January 2012: DW's culture calendar

Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Japanese Emperor Akihito each have one: a bottle of Blauer Kölner, wine made from grapes that hang on the world's oldest grapevine. It's located in Maribor, the second-largest city in Slovenia with around 170,000 residents. Maribor, along with Guimaraes in Portugal, is one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2012. And the Slovenian city is set to prove it has more to offer than wine with a variety of cultural programming starting on January 13 - from exhibitions to concerts and theater programs.

The idyllic university town of Guimaraes on the foot of Penha Mountain in Portugal is also ready to show itself to the world. Organizers expect more than 1.5 million tourists to venture to the city that likes to call itself the cradle of Portugal. The first Portuguese king took on the crown in Guimaraes, and the English can thank a duchess from the city for introducing them to drinking tea. The story goes that the Portuguese duchess offered England's courtly ladies cups of tea in the 15th century with the words "para ti," meaning "for you." And supposedly that's how the word "tea" entered the English language. Even if the anecdote isn't true, one thing is certain: A place with a history as rich as Guimaraes is well-deserving of the European Capital of Culture title.



Up-and-coming filmmakers

Aside from being a great director of the 20th century, Max Ophüls also did his part to help out young filmmakers. It's no wonder that the film festival in the hometown of the German-French director is named after him. Since 1980, young German filmmakers have gotten together in Saarbrücken to present a selection of short and long films. The festival began with around 700 visitors. Now, it attracts about 40,000. Many filmmakers started big careers here, including Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose film "The Lives of Others" was a major hit both in Germany and abroad. The winner of last year's festival was Johannes Faber, with a film called "Der Albaner" (The Albanian). It tells the story of an Albanian's journey to Germany and his frantic attempt to rustle up a dowry for his love back home. Immigration, integration and life among colliding cultures are increasingly popular themes among young moviemakers. The festival runs from January 16 - 22.



Touching encouraged

Visitors won't see any "Please don't touch" signs at this trade fair, where running hands over, opening up and even sitting on the wares is more than welcome. "Passagen" (Passages), an event in Cologne showcasing current trends in international design, interior and lifestyle products, will run from January 16 - 22. The fair includes around 45 exhibitors and 190 shows from Germany and abroad. There will be art installations, virtual gardens, digital wall paintings, and the usual selection of quirky, ironic and surprising designs for sofas, rugs and wardrobes - anything to make life at home a little more exciting.



The return of the gods

For those looking to take a break from the humdrum of life on earth, the exhibition "The Return of the Gods" in Cologne's Romano-Germanic Museum offers the perfect escape, starting on January 13. In the show, guests can come face to face with the lightning-hurling Zeus, love goddess Aphrodite, and the hedonistic god of wine, Dionysus, along with many other gods from Olympus to Hades. The marble statues, rare reliefs and richly decorated vases on display come from the antique collections of Berlin's museums and will now settle in for a show along the Rhine after stays in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.



Happy birthday, Friederick!

He saw himself first and foremost as a servant of the state, and Frederick the Great - affectionately nicknamed "Old Fritz" - did much for Prussia in the 46 years of his rule. He led famous and infamous wars, oversaw major construction projects, was an enlightened political philosopher as well as a composer and art fan with great taste. He's even credited with bringing an important staple to Prussia: the potato. On January 24, it will have been exactly 300 years since the young Fritz came into the world, and the city of Potsdam is ready to celebrate with a festival night of kingly dimensions. It's the kick off to an entire year of exhibitions, concerts, theater programming and other events intended to make clear just how influential Frederick the Great was in shaping his city, country and culture.



UNESCO Heritage List turns 40

Potsdam is a worthy travel destination year round for another reason: Its famous gardens and palaces have long been on the UNESCO World Heritage Lists. In fact, with 36 sites in its borders, Germany is among the highest-ranking countries on the list. The project was started 40 years ago in Paris, with the aim of helping protect major cultural and natural artifacts around the world. Since then, 188 nations have pledged their support for the list that includes 935 monuments in 153 countries. That's reason enough to celebrate, and on January 30, UNESCO will open its anniversary year with a big festival in its Paris center.



Author: Sabine Damaschke / gsw
Editor: Kate Bowen