Tell me where central Europe is, and I can tell who you are. —Jacques Rupnik
The dividing line between the Germanic west and the Slavic east. The home of the Protestant Reformation. The battle fields of the seventeenth century’s brutal wars of religion. The laboratories of major advances of the Scientific Revolution. The concert halls and church organs of many of the world’s greatest composers. The libraries and studies of distinguished philosophers, dramatists, and poets. The instigators of two world wars and the death and devastation brought in their wake. The Iron Curtain’s ideological separation of the west from the east. The challenges of building a prosperous and democratic region following years of totalitarian control. All of these occurred in or are characteristic of the area from the Rhine River eastward.
Having been extensively destroyed twice—in 1631 in the Thirty Years’ War and in 1945 in World War II—yet also having served as an imperial capital under Otto the Great, hosting the experiments on air pressure conducted by mayor Otto von Guericke, and being the birthplace of baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann, Magdeburg rightly serves as the eponym of our organization and programs.
Whether one’s interests lie in art, history, music, science, or culture in general, this region of Europe offers riches untold, many long hidden behind the Iron Curtain and now easily accessible to visitors. Join us on one of our existing excursions or propose one of your own. You will not be disappointed.
