September Weingenuss auf schmaler Spur 18-19 September
For more information: . https://www.steam-route-saxony.com/
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 12
LEIPZIG / SURROUNDINGS
Paddeling through the center of Leipzig. © Andreas Schmidt Download
The 221st Gewandhaus Season 2021/2022 Press contact:
Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing The 221st Gewandhaus season is set to open on 17 September 2021 with a Grand GmbH Andreas Schmidt Concert conducted by the Gewandhauskapellmeister (Musical Director) Andris PR Manager Nelsons. This orchestra performance marks the continuation of the ‘Focus: Tel: +49 (0)341 7104-310 Gewandhauskapellmeisterin Sofia Gubaidulina’ to honour the composer on her 90th [email protected] birthday as the first ever to hold the coveted ‘Gewandhaus Composer’ title over two www.region.leipzig.travel seasons.
Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, The ‘New Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz’ Leipzig concert hall, which first opened its Press Spokesperson doors on 8 October 1981, will celebrate its 40th birthday in 2021 with numerous Dirk Steiner special chamber, organ and choral concerts. Its ‘Focus: 40 Years of the Tel: +49 (0)341 1270-316 Gewandhaus’ program venerates the works of those composers who lived and Mobile: +49 (0)174 9046341 worked in the former GDR, back when the venue first came into being. [email protected] [email protected] November 2021 will see the launch of a revamped Mendelssohn Festival, devoting a www.gewandhaus.de whole week to the work of the former Gewandhauskapellmeister and his great oratorios. On 4 November, the day when Mendelssohn passed away, Andris Nelsons will conduct the oratorio Elijah.
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 13
The Gewandhaus Orchestra’s strong ties with its Boston Symphony peer are reflected in the annual Boston Week program. This is a special concert week centring on composer Richard Strauss and in celebration of the shared dual- orchestra venture. Both orchestras have also included the former’s complete symphonic poems in their repertoires and are touring Europe together. They have also issued a joint CD box set on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
But enjoying the above need not come at the expense of the Gewandhaus season classics, conducted by the new Cantor of St. Thomas Church, Andreas Reize. Said church will remain the venue for the Christmas Oratorio and the St. Matthew Passion with the St Thomas Boys Choir, to be performed in December 2021 and April 2022, respectively. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony will also be included on the bill at the turn of the year in the version for orchestra, choir and soloists, while honorary conductor Herbert Blomstedt continues his Schubert-Berwald cycle, also set for release on CD.
A long-awaited 2021 highlight, the Mahler Festival, has now been rescheduled for May 2023. And where better than the City of Music itself, which was home to Mahler for two years and during which time he conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra almost daily. This marks a truly unique opportunity to experience all his symphonies and other orchestral works – interpreted by ten world-class orchestras in just 12 days – in the city where Mahler became a symphonic composer. Details of the Mahler Festival 2023 program are also expected before this year’s summer break. It will mark the inaugural contribution to the ‘Musikstadt:Leipzig’ festival landscape by the Gewandhaus Orchestra, to be followed by a Shostakovich Festival in 2025.
Key dates: Major season-opening concert 17 September Mendelssohn Days November 2021 Elijah Oratorio 4 November Christmas Oratorio December 2021 St. Matthew Passion April 2022 Mahler Festival May 2023
For more information: . www.leipzig.travel . www.gewandhaus.de . www.gewandhausorchester.de
Mosey on Down to the Schumann House! Press contact:
Schumann-Haus Leipzig New: A unique dual audio guide approach adds some welcome innovation to anyone Press/PR contact Tel: +49 (0)341 39392191 trying out this tour through the first flat shared by Clara and Robert Schumann. Visitors get access to one guide on site (in person), while Schumann fans worldwide [email protected] can follow and keep up with proceedings online. Listeners can look forward to www.schumannhaus.de contributions from Clara and Robert’s great-great-granddaughter, pianist Heike- Angela Moser, curator and Schumann expert Prof. Beatrix Borchard, Museum Director Gregor Nowak and a whole host of other interesting personalities who will be dedicating themselves in depth to the Schumanns. The icing on the online cake is
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 14
the 360-degree tour that rounds off the visit and yet another, for the visually impaired, to really drum home its across-the-board user-friendly credentials. The audio tour and a floor plan map in Braille were specially designed to meet the needs of this audience.
Sensual inspiration prompts those sampling the permanent exhibition to seek out their own personal perspective on the musician couple and helps span the historical gap right up to the present. Spotlighted here are the pair of works created in the Schumann House: The marriage diaries and the song cycle Spring of Love (Liebesfrühling), both of which jointly composed. Meanwhile, innovative highlights include ‘Clara’s Hand’, paving the way for museum guests to make their own sonic contributions and works by the pianist that reverberate through an Erwin Stache installation.
The spotlight is literally on the Marriage-experiment room – six of them, in fact – transforming the space into a trio of thematic worlds, for which author Magdalene Melchers developed ‘Visualised Features’. Inspired by the words of the Schumann couple, tensions between love and art, joy and burden with the children, wealth of gifts and struggle for money become visible and audible. A total of six rooms on the noble floor of the house at Inselstraße 18 are dedicated to this exhibition, which also focuses on concert tours from Leipzig to Denmark and Russia (including a Peppers Ghost of a concert scene and an animated film about the trip to Russia) as well as Clara Schumann’s education. A bonus for visitors, meanwhile, is scope to hear and study works by Clara and Robert composed in Leipzig, while the sound room by Erwin Stache invites visitors to experiment musically.
For more information: . www.schumannhaus.de/audioguide
Let the Music Play! The Leipzig Chamber Music Festival Press contact: Leipzig, synonymous with sound as a City of Music, is the perfect venue in which to Leipzig Chamber Music welcome some of the biggest names in international chamber music from 11-19 Festival September 2021. The inaugural Leipzig Chamber Music Festival Con Spirito is set to accolade pr Franziska Franke-Kern add even more shine to an already glittering Saxon cultural metropolis. For the Tel: +49 (0)173 7262071 audience, this is music delivered authentically ‘from the horse’s mouth’ in a range of venues and an audio journey encompassing European sites of cultural heritage, [email protected] www.conspiritoleipzig.de salons and stamping grounds of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Johann Sebastian Bach, Edvard Grieg, Richard Wagner and Clara and Robert Schumann. Peter Bruns will not only pull the artistic strings but also take part in the concerts himself. The festival will open with Niels Wilhelm Gade’s String Octet op. 17 on 11 September in the Gewandhaus – the very venue where the Dane himself graced the podium, following in the footsteps of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Its octet will close off the week-long chamber music series on 19 September on a high note at the University of Music and Theatre ‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’ Leipzig. This concert program was also made possible thanks to cooperation with the European Chamber Music Academy in Leipzig.
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 15
Key date: Leipzig Chamber Music Festival 11-19 September
Press contact: Leipzig Opera: WAGNER 22 – All-Embracing Art Leipzig Opera Sales and Marketing, In the summer of 2022, the Leipzig Opera will bring down the curtain on the season Press Spokesperson and the tenure of General Music Director and Director Prof. Ulf Schirmer by Gudula Kienemund Tel: +49 (0)341 1261266 presenting all 13 completed music dramas from Richard Wagner’s oeuvre: WAGNER 22 will erupt in the core of Leipzig, City of Music, from 20 June to 14 July 2022, as Gudula.Kienemund@oper- the beating heart of its classical music festival. Alongside timeless stage works that leipzig.de www.oper-leipzig.de need no introduction, from The Flying Dutchman to Parsifal, the program also brings us Richard Wagner’s early works, The Fairies, The Ban on Love and Rienzi. The cast of WAGNER 22 relies on the Leipzig Opera’s tried and tested ensemble and its Wagner-worthy expertise, as well as affiliated and celebrated guests, known for their world-class Wagner interpretations. To date, the following have confirmed participation: Evelyn Herlitzius (Kundry), Jennifer Holloway, Lise Lindstrom, Daniela Sindram, Manuela Uhl, Markus Eiche, René Pape, Iain Paterson, Andreas Schager (Tristan), Stefan Vinke, Klaus Florian Vogt and Michael Volle (Wotan in Das Rheingold).
