Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation continues cooperation with Georgian partners / Ceremony at the Bode Museum
Press release from 05/28/2014
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has maintained close relations with Georgia for many years. A highlight of the cooperation to date was the EU Twinning project carried out with the Georgian National Museum between 2010 and 2012. Over the next few years, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin will be coordinating a project for the conservation and repatriation of books of German origin that were relocated as a result of the war.
To honour the cooperation projects to date, the Ambassador of Georgia and the President of the SPK invite you to the
ceremony
on Monday, 2 June 2014, at 6 pm,
at the Bode Museum, Museum Island Berlin, Am Kupfergraben, 10117 Berlin.
Speakers
Prof. Dr Dr h.c. mult. Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK
Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Lado Chanturia, Ambassador of Georgia
Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia
Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Foreign Minister
Handover of two books to Foreign Minister Steinmeier as a symbolic prelude to the repatriation of an extensive collection of books of German origin discovered in the Tbilisi University Library
Concert with classical music stars: Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Dudana Mazmanishvili (piano), Anita Rachvelishvili (mezzo-soprano), David Ala-dashvili (piano), George Gagnidze (baritone), George Oniani (tenor)
As part of the ceremony, the Georgian Embassy in Germany and the SPK will present the exhibition "Culture connects. An EU Twinning Project between the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Georgian National Museum."
Note: Access only with accreditation. Please contact the Press Office of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
Long-standing relations between the SPK and Georgian institutions
Relations between Germany and Georgia date back to the Middle Ages. Even during the Soviet era, these relations continued, particularly in the fields of culture, education and science. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has maintained intensive relations with Georgian partners for many years. One highlight of the co-operation in 2007 was the exhibition "Medea's Gold. New Finds from Georgia" at the Altes Museum on Berlin's Museum Island. The Georgian National Museum lent hundreds of pieces of gold jewellery to Berlin for the exhibition, many of which had never left the country before and had only been found during excavations a few years previously.
Another outstanding project was the EU Twinning Partnership between the SPK and the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning with the Georgian National Museum (2010-2012). Twinning serves to establish partnerships between public institutions from EU member states and the administrations of current EU accession candidates. The project with the SPK and its Staatliche Museen zu Berlin was the first twinning project in the field of culture. It primarily served to strengthen the Georgian National Museum in the sustainable communication and preservation of Georgia's cultural heritage. In addition to a long-term consultant seconded to Tbilisi for the entire duration of the project, more than 30 German employees were involved.
Georgian Culture Days 2014 and the future of cooperation
In 2014, the cultural days of the Museum of European Cultures in Dahlem are dedicated to Georgia under the title "Supra - Celebrating in Georgian". From 31 July to 30 August 2014, the rich culture and history of the country will be presented in all its facets. In addition, the museum is presenting the special significance of wine in Georgian society in the exhibition "Wine Culture" with historical photographs and ethnographic objects from the collection of the Georgian National Museum until 5 October 2014.
In future, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation's collaboration with its Georgian partners will not only be continued through workshops and exhibitions, but also expanded through research projects.
Project for the conservational rescue and repatriation of books relocated due to the war
The symbolic handover of books as part of the ceremony marks the start of the conservational rescue and repatriation of up to 100,000 books of German provenance from Tbilisi to Germany. After the end of the Second World War, numerous books from German libraries were relocated to the former Soviet Union. A few years ago, the then director of the library at Tbilisi State University informed the German Embassy about an extensive collection of such books in a cellar of the library. They are to be returned to Germany as part of a joint German-Georgian project. The State Library of Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage has taken over the coordination of the project.
Due to the long period of storage in a damp environment, the volumes are covered in a layer of mould. Since February 2010, the humidity in the stacks has been lowered, the books dried and their condition stabilised. The next step is to pack them and transport them to Germany. Here they will be treated by an external service provider using gamma radiation to neutralise the mould, roughly cleaned and sorted according to ownership marks. The books are then returned to their previous owners: Books with German ownership marks will be restituted by Georgia to their original owners in the Federal Republic of Germany, while those with Georgian ownership marks or without ownership identification will be put to use in the Tbilisi University Library.
Concert with stars of classical music from Georgia
Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Dudana Mazmanishvili (piano), Anita Rachvelishvili (mezzo-soprano), David Aladashvili (piano), George Gagnidze (baritone) and George Oniani (tenor) are among the stars of the international classical music scene. During the ceremony, the Georgian musicians will perform works by Frédéric Chopin, Georges Bizet, Giuseppe Verdi, Johannes Brahms, Alexi Macharaviani, Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, Franz Lehar, Giacomo Puccini, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Revaz Lagidze.
Press contact Embassy of Georgia
Tamara Tsuleiskiri
Rauchstraße 11
10787 Berlin
Phone: +49 1727460737
E-mail: ttsuleiskir@mfa.gov.ge