"Never before have the treasures from the East been displayed in such completeness," said museum curator Wenzel Jacob at a press conference in Bonn. "This is about the cultural heritage that connects us."

The Bundeskunsthalle conceived the show, called "National Treasures from Germany: From Luther to the Bauhaus," as a way to introduce visitors to the eastern states’ contribution to Germany’s national heritage and to shed light on how museums there have changed over the past 500 years, according to Jacob.

The artifacts and works of art in the show span those five centuries, ranging from Reformation-era works by Lucas Cranach the Elder to the 20th-century output of the Bauhaus masters of Weimar and Dessau.

Forming one exhibition focus is the culture of the "cradle of German classical civilization," the city of Weimar, whose favorite citizens Goethe and Schiller helped the city become EU cultural capital in 1999.

An interdisciplinary, multimedia exhibition, "National Treasures" also features listening booths were visitors can listen to the likes of Handel and Bach, as well as an area devoted to scientific discoveries and curiosities.

The Nele Muenchmeyer-directed film "Wanderer, Look at Nature: The Landscapes of Woerlitz, Sanssouci, Muskau and Branitz" meanwhile invites visitors to discover the East’s fabulous city parks.

The exhibition is open through January 8, after which it will go on tour throughout Europe. Museums in the East hope the traveling exhibition will help raise interest in an area of Germany that is still unknown to many tourists even a decade and a half after unification.
Republished with permission from "The Week in Germany"