Alongside the spotlight stage works, other festival program highlights include Richard Wagner’s piano works under the title Wagneriana I and II, as well as compositions dealing with Wagner’s work. Meanwhile, the more youthful guests will be well at home enjoying the Ring for Children at the Musical Comedy. Leipzig Opera seizes the chance on the eve of ‘Fascination Wagner’ to celebrate the birthday of the city’s most famous son, alongside star tenor Andreas Schager, heralding the countdown to WAGNER 22 on 21 May 2022.
Key date: International Richard Wagner Festival Days 20 June to 14 July 2022
For more information: • www.oper-leipzig.de • www.wagner22.de
Germany’s most Modern Music Museum Press contact:
Mendelssohn-Haus When it comes to historical musical hotbeds in Leipzig, the Mendelssohn House Tel: +49 (0)341 9628820 would have to be near the top of the list. Built in 1844/45, the building finally opened ims@mendelssohn- in 1997, a century and a half after Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s passing, as a stiftung.de museum to honour the composer. This late classicist building had been home for the www.mendelssohn- stiftung.de artist (1809-1847) from 1845 until his death. The Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation Leipzig, founded by Kurt Masur and directed by him until his own passing in December 2015, manages this unique and world-first museum for the composer.
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 16
Weekly, at 11am on Sundays, the Musiksalon plays host to concerts which pay homage to Mendelssohn with music from Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. Guests in the historical setting enjoy a unique opportunity to enjoy chamber music within the kind of surroundings the composer had in mind when the notes were first committed to paper. Another urban chamber music highlight is the Leipzig Piano Summer, gracing the Mendelssohn House each August, while the program at the Mendelssohn-focused Bach Festival showcases some of the program stand-outs on which the City of Music made its name. Special concerts in the chamber music hall of the Gartenhaus round off the magical musical multiplicity of the Mendelssohn House. Among the major musical events in the city of Leipzig are the annual Mendelssohn Festival Days with a corresponding special program.
Key dates: Mendelssohn Festival Days 31 October to 7 November Mendelssohn Day, Concert marking his passing 4 November
For more information: . www.mendelssohn-haus.de
Highlights in the Grassi Museum of Applied Arts Press contact:
Throughout 2021, a total of nine major exhibitions and four foyer events are planned, Grassi Museum of Applied Arts including ‘REKLAM!’, which will feature numerous prominent enamelled advertising Tel: +49 (0)341 2229101 signs and is set to run until 9 May 2021. [email protected] www.leipzig.de Murano, sheltered in the Venice lagoon, is synonymous with the finest in Italian glassworks artistry and has been home to master craftsmen in the domain since the 14th century. The ‘MURANO. Colour Light Fire’ exhibition is scheduled to run until 15 August 2021. And there’s more. From 10 June to 3 October, CULTURAL AFFAIRS presents ‘traveling objects‘, especially jewellery, fashion and textile alongside graphic and industrial design, embodying the exchange of cultures through travel and migration. The creative fruit of contemporary young designers and artists, many of whom with global and transcultural origins and biographies. Roles for children in society are morphing and so are their seating arrangements. We bring home just how to visitors, in the exhibition ‘CHAIRS. Just for children!’ from 10 June to 3 October, with children more than welcome to watch on in wonderment and supply their own seating creative fuel.
Showcased at the International Sales Fair for applied art and design, GRASSIMESSE 2021, which runs from 29-31 October, will be a myriad spectrum of international exhibitors. This year, as before, it is expected to bring together creatives, artists and designers for a wealth of inspiration and insights into design trends, not to mention the chance to buy unrivalled design and handicrafts over the three days of the fair.
Head-turning porcelain from the museum’s own 18th and 19th century collection is the star turn in the special exhibition ‘FRAGILE SPLENDOUR. Masterpieces of Porcelain Art’ (13 November 2021 to 10 October 2022), with tableware and figurines
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 17
from all the key manufactories on show. Meanwhile, the super-wide scope is the standout for the special ‘ANALOG TOTAL. Photography Today’ exhibition, featuring single images, serial imagery and three-dimensional objects as well as workshops alongside the visual feat for a practical take on how the various techniques are applied. Pausing to remain with photography, a follow-up exhibition ‘PHOTOBOOKS. Art page by page’ is set to run from 25 November 2021. While the glass sculptures created by the hand of Kai Schiemenz resemble the material stone, they look every bit as fragile and ready to break at the same time. Mastering what is a centuries-old and elaborate technique of casting in glass gives the go-to glasswork of Kai Schiemenz a special and rare materiality, while his artwork is also open to human traffic and treads in the ‘GLASS STONES’ exhibition.
Key dates: Special exhibitions Reklame! up to 9 May Murano. Colour Light Fire u to 15 August Cultural Affairs. Art without borders 10 June - 3 October Chairs. Just for children! 10 June - 3 October Grassimesse Leipzig 29 October - 31 October Fragile Splendour. Porcelain Art 13 November 2021-9 October Analog total. Photography Today 25 November 2021 - 3 April Photobooks. Art page by page 25 November 2021 - 3 April Glass Stones. Kai Schiemenz 25 November 2021 - 3 April Foyer exhibitions Container made of gold up to 21 March Clay poetry. Mária Geszler-Garzuly 30 March to 10 October Acquisitions of the Grassimesse 2021 19 October to 7 November Porcelain Manufactory Fürstenberg 13 November to 27 March
For more information: . www.grassimak.de
New York: Taking a Pre-9/11 Breath
Late summer 2021 will see Yadegar Asisi open NEW YORK 9/11, his eighth 360° panorama show at the Panometer Leipzig. On show, a wide overview of streetscape imagery on a seemingly normal morning in the New York borough of Manhattan, just moments before the attacks on 11 September 2001 unfolded. Thronging crowds heading for their offices, tourists streaming in front of the World Trade Center and the multicultural togetherness and antagonism of New York’s rush-hour traffic. This circular painting is the third of Yadegar Asisi’s anti-war projects, alongside DRESDEN 1945 and LEIPZIG 1813. As soon as museum visits restart, visitors will be able to view the 360° panorama ‘CAROLA'S GARDEN – A return to paradise’ at the Panometer Leipzig until summer 2021.
For more information: . www.panometer.de
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 18
Anniversary Year for Leipzig Zoo
Over 32 million visitors in total since 2000 have had the chance to experience the Press contact: reinvented Zoo of the Future, combining species-appropriate animal husbandry with Zoo Leipzig extraordinary animal encounters for visitors in a manner unrivalled elsewhere and Press Officer Maria Saegebarth alongside across-the-board commitment to conserving species. To date, over 200 Tel: +49 (0)341 5933-305 million euros have been invested in the Zoo of the Future, bringing its own reality to [email protected] fruition in Leipzig, year in, year out. Over and above what are already ground- www.zoo-leipzig.de breaking projects in the form of Europe’s unique tropical experience world Gondwanaland, the Kiwara Savannah and the Pongoland ape enclosure, the zoo has spearheaded numerous projects and modern animal facilities over the last two decades and will continue investing in its own future. Challenges slated for the current year include kicking off construction work on Tierra del Fuego from summer and re-opening the renovated aquarium. Numerous other anniversaries are coming around in 2021: A decade of the Gondwanaland Tropical Adventure World, 20 years of Pongoland, 5 years of Koala House and 15 years of the Ganesha Mandir elephant facility.
