Our culture programme
Alongside the effective language tuition in small groups offered at IH Berlin PROLOG, our extensive social and cultural offers form a further key element of our programme.
Tours, excursions, get-togethers and trips are organised regularly - on at least four occasions per week - to increase our students' appreciation of German culture as they are developing their German language skills.
All events are free, with the exception of possible entrance charges, and students are accompanied by a member of the IH Berlin PROLOG team. Below, we have details of our upcoming events.
Please remember to sign up in the office for all of the cultural events!
Our current timetable of cultural events
Wednesday, 03.03.2010
UTOPIA MATTERS – Deutsche Guggenheim
Utopia has long been a subject of investigation for artists, as well as a model for artists’ communities, where an ideal society has sometimes been more easily realized than in larger contexts. Though many were short-lived, these collectives functioned as the catalyst for intense and fecund periods of exchange and creativity. Artistic movements with utopian foundations emerged in the wake of the Enlightenment-fueled revolutions in France and America and were nourished by Romantic principles. They range from the nineteenth-century brotherhoods premised on the example of the medieval guild to the colonies which burgeoned by the end of the nineteenth century when artists retreated to remote locales, looking for respite from the problems of urban life. With the avant-gardes following World War I—when there was a turn toward the idea of truth and harmony in pure, abstract forms—utopian groups optimistically endeavored to recraft society through art and design.
Through nine movements spanning 130 years: the Primitifs, the Nazarenes, the Pre-Raphaelites, William Morris and Arts and Crafts, the Cornish Art Colony, Neo-Impressionism, De Stijl, the Bauhaus, and Russian Constructivism, many of the forms utopian artistic groups can assume are explored. Utopia Matters allows for dialogues between a diversity of these groups from Europe and the United States so that historical movements and avant-gardes with like aims of collectivity and idealism, normally separated by national and chronological divisions, are seen alongside each other. The presentation concludes in the early 1930s, when the ascendancy of fascism brought about the close of the Bauhaus in Berlin in 1933 and Stalinism reframed Russian Constructivist projects in the Soviet Union.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Treffpunkt: 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Samstag, 06. März
Pergamonmuseum
The Pergamon Museum was built between 1910 and 1930 under the supervision of Ludwig Hoffmann, working according to designs by Alfred Messel. From 1901 to 1909, a smaller building had occupied the same spot. This building originally accommodated the important excavation finds of the Berlin Museums, such as the frieze of the Pergamon Altar which was recovered between 1878 and 1886. However, insufficient foundations soon led to damages in the building structure and the building had to be demolished even before the outbreak of the First World War.
The new, larger Pergamon Museum was conceived as a "Dreiflügelanlage". Today, it accommodates three separate museums: the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities), occupying the architectural halls and the sculpture wing, the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East) and the Museum für Islamische Kunst (Museum of Islamic Art). The monumental reconstruction of archaeological building ensembles – such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate including the Processional Way of Babylon and the Mshatta Façade – has made the Pergamonmuseum world-famous.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Treffpunkt: at 11 a.m. on the corner of Friedrichsstraße/Georgenstraße (S-Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Exit Georgenstraße).
Wednesday, 10. March
Kreuzbergmuseum
The Museum for the District Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg regards itself as the memory of the district. It contains a comprehensive archive of both district parts and information for everyone who is interested.
There is also a changing exhibition about the regional and district history that answers question about current topics, e.g. immigration, industrial, commercial and urban development; there is a permanent exhibition with sections about city development and migration history on two floors; a historical printer, from the former Otto Schneider printer’s shop..
Length: ca. 2 hours
Treffpunkt: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Sunday, 14. March
Documentation Centre Bernauer Straße and then a visit to the flea market in Mauerpark
The documentation centre was opened on the 10th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November, 1999. It provides information about the history of the Berlin Wall. Bernauer Straße was a focus point of German post-war history due to its position directly on the border between East and West. The centre is used for research and the presentation of the history of division in Berlin and Germany as a whole.
After visiting Bernauer Straße, we’ll continue on to the flea market in Mauerpark in the district of Prenzlauer Berg. Alongside masses of second hand goods, many local artistans show and sell their creations. This is Berlin’s most colourful flea market with hundreds of stalls and countless 1000s of items.
