Join Wellesley alumnae and friends on a journey through
Germany: from the restored city of Dresden, with the
steeple of the Frauenkirche crowning the city once
again, to Weimar, one of Europe’s most important cultural and historical
hubs. Here, Goethe and Schiller wrote poetry, Johann
Sebastian Bach played the organ, Carl Maria von Weber composed, Franz
Liszt directed, and
the Bauhaus thrived. Our program will culminate in Berlin, with its cutting-edge
contemporary design alongside the shadows of history. Wellesley Professor Margaret
Ward, her husband, Thomas E. J. de Witt, and other experts will be on hand to
provide insight along the way.
The trip begins with two nights
in Dresden and a behind-the-scenes visit to the
renowned Semper Opera House. At the
Zwinger, we will examine the royal art collections,
including works by Rembrandt, Raphael, and Vermeer, as well as one of the world’s
best collections of porcelain. Traveling through the countryside to Meissen,
we will visit the Nikolaikirche and learn how porcelain came to be produced
at the present-day version of the Royal Porcelain Workshop.
Next, in Weimar
for two nights, we will follow in the footsteps of Goethe and
his peers, visiting the home of Duchess Anna Amalia and her iconic library,
which was frequented by Goethe and Schiller, and Goethe’s beloved Gartenhaus.
Later, we will have the opportunity to visit Walter Gropius’s Bauhaus
to study some of the underpinnings of modern architecture. A brief stop in
Leipzig will take us to the Thomaskirche for a private concert in the church where
Bach served as the choirmaster for 27 years.
Our program will end in the
cultural capital of Berlin, a harbinger of contemporary design. We will
explore the city’s museum collections,
including the acclaimed new Jewish Museum designed
by Daniel Libeskind and the UNESCO-protected
buildings
of Museum Island. Also central to our Berlin experience are the vibrant
architectural creations by Frank Gehry, I. M.
Pei, Lord Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and
other contemporary masters, as well as private receptions and a concert
at Hans Sharoun’s
Berlin Philharmoniker Hall.
This is a trip about understanding
and experiencing-—a
treat for the mind and senses. We hope you will join us!
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Margaret E. Ward has taught, lectured, and published
widely on the city of Berlin and German culture.
A member of the Wellesley faculty since
1971, she received her Ph.D. from Indiana University
and has received DAAD, NEH, and Fulbright fellowships.
Her recent book, Fanny Lewald:
Between Rebellion and Renunciation, is the first
comprehensive study of the life and work of this 19th-century advocate
of women’s
right to education.
Thomas E. J. de Witt,
President of Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts,
from 1988 to 2007, holds a Ph.D. in modern European
history from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. in public management
from
Boston University. Dr. de Witt taught German
and social welfare history at Wellesley in 1973–74.
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