Meanwhile, time to look back in time from April onward, as the prehistorical powers that be take pole position in the zoo, in a dinosaur exhibition running to October. A key component in the zoo’s educational overview and filling in the gaps between ancient times and the present day with a look at the animal world, visitors are sure to find the 25 full-size exhibits unmissable. The crowning jewel in this dinosauric showcase, organized by Jurassic Park consultant Don Lessem for the first time ever in Germany, is the 35-metre-long Argentinosaurus, which is being recreated in the same painstaking detail as the fastest of its peers, the Ornithomimus, which is more than three metres tall.
7-Lakes Hike 2021 in the Leipzig Neuseenland Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH Andreas Schmidt Leipzig has its hiking boots on again for the 18th round of the popular 7-lakes hike PR Manager Tel: +49 (0)341 7104-310 and its wealth of outdoor tours around the city’s new Lake District, scheduled to run from 7-9 May 2021. A total of 75 hikes cater from sauntering strollers to those who [email protected] prefer longer and more hardcore hiking, all showcasing the beautiful surroundings www.region.leipzig.travel that unfold on routes from 12 to 106 kilometres long.
Demand is high and reservations are soon snapped up so make it quick. Many bookable hike options also include catering packages, so you can start the 7-lakes trails with your tummy taken care of. Since current circumstances mean advance booking offices are closed, registration is online only at present.
Key date: 7-lakes hike 7-9 May 2021
For more information: . www.7seen-wanderung.de . www.leipzig.travel/downloadcenter
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 19
Pedalling through the Neuseenland Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH Cycling events reach a climax on 30 May 2021 – a two-wheeled time for celebration Andreas Schmidt PR Manager as the ‘Höffner neuseen classics’ event unfolds: The day itself will see the Alte Tel: +49 (0)341 7104-310 Messe in Leipzig host the start and finish of the traditional Everyman race, the cycling marathon and the junior races. Bikers braving the 60- and 100-kilometre [email protected] www.region.leipzig.travel routes will traverse the Leipzig Neuseenland and its surroundings, while the itinerary for those tackling 300 kilometres will include the Elster-Saale cycle path and the wine regions of Freyburg and Naumburg among others. The exceptional circumstances we find ourselves in this year mean that alongside extensive hygiene criteria, distance rules, a personalized approach – hence tracking – a free COVID-19 test will be included to help all taking part plan with peace of mind going forward. Registration for would-be cyclists is open until 30 May 2021.
Key dates: Höffner neuseen classics 30 May 2021 FamilyCrossDeluxe 18-19 September 2021 CrossDeLuxe 24-26 September 2021
For more information: . www.neuseenclassics.de . www.crossdeluxe-markkleeberg.de
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 20
CHEMNITZ / ZWICKAU
Living at the Brühl in Chemnitz. © Ernesto Uhlmann Download
C the Unseen Press contact:
Chemnitz has been chosen as the 2025 European Capital of Culture. But visitors CWE Chemnitzer Wirtschaftsförderungs- don’t have to wait until then to explore the previously undiscovered in Chemnitz and und its surroundings. Connoisseurs of art and culture will already find a visit well Entwicklungsgesellschaft worthwhile. mbH, Caroline Langer Tel: +49 (0)371 3660 262
[email protected] www.cwe-chemnitz.de Exhibitions at Art Collections Chemnitz
The Art Collections Chemnitz will commence their special exhibitions in 2021 with the world-famous Italian masters of the early Renaissance from the Lindenau-Museum Altenburg. Also planned for spring 2021 (28 March to 27 June) is an exhibition of works by Pierre Soulages, an outstanding practitioner of post-1945 Classical Modernism and Abstract Expressionism. Following an exhibition at the Louvre last year, the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz in collaboration with Museum Frieder Burda is now preparing the second major museum exhibition in Europe to mark his birthday. In parallel, Museum Gunzenhauser is turning its attention to his contemporary, Serge
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 21
Poliakoff. This will be followed in the summer by the first German solo exhibition of the Spanish conceptual artist Cristina Lucas. At the same time, works will go on display by Carlfriedrich Claus and Gerhard Altenbourg, perhaps the most idiosyncratic artists of the GDR. Achtung Werbung! is an exhibition planned for autumn which will feature a representative cross-section of the history of the poster, with fine examples from the inventory of the Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz. Picking up the baton of contemporary art in autumn will be painter Stefan Vogel in the Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz and Simon Weckert in the Museum Gunzenhauser.
Theatres in Chemnitz
The theatres in Chemnitz enjoy an excellent reputation throughout Germany, not least among Wagner fans for their productions of the Ring cycle. At the opening of the Chemnitz Opera House in 1909, the ensemble performed works by Richard Wagner. This began a tradition that regularly brings Wagner lovers from all over Germany on a pilgrimage to the ‘Bayreuth of Saxony’. At Easter and during Whit week in 2022, the whole of the Ring cycle will be staged yet again. In addition, fans will be treated to a revival of Lohengrin.
The alternative side of the city
In addition to its major cultural venues, an exhilarating alternative scene has developed in Chemnitz. With numerous festivals, club and open-air concerts, cabaret performances, markets, galleries and fringe theatre, a multitude of creative talents provide splashes of colour in the green cityscape. Various festivals are planned for 2021 and 2022, including the Hat Festival of street art at the end of May and the laid- back Parksommer cultural festival in the city centre during the months of July and August. Every year, on the third weekend in August, the ‘Begehungen’ (literally ‘tours of inspection’) open days allow the public to rediscover a part of the city that is normally closed to them. These otherwise obscure locations, which change from year to year, not only host temporary art exhibitions but also an extensive supporting program consisting of performances, readings and concerts, thereby providing a social meeting space for people from diverse backgrounds.
From spring until July 2021, KOSMOS will offer a high-visibility forum for social discourse in Chemnitz. Key players from the arts, culture, music, business, politics and society in the region and further afield will contribute to events in various formats. Readings, concerts, lectures, discussions, exhibitions and information stalls will invite the public to discover the city anew, to network and to become socially involved. The POCHEN Symposium will continue in autumn 2021 and the Biennale in 2022. The POCHEN Biennale was conceived as an international forum for the arts and society, and as a space for experimentation and discourse for multimedia art in Chemnitz. It tells stories and relates historical narratives around the past, present and future.
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 22
‘MaschinenBoom’ extended
Visitors can acquire a more traditional perspective on the past, present and future at Chemnitz Museum of Industry, where they are taken on a journey through 220 years of manufacturing history in Saxony. ‘MaschinenBoom’, a special exhibition that was conceived as part of the Sächsische Landesausstellung, has now been extended until 25th July 2021. The exhibition is a tour of the milestones in Saxon mechanical engineering, from the earliest labour-intensive machinery to the factories devoid of human employees that characterise the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The next special exhibition on the calendar, ‘Tobacco on the Elbe: Tales from East and West’, starts on 8 October 2021 and runs until 9 January 2022.
Chemnitz through the ages
Kaufhaus Schocken was originally built by architect Erich Mendelsohn as a department store. It now houses the State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz, in which 3,000 square metres of floor space are given over to 300,000 years of local history. From April to September 2021, the main exhibition will be ‘The City from skyline to latrine’. Cities can be seen as places of diversity, creativity and progress, but also of conflict. The exhibition is intended to generate creative ideas in the run-up to the year 2025 when Chemnitz becomes European Capital of Culture.