Length: ca. 3 hours
Meeting point: at 11 a.m. at S-Bahnhof Nordbahnhof (Exit Gartenstraße)
Wednesday, 17. March
Neue Nationalgalerie
In kaum einer anderen Sammlung ist die Geschichte so bedeutsam für den Bestand wie in der Berliner Nationalgalerie. Prägend für die Vorkriegszeit ist die Zerschlagung durch die nationalsozialistische Aktion „Entartete Kunst“ im Jahre 1937. Viele expressionistische Meisterwerke wie Franz Marcs „Der Turm der blauen Pferde“ gingen verloren und werden bis heute vermisst. Die wichtigsten dieser ehemaligen Hauptwerke werden in Form einer „Schattengalerie“ in die im März präsentierte Sammlungsschau integriert.
Auch die deutsche Teilung manifestierte sich in unterschiedlichen Sammlungsstrategien: Während West-Berlin die formalen Neuerungen der verschiedenen Avantgarde-Strömungen in den Vordergrund stellte, lag in der Ost-Berliner Nationalgalerie der Akzent auf inhaltlichen Aspekten. Durch die Zusammenfindung beider Sammlungen ergeben sich interessante Ergänzungen - wie das Beispiel des abstrakt arbeitenden Bauhaus-Lehrers László Moholy-Nagy zeigt. Er ist Oskar Nerlinger gegenübergestellt, welcher dieselben Elemente in Verbindung mit Menschen und Maschinen zur Veranschaulichung von Großstadt, Technik und Arbeit nutzt.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Meeting point: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Samstag, 20. März
Dresden
The historical centre of Dresden is found on the left bank of the River Elbe.
Even today, the character and face of the city are shaped by buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque and 19th Century periods. Wherever you view the city from, whether the river banks or one of the numerous bridges, it is clear that Dresden is a cultural centre of Europe-wide importance.
Despite the heavy bombing damage inflicted on the city during the Second World War, the old town has managed to retain or reconstruct much of its classical architectural treasures. The reconstruction of the city centre is symbolised by the successfully rebuilt Dresdner Frauenkirche, with its magnificent Baroque dome - an instantly recognisable feature of Dresden’s centre.
There are a large number of cultural institutions along the river bank on the old town side of the Elbe: from the Old Master’s Art Gallery to the Grüne Gewölbe, the treasure vaults of the Saxon Kings and Electors.
The old centre is still a lively city centre and around the Altmarkt (Old Market) and Prager Straße you can find numerous shopping centres, restaurants, cafes and bars.
Length: 10-12 hours
Meeting point: at 9.15 a.m. at the Berliner Hauptbahnhof on Platform 3 (Info: Regionalexpress RE 38347 direction Elsterwerda 9.26 a.m.)
Wednesday, 24. March
Museum for Film and Television
The whole world of cinema under one roof – from the very first moving images to digital film.
The history of German films is displayed in 13 specially designed rooms: The early stars of the silver screen, major movie milestones such as Caligari and Metropolis, the heyday during the Weimar Republic and the appropriation during the time of the Nazis.
A whole section is dedicated to film animation, spezial effects and the future of virtual worlds.
There is an audio guide for the entire museum in German or English.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Meeting point: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Saturday, 27. March
Haus der Wannseekonferenz / Pfaueninsel
In the green southwest of Berlin, there are not only lake, beaches and woods, but also many historical places: palaces of Prussian kings, romantic churches and even sites associated with the terror of the Nazis. Starting at Bahnhof Wannsee, we’ll first walks to the "Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz", which has an exhibition about the “Dritte Reich” and the genocide of the European Jews. Along the shore of the lake, we’ll go to the famous excursion destination Pfaueninsel. Please don’t forget to bring water, rain protection and a little snack.
Length: ca. 3-4 hours
Meeting point: at 11 a.m. at S-Bahnhof Wannsee, on platform for the S 1 line.
Wednesday, 31. March
Centrum Judaicum
The permanent exhibition of the New Synagogue Berlin - Centrum Judaicum; Foundation traces the history of the building and the lives connected with it. Very little has survived that could tell us something about the building. However, some architectural fragments and remnants of the interior furnishings were recovered from the ruins of the historical building prior to its restoration. These form the main part of the exhibition.
The various displays and documents give an impression of how diverse Jewish life was in this part of Berlin. Visitors on a guided tour are permitted to enter the open space behind the restored parts of the building. Here one can gain an impression of the immensity of the former main room of the synagogue.
