The newly-opened Weimar Central railway station is shrouded in smoke. "They're burning it down again," a bystander jokes. But no, this is actually the beginning of the performance by the French troupe Oposito, with its medieval parade of wire animals, dinosaur-like birds, drums, pipes, flares and smoke. It trundles, wails, beats and flaps down the road to the new museum. The onset of rain cannot spoil the fun for the 40,000-plus people gathered here for food, drink, music and later on, huge Japanese "dream fireworks". This marks the real launch of Weimar as the new Cultural Capital of Europe. Earlier in the afternoon, the German National Theatre had seen VIP guests - including President Herzog and a suspected sighting of Van Morrisson - for the official opening. It all started in 1985 when the then Greek Minister for Culture, Melina Mercouri, suggested nominating one European Cultural Capital of Europe each year. Her idea was "to facilitate a lively dialogue between the cultures of Europe while respecting the cultural uniqueness of each one".
In 1991, Dublin carried the title, and last year it was Stockholm. This year, it is Weimar's turn. With only 60,000 inhabitants, Weimar is the smallest of all the cities that have hosted this event and is also the first that lies within the territory of the former Eastern bloc. The natives of Weimar are confident and aware of their place in history. I left the city 10 years ago, and still identify strongly with its past. I feel somehow insulted if the only associations people have with Weimar are the Weimar Republic and the Weimaraner (a sort of hunting dog). They are, of course, part of it. But there are other reasons for choosing Weimar as the Cultural Capital of Europe for 1999.
German and European history are concentrated here to an extent paralleled only by the great metropolises. It has been called "the cradle of German Classicism" and even before Goethe, Schiller, Herder and Wieland laid the foundations for one of the great eras of European culture here, Lucas Cranach and Johann Sebastian Bach had lived and worked in the city by the river Ilm. Following the Golden Age, the activities of Franz Liszt and Richard Strauss, Henry van de Velde and Walter Gropius's Bauhaus provided strong impulses for the Modern Age.
The construction of the Buchenwald concentration camp during the second World War directly adjacent to the sites of German Classicism broke so decisively with this tradition, that the shadow cast from the Ettersbery over Weimar will forever remain in memory.
This is a year of anniversaries for Weimar. Among the outstanding ones are the 250th birthday of Goethe and the 240th one of Schiller. Eighty years ago, the constitution of the Weimar Republic was promulgated here, in the German National Theatre. On February 6th, there was a big memorial event, with celebrities from all over Germany. The Bauhaus was also founded in 1919 and is still alive, as the Bauhaus University for Architecture, Constructional Engineering and Design with about 4,500 students. This year will also be a time to look back on 10 years of German reunification.
It is hard to select just a few of 300-plus events that are happening throughout the year. There will be several different productions of Faust, and countless other Goethe readings and exhibitions. You can "stroll through time" everywhere in Weimar, not only in museums but also in cultural and historical public spaces. The Tokyo Ballet opens the Dance Theatre Festival in April. It will feature performances of world famous dance companies, like the Elisa Monte Dance from New York, from July until September. During the summer there will be a Percussion Festival. Classical music and jazz can be heard daily in different venues. Beckett's Endgame will be performed in March, by the Nottingham Playhouse. Later, in October and November, priority will be given to exhibitions and performances devoted to the theme of "Ten Years After" (the fall of the Berlin Wall). One can see a "singing spy" in a top secret performance, or visit an exhibition about the East German art scene.
Ticket prices for most events range from DM30 to DM120. Many of the main events are already booked out, but if you stay in one of the big hotels in town, you should be able to get tickets from their allocations.
There is only one problem that presents itself to the foreign visitor. You will have to look very hard for any information in English (or in other languages) about what's on and how to find places. So you had better brush up your old school German, or you might feel a bit lost!
Like many Weimar natives, I sometimes wonder whether the town has not taken on more than it can swallow. There are building sites even in the town centre. Crucial places like the German National Theatre are still not completely renovated. The opening of the main Goethe exhibition in the Goethe Museum will be delayed by a couple of months. On the other hand, I think that it reflects what was charming about the old East Germany. Things were never perfect then, and people's mentality still hasn't changed very much. We were isolated in the "old days", but culturally there was a lot happening. And it was within everyone's reach.
Tilmann Schuler, together with his partner Gudrun Janetzko, designed the logo for Weimar's reign as European Capital of Culture . He expresses a feeling that a lot of Weimar people share: "The organisers of the cultural year want to turn Weimar into a big museum. And all just to attract a lot of tourists. But what is happening for us? The town has become too perfect for my taste."
Personally, I do not think the old Weimar has been completely lost. The cultural life of the town is still not only happening in the theatre, museums or concert halls. Walking through the town, you still hear music students practising at open windows. Weimar is an ideal place to "stroll through history", with semi-derelict buildings shoulder to shoulder with splendidly renovated classical or art nouveau houses.