Key Dates: Pierre Soulages (exhibition) 28 March to 27 June 2021 The City from skyline to latrine April to September 2021 KOSMOS 2/3 June 2021 Parksommer (cultural festival) June/July 2021 MaschinenBoom Up to 25 July 2021 Begehungen (open days) 28/29 August 2021 Tobacco on the Elbe: Tales from East and West 8 October 2021 to 9 January 2022
For more information: . www.chemnitz2025.de . www.kunstsammlungen-chemnitz.de . www.kunstsammlungen-chemnitz.de/haeuser/museum-gunzenhauser . www.theater-chemnitz.de/oper . www.hutfestival.de . www.parksommer.de . www.saechsisches-industriemuseum.com . www.smac.sachsen.de
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 23
Schauplatz Eisenbahn Press contact:
Schauplatz Eisenbahn railway museum in the former freight marshalling yards at Sächsisches Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf will once again be open to the general public in 2021. The Eisenbahnmuseum Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf season is scheduled to start on the weekend of 27/28 March, circumstances Arbeitsgruppe permitting. Schauplatz Eisenbahn includes both the railway depot with more than 40 Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Maximilian Thieme locomotives, field and model railways, and the original signal box. Schauplatz Tel: +49 (0)157 30188809 Eisenbahn is operated jointly by the Saxon Railway Museum and Eisenbahnfreunde Richard Hartmann. marketing@sem- chemnitz.de www.sem-chemnitz.de The Saxon Railway Museum is planning a series of special outings with steam locomotives and historic carriages. Once again, dates are subject to change, depending on how the coronavirus pandemic develops. On Turntable Day (Drehscheibentag), two of the resident locomotives will be celebrating a round birthday: Locomotive 58 261, which plied routes in the Erzgebirge, will be 100 years old, while 75 515, a locomotive from the Richard Hartmann (Chemnitz) works, will be 110. They will each take pride of place on the turntable. Night-time tours and rides on the light railway are planned for Chemnitz Night of Museums on 1st May.
Key Dates Easter at Schauplatz Eisenbahn 2 to 4 April 2021 Chemnitz Night of Museums 8 May 2021 Turntable Day 23 May 2021 30 Years of the Boiler House 20 to 23 August 2021
For more information . www.schauplatz-eisenbahn.de . www.sem-chemnitz.de
30th Saxony Mozart Festival (2021)
While silence continues to reign in concert halls all over Germany, the Mozart Press contact:
Society of Saxony is taking a more confident approach by opening online bookings Sächsische Mozart- for spring of this year when the Saxony Mozart Festival 2021 is due to be held. This Gesellschaft e. V. annual festival of the composer’s music is traditionally held in May. Advance sales Press Relations Lars Neuenfeld are now taking place, exclusively via the online shop. A special highlight will be the concert on 11 May, at which 2015 Mozart Prize winner Midori Seiler will perform on a [email protected] violin which Mozart himself played at Villa Esche. Midori Seiler grew up in Salzburg www.mozart-sachsen.de and is one of the few specialists in historical performance practice who feels at home in different eras. The Mozart Festival will conclude with a performance of Elysium, a work by Leipzig-based composer Stephan König and commissioned by the Society. Stephan König combines Franz Heinrich Ziegenhagen’s libretto for Mozart’s cantata KV 619 with Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy, which gets an airing in its own right when Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is performed in front of the Karl Marx Monument.
For more information . www.mozart-sachsen.de
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 24
ORE MOUNTAINS
The Augustusburg in the Ore Mountains Chemnitz. © Reiner Weisflog Download
Whether your Ore Mountains Odyssey lasts one day or more than one – and Pressekontakt however many experiences you pack in – pause among the peaks and take a break Tourismusverband from the bedlam. It’s time to enjoy the vastness and beautiful nature of the Ore Erzgebirge e.V. Mountains. Claudia Brödner Tel: +49 (0)3733 18800-23
c.broedner@erzgebirge- tourismus.de BLOCKLINE – A Bike Adventure the Whole Family Can Enjoy www.erzgebirge- tourismus.de Ageless pedal-powered adventure – 140 kilometres of open trail on three exciting rounds awaits sportier guests of any age on the BLOCKLINE from spring. Wend your way, wheels whirring, through wooden portals to a land of unique rock formations, reservoirs full of animals, lush mountain meadows, idyllic streams and panoramas you can’t pass up – examples of the latter abound on the freestanding Schwartenberg basalt cone. A triple-header of loops, with freedom, longing, adventure and fun for all the family guaranteed.
• Loop 1 – Altenberg - Hermsdorf 66 km • Loop 2 – Frauenstein – Blockhausen 52 km • Loop 3 – Sayda – Seiffen 53 km
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 25
For more information: . www.blockline.bike
Off into the Tunnels!
Mining and the Mounts of Ore: no other matching pair is celebrated as enjoyably or excitably around these parts. Every year, on the first weekend in June, designated Mining Experience Days capitalize on German World Heritage Day and invite those taking part to discover the Saxon-Bohemian mountains and their mining history, not to mention, from 2019 onwards, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This year is no exception, with mines, mining museums and regional mining entities all coming together to organise special events around mining culture scheduled for the 5 and 6 of June.
For more information: . https://www.erzgebirge-tourismus.de/bergbauerlebnistage/
fabulix – International Fairy-Tale Film Festival Press contact: ‘Once upon a time’ – words mid-July visitors to Annaberg-Buchholz had better get Große Kreisstadt Annaberg- used to hearing from 14-18 of the month as the municipality enjoys its third Buchholz experience of becoming a fairy-tale film city. A fabulous Press Officer five-day dose of ‘fabulix’ in the heart of the Ore Mountains – the International Fairy- Matthias Förster
Tale Film Festival – will bring all and sundry right up to speed on all aspects of fairy Tel: +49 (0)3733 425-118 tales and how they reach the silver screen. Embodied in the films we love and Mobil: +49 162 9361 311 appreciate best worldwide, the wealth of fairy-tale images and characters generate a matthias.foerster@annaberg real film-set feeling city wide. -buchholz.de www.annaberg-buchholz.de For more information: . https://www.annaberg-buchholz.de/fabulix/
550 Years of Schneeberg
A penny – less pay? Said to have been a bridge too far for Schneeberg miners in 1496, who promptly went on strike as the scandal erupted. And got their way! Right to this day, Strike Day on 22 July is celebrated with a great mining parade and a mountain service and we hope this year is no different.
For more information: . www.schneeberg.de
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 26
At the Silver Mine: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Press contact:
Mother Nature rolls out not red but a silver carpet here – hosting theatre performers Mittelsächsisches Theatre and their audience where the metal was formerly mined. On the former ‘Alte Head of PR Nadine Franke Elisabeth’ site in Freiberg, islands of play and paths among them morph into mining Tel: +49 (0)3731 35 8290 mounds of yesteryear, where both lighting and setting sparkle and actors and other artists narrate the English Shakespearian masterpiece: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. nadine.franke@mittelsaech sisches-theater.de Following a premiere on 16 July 2021, a further 15 performances are planned until www.mittelsaechsisches- 22 August. theater.de
For more information: . www.mittelsaechsisches-theater.de
A Voyage of Discovery Eight Centuries Long Press contact:
The Must-See Three Augustusburg Palace, Scharfenstein Castle and Lichtenwalde Castle and Gardens Marketing / Tour Operator / are ‘The-Must-See-Three’ of the Ore Mountains and Central Saxony. And deservedly Cooperation Frizzi Seltmann so, with a 2021/22 line-up set to wow visitors with a range of special and interactive Tel: +49 (0)37291 380289 exhibitions into the art history world. Right up to early 2022, all roads lead to Mobile: +49 (0)175 9327900
Augustusburg Castle and an interactive special exhibition ‘Tricked – Spectacular frizzi.seltmann@die- Illusions’, for a privileged peep into a world of visual trickery. Finally, if all that weren’t sehenswerten-drei.de enough, next year’s highlight is a special journey into multimedia history entitled www.die-sehenswerten- drei.de ‘Augustus the Elector and Augustusburg Palace’ to mark the 450th anniversary of the palace.