The inner wall and the remnants of the masonry of the actual synagogue have been secured by a glass and steel structure. The ground plan of the former synagogue has been laid out in stone in the open space, marking the dimensions of the destroyed section. Thus the scars left by history remain clearly visible.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Meeting point: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
UTOPIA MATTERS – Deutsche Guggenheim
Utopia has long been a subject of investigation for artists, as well as a model for artists’ communities, where an ideal society has sometimes been more easily realized than in larger contexts. Though many were short-lived, these collectives functioned as the catalyst for intense and fecund periods of exchange and creativity. Artistic movements with utopian foundations emerged in the wake of the Enlightenment-fueled revolutions in France and America and were nourished by Romantic principles. They range from the nineteenth-century brotherhoods premised on the example of the medieval guild to the colonies which burgeoned by the end of the nineteenth century when artists retreated to remote locales, looking for respite from the problems of urban life. With the avant-gardes following World War I—when there was a turn toward the idea of truth and harmony in pure, abstract forms—utopian groups optimistically endeavored to recraft society through art and design.
Through nine movements spanning 130 years: the Primitifs, the Nazarenes, the Pre-Raphaelites, William Morris and Arts and Crafts, the Cornish Art Colony, Neo-Impressionism, De Stijl, the Bauhaus, and Russian Constructivism, many of the forms utopian artistic groups can assume are explored. Utopia Matters allows for dialogues between a diversity of these groups from Europe and the United States so that historical movements and avant-gardes with like aims of collectivity and idealism, normally separated by national and chronological divisions, are seen alongside each other. The presentation concludes in the early 1930s, when the ascendancy of fascism brought about the close of the Bauhaus in Berlin in 1933 and Stalinism reframed Russian Constructivist projects in the Soviet Union.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Treffpunkt: 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Samstag, 06. März
Pergamonmuseum
The Pergamon Museum was built between 1910 and 1930 under the supervision of Ludwig Hoffmann, working according to designs by Alfred Messel. From 1901 to 1909, a smaller building had occupied the same spot. This building originally accommodated the important excavation finds of the Berlin Museums, such as the frieze of the Pergamon Altar which was recovered between 1878 and 1886. However, insufficient foundations soon led to damages in the building structure and the building had to be demolished even before the outbreak of the First World War.
The new, larger Pergamon Museum was conceived as a "Dreiflügelanlage". Today, it accommodates three separate museums: the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities), occupying the architectural halls and the sculpture wing, the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East) and the Museum für Islamische Kunst (Museum of Islamic Art). The monumental reconstruction of archaeological building ensembles – such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate including the Processional Way of Babylon and the Mshatta Façade – has made the Pergamonmuseum world-famous.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Treffpunkt: at 11 a.m. on the corner of Friedrichsstraße/Georgenstraße (S-Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Exit Georgenstraße).
Wednesday, 10. March
Kreuzbergmuseum
The Museum for the District Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg regards itself as the memory of the district. It contains a comprehensive archive of both district parts and information for everyone who is interested.
There is also a changing exhibition about the regional and district history that answers question about current topics, e.g. immigration, industrial, commercial and urban development; there is a permanent exhibition with sections about city development and migration history on two floors; a historical printer, from the former Otto Schneider printer’s shop..
Length: ca. 2 hours
Treffpunkt: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Sunday, 14. March
Documentation Centre Bernauer Straße and then a visit to the flea market in Mauerpark
The documentation centre was opened on the 10th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November, 1999. It provides information about the history of the Berlin Wall. Bernauer Straße was a focus point of German post-war history due to its position directly on the border between East and West. The centre is used for research and the presentation of the history of division in Berlin and Germany as a whole.
After visiting Bernauer Straße, we’ll continue on to the flea market in Mauerpark in the district of Prenzlauer Berg. Alongside masses of second hand goods, many local artistans show and sell their creations. This is Berlin’s most colourful flea market with hundreds of stalls and countless 1000s of items.
Length: ca. 3 hours
Meeting point: at 11 a.m. at S-Bahnhof Nordbahnhof (Exit Gartenstraße)
Wednesday, 17. March
Neue Nationalgalerie
In kaum einer anderen Sammlung ist die Geschichte so bedeutsam für den Bestand wie in der Berliner Nationalgalerie. Prägend für die Vorkriegszeit ist die Zerschlagung durch die nationalsozialistische Aktion „Entartete Kunst“ im Jahre 1937. Viele expressionistische Meisterwerke wie Franz Marcs „Der Turm der blauen Pferde“ gingen verloren und werden bis heute vermisst. Die wichtigsten dieser ehemaligen Hauptwerke werden in Form einer „Schattengalerie“ in die im März präsentierte Sammlungsschau integriert.
