Germany, various locations
Germany is celebrating the 250th birthday of one of its most beloved painters, the Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). His work depicts mountains, ruins and stormy seas, often with human figures, such as Wanderer Above the Sea or Fog. There are exhibitions in Hamburg (until April 1), Berlin (April 19 to August 4) and Dresden (August 24 to January 5, 2025), where Friedrich lived for 40 years; he is buried in the city’s Trinitatis Cemetery. His hometown, Greifswald, has a festival (August 31 – September 1) and three exhibitions at the Pomeranian State Museum (from April 28). Visitors can also follow in the artist’s footsteps – literally, as he preferred to travel on foot, with a sketchbook in hand – to locations in his paintings, such as the island of Rügen or the Saxon Switzerland National Park.
germany.travel
Malta
Move over, Venice: Malta will launch its first biennial this spring. The event has already made waves in the art world, attracting entries from more than 2,500 artists from 75 countries. The final selection has yet to be made, but organizers have promised that “several artists of international renown” will exhibit. Under the theme White Sea Olive Groves, the artworks explore modern Maltese and Mediterranean identity. The contemporary art will be displayed in ancient settings, many of which are UNESCO-listed (the entire capital, Valletta, is a World Heritage Site, with 320 historic monuments). Several sites are being converted into exhibition spaces for the first time, including the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, the armory in the ancient city of Birgu and the megalithic temples of Ġgantija in Gozo.
March 11 to the end of May, maltabiennale.art
For the third year in a row, three cities share the title of European Capital of Culture, including Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia and the oldest city in the Baltics. The first written mentions of the city date back to 1030 and the city has long been the cultural heart of the country, with the first university, newspapers and the national theater. Today it is still full of concert halls, exhibition halls, theaters and museums, and students make up a quarter of the population. More than 1,000 events are planned for the Cultural Year, from the opening ceremony on January 26 to the closing party on November 30. Summer is a great time to visit, when Vabaduse Avenue, one of the main streets along the river, is closed to cars (July 6 to August 11). Car-free Avenue will have a hammock maze, art workshops, children’s activities and a series of concerts by Estonian and international musicians.
tartu2024.ee
Copenhagen, Denmark
The Carlsberg district (pictured) in central Copenhagen has been under development since brewing stopped there in 2008, and is finally more or less complete. The restored industrial buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries are supplemented by nine new high-rise buildings, inspired by San Gimignano in Italy, the city of towers. Visitors who go for the architecture will find plenty of other things to keep them there. There are design and concept stores, an art gallery, a spa and the boutique hotel Ottilia. Numerous restaurants include a Danish smørrebrød (open sandwich) café, a gastropub in the old malt silo, a hamburger joint in the boiler house and a “New Nordic” restaurant on the site of natural springs. And last December, the Visit Carlsberg attraction reopened as Home of Carlsberg after five years of modernization. There’s a new interactive exhibition, a restaurant and bar, plus cellar tours and tastings.
beautifulcopenhagen.com
Ghent is European Youth Capital 2024 and has a lot to offer young visitors. Top attractions include the Gravensteen, a medieval fortress with a moat and a gory collection of torture devices; Werregarenstraatje, AKA Graffiti Alley, a public canvas for street artists; and the Belfry, with 254 steps to climb to visit a dragon, the city’s mascot. Families can also download the Phosphorus the Dragon app for a two-hour scavenger hunt through the city. Just outside the center is the Blaarmeersen sports and recreation park with a lake with a sandy beach, a water park, a skate park and much more. Children will either love or hate cuberdons: raspberry-flavored syrupy sweets invented by a Ghent pharmacist and still only sold in Belgium.
visit.gent.be
Bad Ischl, Austria
Another cultural capital is Bad Ischl in the Salzkammergut region in western Austria. Bad Ischl, health resort and summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I, has joined forces with 22 rural mountain communities. This also includes the Attersee, which inspired Gustav Klimt and Gustav Mahler. One of the highlights of the annual program is Salt Lake Cities, an artist-in-residence program to bring twelve disused train stations back to life with installations, exhibitions and pop-up projects. Another highlight is Reise der Bilder, an exhibition at three locations of works of art looted in the Salzkammergut during the Second World War. Other major events include a street music festival, a theater festival and an experimental music and digital arts festival. Finally, to celebrate the 200th birthday of the Upper Austrian composer Anton Bruckner, there will be a concert in a huge saltworks in Ebensee.
salzkammergut-2024.at
Those who missed the National Gallery’s 2020-2021 Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition – which was cut short by the pandemic – could go to Genoa this spring. The Ligurian city has a major exhibition of the pioneering 17th-century artist, with more than 50 of her paintings from across Europe and the US. The show is held in the Palazzo Ducale, which in various forms was home to the Doge of Genoa from the 12th to the 18th century. It has a vaulted atrium, a huge hall with enormous chandeliers, a frescoed chapel, dungeons and a tower overlooking one of the largest medieval centers in Europe. It is just one of Genoa’s many palaces; 42 of them form the Palazzi dei Rolli, which is on the World Heritage List. They are all open to the public on the biennial Rolli Days (next event January 19-21).
Artemisia Gentileschi: courage and passion, until April 1, palazzoducale.genova.it
Bodø, Norway
The third cultural capital is Bodø in Northern Norway, the first city north of the Arctic Circle to hold this title. It aims to be the most sustainable cultural capital ever, and many events take place outdoors – both on land and at sea. The opening ceremony on February 3 will take place on a floating stage in the harbour. There’s a concert in an underwater cave, where the audience must be accredited divers (it’s also live-streamed), and a new 10-metre-high sculpture by poet Petter Dass on a small island, best seen by boat. On dry land, highlights include an open-air mass participation event called Midsummer Mischief, Europe’s only land art biennale and Nordland’s first winter light festival. Sámi culture is celebrated with a trilogy of plays by the Southern Sámi Theater, while the Bodø City Museum becomes a Sámi museum this year.
bodo2024.no
Perfectly timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Abba’s victory, Sweden is hosting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The host city, Malmö, will be buzzing on the weekend of the final, on May 11, as Eurovision fans descend in droves, but there is plenty of culture to be found all year round. The Malmö Konstmuseum displays Scandinavian art, furniture and crafts; the Moderna Museet Malmö shows work by Dalí and Picasso, plus contemporary exhibitions; the Form/Design Center focuses on architecture, design and craft; and half an hour’s drive away is the excellent Falsterbo Photo Art Museum, with photography by Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Anton Corbijn and others. Slightly less highbrow is the Disgusting Food Museum, which has 80 stomach-churning exhibits, from the maggot-infested cheese of Sardinia to the rotten shark of Iceland.
visitmalmo.se
In April, Genoa will pass the baton to Strasbourg as World Book Capital. More than 200 book-related events will take place over the next twelve months, such as the Arsmondo Utopia festival – named after the Thomas More book – at the Strasbourg Opera House, with a line-up of opera, concerts, film screenings, lectures and debates. . Other locations include the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame, a sculpture and stained glass museum, and the , which houses works by Magritte, Monet and Rodin. The city itself has plenty to inspire would-be novelists, with its enchanting island setting (the center is surrounded by the River Ill and a canal), half-timbered houses and gigantic Gothic cathedral, praised by writers such as Goethe and Victor Hugo.
April 23, 2024 to April 22, 2025, lirenotremonde.strasbourg.eu