No matter which angle you approach it from, Augustusburg Castle more than aptly fits its ‘Crown of the Ore Mountains’ nickname. Impossible to overlook, monumental in size and with head-turning red and white, it ‘perches’ on the Schellenberg, overshadowing the beautiful surrounding summits. Nowadays, Augustusburg Palace is considered an architectural gem of the Renaissance period, epitomising the standards of order, clarity and mathematical precision so prized in Europe. Constructed between 1568 and 1572 by Elector Augustus of Saxony and used as a hunting lodge and pleasure palace, what he sought above all else was a tangible embodiment of his lordly power. It is here that the Elector, reigning from Dresden, put on sumptuous hunting parties and festive receptions lasting days on end with guests, court and family.
As the Saxon supremo, Elector Augustus thought it incumbent on him to engage only the finest architects and artists of his time. Preserved and carefully restored to this day, paintings as pointers of rich expressiveness, courtesy of the Dresden court painter Heinrich Göding, not forgetting the church pulpit and the altarpiece by Lucas Cranach the Younger. Augustusburg Palace is also the home of the second-deepest fountain and oldest preserved driving galleon in Saxony, both of which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Fast forward 450 years to this special exhibition and a look back at priceless heirlooms of Saxony’s state and cultural history. Showcased here are original exhibits from the Renaissance period, a reproduction of a festive dress worn by
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 27
Electress Anna and a 360-degree projection of a 16th-century banquet in the historic Great Hall. With a total of thirteen rooms to enjoy, an unforgettable multimedia journey through history awaits all visitors. Highlights include detailed photographs of precious documents, loans and acoustically accompanied exhibits, plus uniquely configured video and touchscreen displays that bring home technical and art history details to people more enjoyably than anyone thought possible. Among the gems on offer: a menu from the olden days, recipes for medieval dishes and even a smelling station of medicinal herbs from the electoral pharmacy, for a praiseworthy and on- point peek into times of yore.
Rounding off the special exhibition, the all-year cultural program featuring pageants and events and the incomparably idyllic Zschopau valley setting, overlooked by Augustusburg Castle and inviting you to hike and relax.
Scharfenstein Castle spotlights how knights in the Middle Ages lived, in a special show from 8 May 2021 to 1 May 2022 under the motto ‘The Myth of Knights’.
The Baroque Ensemble Lichtenwalde Castle and Gardens are set to showcase one of the key symbols making Japanese culture tick, with their special exhibition ‘The Scent of the Cherry Blossoms’, scheduled to run from 1 April 2021 to 27 February 2022. Those who want to learn more about Lichtenwalde itself can visit the exhibition ‘800 Years of Light in the Forest – Exhibition on the History of the Castle and Gardens’ until 26 September.
For more information: . www.die-sehenswerten-drei.de . www.schloesserland-sachsen.de/de/schloesser-burgen-gaerten/schloss-augustusburg
Key dates: The Scent of the Cherry Blossoms 1 April 2021 to 27 Feb. 2022 Lichtenwalde Palace and Gardens History Exhibition up to 26 September The Myth of Knights (Scharfenstein Castle) 8 May 2021 to 1 May 2022 Augustus the Elector and Augustusburg Palace 30 April 22 to 6 November 2022
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 28
VOGTLAND
The Göltzschtalbrücke can be seen in its full size from the Vogtland-Panorama-Weg. © S. Rose Download
Vogtland Flair and Fun Press contact:
Tourismusverband Vogtland The Vogtland region between Gera and Bad Elster wears many hats. A forested Dorina Wießner Tel: +49 (0)3744 18886 55 oasis of green hills. A place to admire art, buildings and music. And more. If culture comes first, then three magnificent theatres, a wide choice of wonderful museums wiessner@vogtland- and stand-out classic, Art Nouveau and Bauhaus structures should keep all-comers tourismus.de www.vogtland-tourismus.de happy. Why not stroll around the soothing park and garden scenery and work up an appetite for a wide choice of write-home-worthy cafés and restaurants?
For more information: . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_5Inae_2-M&t=2s
Persian made in Oelsnitz
This yarn we weave dates all the way back to 1880, when the Vogtland town of Oelsnitz, of rug-making renown, became a carpet hotbed for industry and established the first mechanised factory. What were ground-breaking techniques at the time, such as the patented oriental embroidery process, paved the way for stand-out
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 29
woven wonders and ‘handmade one-offs’, which were proudly shown off by the owners. The venue of Voigtsberg Castle will host a special exhibition up to the end of July 2021, showcasing the cultural history of orientally embroidered carpets, right from when the machined carpet embroidery process got underway up to the present day. Special bonus: Organisers are going to press some of the old embroidery machines back into service just for this exhibition.
For more information: . https://www.schloss-voigtsberg.de/museen/sonderausstellung
Roving Where the Reeves Once Went
The reeves of the region that adopted their German name: Vögte. Just who were these men and from where exactly did they hail? Vogtland hikers can now enjoy pondering these questions on the Vogtland Reeves Cultural Trail. Stage number 9 takes you on a city walk through Plauen, which gets underway at the Alte Elsterbrücke; both lovingly restored and the second-oldest bridge in Saxony. It spans all the way up to the convent building within the confines of the former medieval town and right up to the former castle of the Everstein family. En route, you would not want to miss the Vogtland Museum, before rejoining the path up to the Nonnenturm – the last remnant of the medieval city fortifications. And for a more historical kind of hike, the town church of St. Johannis is a must, portions of which date back to the very time the town was founded. Finally, head over to Hradschin – the former castle of the bailiffs – and take in a beautiful view of the historic Old Town.
For more information: . www.vogtland-tourismus.de
Discover the Vogtland with Children
Whatever your age and whatever downtime you dote on, a Vogtland vacation is bound to please. From splashing in water to epic adventures: little ones let off the leash. And forests, nature and peerless peace. Craving culture? Wellbeing on the wish list? The idyllic region of rolling peaks ticks these boxes too, with handcrafted musical instrument-making, the Chursächsische Philharmonic orchestra and the traditional spa resorts of Bad Elster and Bad Brambach.
For more information: . https://www.vogtland-tourismus.de/de/p/familie-leben/56748646
A-Grade Adrenaline in Schöneck
Signing off in Schöneck – the Finale event in autumn 2021 will see the bike park of this Vogtland town host the sixth and last race of the Specialized Rookies Cup. Prime
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 30
yourself for pure adrenaline when 25-26 September comes around and the best in young mountain bike talent seeks to set new records on sections of the Jumpline and Roll&Rock. Pedal-powered youngsters in age groups U13 to U19 inclusive are welcome; licensed and hobby riders especially. Although events like these are all about nurturing new talent, the Schöneck bike park is open all other days too for bikeheads of all kinds. And for those for whom five trails of all grades and a collective five-kilometre course and so on aren’t enough, visitors will find the 14,000-square- metre practice course and the chairlift with wheel holder even more enticing.