Auch die deutsche Teilung manifestierte sich in unterschiedlichen Sammlungsstrategien: Während West-Berlin die formalen Neuerungen der verschiedenen Avantgarde-Strömungen in den Vordergrund stellte, lag in der Ost-Berliner Nationalgalerie der Akzent auf inhaltlichen Aspekten. Durch die Zusammenfindung beider Sammlungen ergeben sich interessante Ergänzungen - wie das Beispiel des abstrakt arbeitenden Bauhaus-Lehrers László Moholy-Nagy zeigt. Er ist Oskar Nerlinger gegenübergestellt, welcher dieselben Elemente in Verbindung mit Menschen und Maschinen zur Veranschaulichung von Großstadt, Technik und Arbeit nutzt.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Meeting point: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Samstag, 20. März
Dresden
The historical centre of Dresden is found on the left bank of the River Elbe.
Even today, the character and face of the city are shaped by buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque and 19th Century periods. Wherever you view the city from, whether the river banks or one of the numerous bridges, it is clear that Dresden is a cultural centre of Europe-wide importance.
Despite the heavy bombing damage inflicted on the city during the Second World War, the old town has managed to retain or reconstruct much of its classical architectural treasures. The reconstruction of the city centre is symbolised by the successfully rebuilt Dresdner Frauenkirche, with its magnificent Baroque dome - an instantly recognisable feature of Dresden’s centre.
There are a large number of cultural institutions along the river bank on the old town side of the Elbe: from the Old Master’s Art Gallery to the Grüne Gewölbe, the treasure vaults of the Saxon Kings and Electors.
The old centre is still a lively city centre and around the Altmarkt (Old Market) and Prager Straße you can find numerous shopping centres, restaurants, cafes and bars.
Length: 10-12 hours
Meeting point: at 9.15 a.m. at the Berliner Hauptbahnhof on Platform 3 (Info: Regionalexpress RE 38347 direction Elsterwerda 9.26 a.m.)
Wednesday, 24. March
Museum for Film and Television
The whole world of cinema under one roof – from the very first moving images to digital film.
The history of German films is displayed in 13 specially designed rooms: The early stars of the silver screen, major movie milestones such as Caligari and Metropolis, the heyday during the Weimar Republic and the appropriation during the time of the Nazis.
A whole section is dedicated to film animation, spezial effects and the future of virtual worlds.
There is an audio guide for the entire museum in German or English.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Meeting point: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
Saturday, 27. March
Haus der Wannseekonferenz / Pfaueninsel
In the green southwest of Berlin, there are not only lake, beaches and woods, but also many historical places: palaces of Prussian kings, romantic churches and even sites associated with the terror of the Nazis. Starting at Bahnhof Wannsee, we’ll first walks to the "Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz", which has an exhibition about the “Dritte Reich” and the genocide of the European Jews. Along the shore of the lake, we’ll go to the famous excursion destination Pfaueninsel. Please don’t forget to bring water, rain protection and a little snack.
Length: ca. 3-4 hours
Meeting point: at 11 a.m. at S-Bahnhof Wannsee, on platform for the S 1 line.
Wednesday, 31. March
Centrum Judaicum
The permanent exhibition of the New Synagogue Berlin - Centrum Judaicum; Foundation traces the history of the building and the lives connected with it. Very little has survived that could tell us something about the building. However, some architectural fragments and remnants of the interior furnishings were recovered from the ruins of the historical building prior to its restoration. These form the main part of the exhibition.
The various displays and documents give an impression of how diverse Jewish life was in this part of Berlin. Visitors on a guided tour are permitted to enter the open space behind the restored parts of the building. Here one can gain an impression of the immensity of the former main room of the synagogue.
The inner wall and the remnants of the masonry of the actual synagogue have been secured by a glass and steel structure. The ground plan of the former synagogue has been laid out in stone in the open space, marking the dimensions of the destroyed section. Thus the scars left by history remain clearly visible.
Length: ca. 2 hours
Meeting point: at 2 p.m. in front of PROLOG