For more information: . https://schoeneck-vogtland.de/sommer/radfahren/bikepark/touren.html . https://schoeneck-vogtland.de/sommer/radfahren/specialized-rookies-cup.html
Radon: Ridding You of Pain Press contact:
Sächsische Staatsbäder Talk about standing the test of time! Therapy-favourite radon has been a go-to GmbH Press and PR (noble) gas for more than a century. Surfacing here and there in mineral springs to Steffi Schlosser soothe ailments, more of this gas emerges in the Wettinquelle in the Vogtland town Tel: +49 (0)37437 71201 of Bad Brambach than almost anywhere else worldwide. Said to benefit those s.schlosser@saechsische- suffering from inflammatory-rheumatic and degenerative diseases of the staatsbaeder.de musculoskeletal system such as gout, rheumatism and osteoporosis, the high www.saechsische- proportion of natural carbonic acid means Bad Brambacher radon baths are also staatsbaeder.de exceptionally well tolerated by cardiovascular patients. This year will see an extension opened in the spa directly next to the health centre, with new treatment options including inhalation, radon rinses and cold-heat therapy.
Treasure Hunt 2.0
‘A Jolly Jaunt to Vogtland’ – and a mega-scale geocaching event that more than lives up to its name, although the new edition scheduled for this year had to be put on ice until 2022. According to organiser ZBV e.V. Elsterberg, things should all get going on 28 May 2022 – now the key diary date in the annual Sparkasse Vogtland Arena schedule. Let’s not forget, though, Vogtland remains a big draw for caching punters at any time of year, with a burgeoning community of fans.
For more information: . www.zbv-event.de/
Press contact: Plauen 900 – A City Anticipating its 2022 Anniversary Tourist-Information Plauen Tel: +49 (0)3741 2911027 ‘Vicus plawe’ (The Plawe Village) – the first recorded written reference to Plauen [email protected] www.plauen.de/tourismus came way back in 1122 in the document consecrating St. John’s Church. Festivities planned under the 2022 ‘Plauen 900’ motto include the 62nd Lace Festival and parade, the Vogtland Games, the Night of the Museums, the meeting of the German
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 31
Guild of Night Watchmen, Doormen & Figures (registered association), a summer theatre performance at the Komturhof (Commander’s Court) and a baroque ball in the town hall. Head to the Erich Ohser House to catch the ‘Erich Ohser’s Plauen Paths’ exhibition in April 2022 and stop off at the nearby Vogtland Museum for more standouts on show. As the Lutheran Church marks three centuries since it was first consecrated, the season-ending finale from the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra will be a live premiere of ‘Liebeserklärung an mein Plauen’ (A Love Letter to My Plauen).
For more information: . Spitzenfest in Plauen . www.vogtland-philharmonie.de
High-Jinks and Hiking in Plauen
The Vogtland town of Plauen reaches its nine-century milestone next year and a decade of the Saxon Hiking Day means double the reason to celebrate! From 20-22 May 2022, both the city of Plauen and various hiking and sports clubs invite you on a range of hiking tours, including the Vogtland Hundred, the herb hike, a geological hike, cycling tours and much more.
For more information: . www.saechsischer-wandertag.de
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 32
SAXON SWITZERLAND
Breathtaking sunrise at Königstein Fortress © Sebastian Rose Download
‘Saxon Switzerland’ with its famous flat-top mountains and bizarre rock formations has been a source of inspiration to artists throughout the centuries. But this uniquely wild and romantic landscape is not only a great place for hikers and nature lovers: we follow in the footsteps of Ernst Rietschel, Bernardo Bellotto, Richard Wagner and Dimitri Shostakovich to discover what else the region has to offer.
Art high above Pirna
Every summer, a unique art exhibition takes place within the massive walls of Sonnenstein Fortress which overlooks the medieval town of Pirna. The brutalism of its defensive architecture and the exquisite sculpture on display present a stark contrast.
As part of the Pirna Skulpturensommer 2021 festival, the Dresden School of Sculpture exhibition will feature the works of artists who have some sort of connection with the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. They include Ernst Rietschel, former professor at the Dresden Art Academy and founder of the Dresden Sculpture School. A support program of concerts and guided tours by curators and other
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 33
experts is in the planning stage. And the organisers are already looking ahead to 2022, when Pirna will be celebrating the 300th anniversary of Bernardo Bellotto, the artist better known as Canaletto. The main emphasis of next year’s summer festival will once again be on sculpture, this time juxtaposing baroque and contemporary works under the unifying theme of Dýnamis. The old town of Pirna as Canaletto knew it, with its Renaissance and Baroque facades, has been preserved virtually unchanged. Performers in historical costumes will be recreating Canaletto’s Der Marktplatz zu Pirna (The Market Place at Pirna) as a living tableau.
For more information . www.pirna.de/skulpturensommer
The swan as leitmotif
The Richard-Wagner-Stätten in Pirna-Graupa will take Mythos Schwan as its theme for 2021. The swan is a leitmotif in the composer’s work. The aura exuded by this dazzling bird contributes significantly to the romantic magic of Wagner’s opera Lohengrin, the score of which was composed in Graupa. The Mythos Schwan exhibition takes a new look at the recurring presence of the swan in old tales, legends and myths, which in turn can be traced back to observations of nature. And it is a theme that regularly crops up, not only in Wagner’s Lohengrin but also much later in the form of Marlene Dietrich’s amazing swan coat.
For more information . www.wagnerstaetten.de
Königstein Fortress in Saxon Switzerland Press contact:
Festung Königsstein Königstein is one of the most fascinating mountain fortresses in Europe and one of Medienarbeit the most popular tourist destinations in Saxony. Set amongst the weird and rocky Anne Jungowitz Tel: +49 (0)351 3148892 landscape of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, the once impregnable redoubt is visible from miles away. The clifftop ensemble of more than 50 imposing buildings from [email protected] different eras with its almost 800-year history and its well-tended gardens attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world every year.
In 2016, archaeologists made a sensational find on the Königstein plateau that caused historians to reassess their previously held theories about the site – an untouched waste pit containing 55 pottery fragments. The initially inconspicuous discovery turned out to be spectacularly significant, because the fragments were shown to be 3,000 years old – proof that there was already human settlement on the Königstein mountain in the Late Bronze Age. This find is highlighted in a special exhibition which runs until the end of October 2021. It provides insights into a bygone era with the help of numerous Bronze Age objects and highly instructive interactive stations. The intriguing title chosen for the special exhibition in 2022 is ‘From carrot beds to camouflage planting’. For centuries, the rocky plateau has been home to people who adapted it to their needs, namely self-sufficiency in food, defence against
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 34
intruders and a desire to flaunt wealth and power. The garrison tended its own vegetable plots, engaged in arable and fruit farming, bred cattle and fish and even cultivated its own vineyard. Bushes were planted for camouflage and to slow attackers down. Ornamental and pleasure gardens as well as promenades served as entertainment and status symbols. The woodland surrounding the fortress is remarkable for its diversity of species.
For more information . www.festung-koenigstein.de
Freedom still a risky business
Preparations for the 29th Sandstein und Musik festival are at an advanced stage. Artists from near and far will pick up on last year’s theme – ‘Freedom is still a risky business’. The 2021 program of almost 30 concerts includes new as well as postponed concerts that are intended to entertain and stimulate. It is diverse, sophisticated and ambitious, ranging from tango and jazz to romantic choral music and classical works. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to publish a complete calendar, and tickets for this year’s Sandstein und Musik festival have not yet gone on sale. For the latest updates, visit the website.
For more information . www.sandstein-musik.de
12th International Shostakovich Festival
The program for the 12th International Shostakovich Festival is expected to be announced sometime between mid-March and early April, and advance ticket sales will then begin immediately. At present, it is not possible to predict with any degree of certainty the conditions under which this year’s festival can go ahead or how many tickets can go on sale. Planning includes a socially distanced seating arrangement for the Gohrischer Konzertscheune venue.
Key Dates Special exhibition Mythos Schwan April to October 2021 From carrot beds to camouflage planting 27 March to 31 October 2021
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 35
UPPER LUSATIA
An eye-catcher and worth a visit at any time of the year: Görlitz in Upper Lusatia © rfb.pl. Download
World Heritage Galore: From Prince Pückler to the Bend Landscape
Head to Upper Lusatia and you can expect a compelling choice of cultural landscapes, all within a surprisingly small area. Modest though the region is in size, however, it is also home to the largest landscape park in Central Europe – a gift Press contact: bequeathed by creator Prince Pückler, who wanted to bring English garden art to Bad Muskau. An idyllic park of polar contrasts: the fairy-tale castle and orangery set Marketing-Gesellschaft Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien against the churning earth of the open-cast mines, while the UNESCO Muskau Bend mbH Landscape Global Geopark, a terminal moraine from past ice ages, harks back to the Tel: +49 (0)3591 48770 vastness and tranquillity of the Lusatian Lakeland. And what could be more inviting [email protected] than the water of lakes restored to their crystal-clear magnificence, inviting you to www.oberlausitz.com swim or camp alongside? Cycle paths abound, so even without a car, two wheels may well be enough to get up close to these gems.
For more information: . www.oberlausitz.com/puecklers-gartentraeume
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 36
Bautzen the Easter Capital and the Intangible Sorbian Heritage
Trace Easter back to its source and you’ll find yourself on the Spree – thanks mainly to the unique culture of the Sorbs in these parts, who have called Lusatia home for centuries, preserving their own language and colourful traditions in the process. Speaking of which, event-wise, Easter is easily the highlight in Sorbian Upper Lusatia, with all eyes in and around the Bautzen area in particular. The fun runs and runs too – you can normally watch and even participate in artists decorating eggs on weekends up to five weeks before the festival proper. Easter Sunday, meanwhile, sees a parade of Easter riders in procession, proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ in and around Bautzen in song and prayer. Along similar lines and a head- turner in its own right, the remarkable Easter water-fetching custom. The liquid in question is venerated for its healing powers – but it only works if the water is fetched in silence. Finally, expect things to get more enjoyably raucous at the egg push on Easter Sunday on the Protschenberg in Bautzen, an experience children in particular will love.
For more information: . www.oberlausitz.com/ostern
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: Press contact: Filled to Bursting with Thousands of Ponds Touristische Gebietsgemeinschaft ‘Feriengebiet Oberlausitzer Time slowing down – the takeaway effect for many visitors within the surrounds of Bergland’ e.V. the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond, where cultures and countryscapes morph Tel: +49 (0)3592 385426 seamlessly into each other and the centuries-old tradition of pond farming lives on. info@oberlausitzer- Those interested and after more insights into the biosphere reserve should head to bergland.de the House of a Thousand Ponds visitor information centre in Wartha. Meanwhile, www.oberlausitzer- bergland.de pedalling along the 88-kilometre-long Seeadler cycle path may be one of the best ways to get a handle on the local beauty. While bringing home what sustainable use Zittau Mountain Nature Park entails in every sense, this route through the biosphere reserve takes in vantage points, observation platforms, natural and cultural monuments, farm shops, artisans Tel: +49 (0)3583 7976400 and local museums along the way. Finally, for foodies in search of a local highlight, tourismuszentrum@zitt the Lusatian Fish Weeks, from 11 September to late October this year, should tick auer-gebirge.com the box. www.zittauer- gebirge.de
For more information: . www.haus-der-tausend-teiche.de . www.lausitzer-fisch.de . www.oberlausitz.com/lausitzer-fischwochen
Up close to 8 centuries: four times to get familiar
If it’s thriving half-timbered homes in the rudest of health you’re after, look no further than the three communities of Wilthen, Cunewalde and Neukirch. A trio where the combination of Slavic log construction and German half-timbering has come together
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 37
since the 15th century. And don’t miss a fourfold chance to wish even older communities a happy 800th birthday: a milestone marked in Wilthen from 13-15 June 2022, Neukirch in June/July 2022 and Cunewalde in September 2022 as well as nearby Sohland an der Spree from 26-29 May 2022. What better excuse to get exploring these beautiful surrounds, be it biking or on foot, for example the Oder- Neisse Cycle Path, the XTERRA competition course for mountain bikers or the Upper Lusatian Mountain Trail, a certified quality hiking trail.
For more information: . www.zittauer-gebirge.com/aktivindernatur . www.oberlausitzer-bergweg.de . www.oberlausitz.com/bergweg . www.oberlausitz.com/oder-neisse-radweg . www.oberlausitzer-bergland.de
Gingerbread, Christmas Markets and Standout Stars
For an overdose of smells to savour, head to Pulsnitz on the first weekend of November for a culinary celebration as all nine gingerbread shops set up shop at the popular Pulsnitz Gingerbread Market, from 5-7 November this year. Following a little later in its footsteps, one of the oldest Christmas markets is the Bautzen Wenzelsmarkt, underway from 26 November right through to 22 December. And where would Christmas be without a star or two? One hotbed is nearby Herrnhut, where around 700,000 pieces leave the manufactory each year, watched by fascinated visitors, who find the chance to make their own just as much fun, not just at Christmas either. And in the Herrnhut Ethnological Museum there are interesting facts to learn about the history of the star.
For more information: . www.herrnhuter-sterne.de
German-Sorbian Nature Markets
Press contact: Where regional producers and the craftmanship of centuries past come alive: The German-Sorbian Nature Markets, on the farm run by the biosphere reserve Verein zur Entwicklung der administration in Wartha on Lake Olga, is where you will find over 80 regional traders Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft e. V., and producers in attendance come late April and early September each year. Rub Tel: +49 (0)35931 21220 shoulders with wood turners, blacksmiths or potters among others and decorate your www.oberlausitz-heide.de garden at home with wooden jewellery, natural textiles, pottery or perennials. In summer, meanwhile, mosey on down to the monastery of St. Marienstern Panschwitz-Kuckau at their invitation and enjoy the ‘Regions of Richness’ family festival on 13 June 2021.
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 38
Regional Craftsmanship in the Baroque Castle
Over a quarter of a century ago, the event once graced by just a handful of exhibitors now welcomes over 200 manufactories, designers and artisans from numerous European countries who will drop by and showcase their wares at the ‘International Upper Lusatian Linen Days’ in the Baroque castle of Rammenau near Bischofswerda, on 28 and 29 August this year. Don’t miss in particular a practical glimpse at the numerous steps that go into turning the tiny blue flax flower into linen.
For more information: . www.barockschloss-rammenau.com
Family Fun with Dinosaurs, Mermaids and the Folk of Turisedia
Our story starts in the garden at home where back in 1978, the first faithfully rendered dinosaur replicas populated the lawn at the residence of artist Franz Gruß. Today, the Kleinwelka Dinosaur Park is home to more than 220 prehistoric animals over 16 hectares, providing all-comers with a wealth of insights into both the animals and the individual geological eras they hail from. If living and breathing creatures are more your cup of tea, however, the nature conservation animal park in Görlitz may be the best bet. Or would you rather delve and dive headlong into the realms of fantasy? The ‘Secret World of Turisedia’ is tailor-made for that, on the Kulturinsel Einsiedel, an adventure leisure resort awash with whimsical buildings and secret passages, even including a treehouse hotel. Fancy a swim when summer comes? A warm welcome awaits the water babies among you at the Trixi-Bad Großschönau with its giant slide, brine bath, graduation house and other aquatic attractions, plus an oriental spa and Finnish sauna area.
For more information: . https://www.oberlausitz.com/familie/freizeitknueller
Come together with the ‘Upper Lusatian Twins’
Joining two halves together: the ‘Spreerad-Weg’ and ‘Oder-Neiße-Radweg’ cycle paths to form a single sensational circular tour: the ‘Upper Lusatian Twins’. Take in the most beautiful of the Upper Lusatian scenery from a two-wheeled vantage point: half-timbered Upper Lusatian homes, Bautzen, which dates back a millennium, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Heath and Pond Landscape, the Lusatian Lakeland, the UNESCO World Heritage Prince Pückler Park in Bad Muskau, as well as the Zittau Mountains Nature Park, picturesque Görlitz and beautiful Zittau. And when pushing the pedals gets a chore, you can easily let a local train take the strain and board with your bike.
For more information: . https://www.oberlausitz.com/zwillinge
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 39
Upper Lusatian Chamber Music Festival Press contact:
The guest list belies its status as the youngest of Saxony’s classical music events: in Dr. Hagen W. Lippe- celebration of the Upper Lusatian Chamber Music Festival, the second edition of Weißenfeld, Director Upper Lusatian which is set to take place from 10 to 17 September 2021. The event will see over 30 Chamber Music Festival, international classical music stars perform in seven concerts and in six different Tel: +49 (0)173 1885028 castles and churches. Guests will include world-famous violist Nils Mönkemeyer, the info@kammermusikfest- concertmaster of the Hessian Radio Orchestra Florin Iliescu, the internationally oberlausitz.de acclaimed piano duo Ariane Haering & Ardita Statovci, the St. Nicholas Cantor Lucas www.kammermusikfest- oberlausitz.de Pohle from Leipzig, a chamber choir of the Dresden Kreuzchor (‘Crucians’) and two renowned chamber orchestras Thuringia Bach Collegium and l’arte del mondo.
For more information: . www.kammermusikfest-oberlausitz.de
Press contact: Görlitz: Pure Culture with a Unique City Backdrop Europastadt GörlitzZgorzelec GmbH Whether you hang out in the historic old town, wend your way through the Project Manager Wilhelminian quarter or nuzzle the banks of the Neisse River – Görlitz is a European Marketing/PR Anja Schließ city packed with magnificent architecture and monuments, fascinating history, top- Tel: +49 (0) 3581 475743 class museums, warm hospitality and cultural experiences year round. Amid the spruced-up urban streetscape, ceramic art awaits at the Silesian Pottery Market (17- a.schliess@europastadt- goerlitz.de 18 July 2021 and 16-17 July 2022), live music at the Jazz Days (2-13 June 2021) willkommen@europastadt- and the Old Town Festival (27-29 August 2021 and 26-28 August 2022), plus goerlitz.de www.europastadt-goerlitz.de handicrafts at the Silesian Christmas Market (3-19 December 2021 and 2-18 www.goerlitz.de December 2022) with ice rink. Stop and sup, while enjoying the open-air highlights of the Landskron Brewery and get the party started at the namesake beer festival in summer 2022. Görlitz is also readying itself for its city-wide 950th birthday splash this year. May to October will see the town hall turned into an event forum, while even more colour awaits the city alongside numerous ideas from those honoured with prizes in the ‘We are Görlitz’ competition.
For more information: . www.goerlitz.de/Jahres-Highlights.html . www.goerlitz.de/Das_Goerlitzer_Hallenhaus.html . www.goerlitz.de/950-Jahre-Goerlitz.html
On the Move Any Which Way in Görlitz
Are you a culture vulture? Do you need nature? Görlitz offers both! Visitors can navigate a wide range of themed routes on individual tours in and around the city on the River Neisse. Whether solo, as a family, on foot or by bike – the Görlitz routes in the Outdoor Active tour portal teem with tips to discover. Moreover, the experts from the Görlitz Information Office constantly road-test the tours and create new ones at times too. For an insider look at Görlitz’s uniqueness, varied history and secrets, the myriad thematic city tours – some of which even costumed – offer all you could want.
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 40
For more information: . www.goerlitz.de/Tourenvorschlaege.html . www.goerlitz.de/OEffentliche_Stadtfuehrungen-1.html
Görliwood® Travel Experience
Attention film fans! Fancy a silver screen-themed stroll with one of the new and officially certified Görliwood® offers and the chance to discover the film city of Görlitz for yourself, en route to the Walk of Görliwood® stations? Sets that showcase films abound, some of which even including original props. Nowhere else offers moviemaking insights quite like these, including Oscar-winning film productions and the workplace of the detective duo Yvonne Catterfeld and Götz Schubert from the popular ARD crime series Wolfsland. Join the Görliwood Explorers and round-trip your way around the cinematic city on a red double-decker bus. And if you’d rather discover it on foot, ‘Film ab!’ guided tours are also available. Finally, of course, the films themselves – this year’s Neisse Film Festival is scheduled for 18-23 May and next year from 17-22 May. August, meanwhile, will see Görlitz attract visitors with a flying summer cinema here and there around the city.
For more information: . www.goerlitz.de/goerliwood
Görlitz Synagogue Reopens Press contact: Görlitz greets the return of a crown jewel in its cultural treasure with its completely Görlitzer renovated synagogue due to reopen in spring. This hallowed house boasts a Kulturservicegesellschaft decorative domed hall with an Art Nouveau theme, a gilded scale pattern and mbH majestic-looking lions on the ceiling and precious materials on the east wall with the Tel: +49 (0)3581 672410 Torah shrine. Consecrated back in 1911, to have this Jewish sacred building still standing at all is a minor miracle. On Pogrom Night on 9 November 1938, the imposing building was set ablaze, but the fire brigade arrived and quelled it in time. However, post-1945, the venue is no longer the exclusive preserve of the Jewish community. As a present-day cultural forum, the synagogue is multipurpose: accommodating educational, concert, lecture and festive events and conferences. Meanwhile, a prayer room in the former weekday synagogue is available for devotions and services.
For more information: . www.goerlitz.de/juedische-spuren.html
‘I’m Off Then’ – Pilgrimage along the Via Sacra
Spain isn’t the only starting point for pilgrimages – would-be devotees can pace along the local Via Sacra, following in the footsteps of old trade routes, and take in 16 stations of religious and historical artistic importance along the way. Zittau, for
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 41
example, known as ‘Die Reiche’ in the former six-city league, and characterized to this day by its splendid structures in Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classic styles. Another treat en route are two lenten cloths – unique nationwide – which were used to cover relics and crosses in churches during Lent. A little further on, you’ll find the Oybin castle and monastery, enthroned on the namesake mountain, plus the Legal notice tranquil St. Marienthal monastery. If modernity gets your mojo going, though, head to Editor Löbau and the Schminke house, designed by architect Hans Scharoun and one of Tourismus Marketing the four key examples of classic modern architecture anywhere in the world. Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH Bautzner Str. 45–47 01099 Dresden For more information: Phone: 0351 491700 . www.zittauer-gebirge.com/kultur Fax: 0351 4969306
. www.oberlausitz.com/sechsstaedtebund nebelung.tmgs@sachsen- . www.oberlausitz.com/via-sacra tour.de www.sachsen-tourismus.de . www.stiftung-hausschminke.eu
Key Dates: Editorial Ines Nebelung Silesian Pottery Market 17-18 July 2021 Jazz Days 2-13 June 2021 Cover-Photo: TMGS
Old Town Festival 27-29 August 2021 Copy Deadline Silesian Christmas Market 3-19 December 2021 26. February 2021
Tourism News Saxony ITB 2021 Page 42