Program Book - Wernigerode 2017

Die Gastgeberstadt Wernigerode / The host town Wernigerode
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ic and the Baroque. Unique of their kind are the wooden architecture of the Krummel House
in Breite Straße and the remarkable structure of the Leaning House in Klintgasse. And besides
these striking individual examples of the half-timbered style, well-known far beyond the borders
of Saxony-Anhalt, we can also call our own one of Germany’s most beautiful Town Halls.
The picturesque setting it provides has meant that many residents of the Harz come to Wernigerode
to get married. In these surroundings, both historical and romantic, a wedding day
becomes even more special. But Wernigerode has still more to offer. It stands also for economic
development, for a good infrastructure, for culture and education. The small-town pace of life
allows home-life, work-life and leisure to exist in harmony. Its beautiful location means that
to live there is a pleasure in itself. Moreover, its numerous parks and open spaces, such as the
Christianental Wildlife Park and the Wernigerode Bürgerpark, offer recreation to both visitors
and natives of the town. The town itself is also ideal for strolling in, the Old Town offering a
multitude of larger and smaller shops, cafés and restaurants.
Wernigerode is a town that accords equally great respect to the traditional and the contemporary.
Thus, the ancient traditions of the Harz region are cherished side by side with modern
art and culture. The highlights of the year can often be such events rich in tradition as the
Town Hall Festival, the Wine Festival or the Christmas Market. For the intellectually enquiring
Wernigerode also offers a broad range of museums and cultural institutions, including Schloß
Wernigerode®, the Aviation Museum, the Harzmuseum and the Firefighting Museum, as well
as the Harz Planetarium.
Wernigerode has also been known for many years as an important centre of choral music, having
been home since 1951 to the Radio Youth Choir. Generations of music teachers, soloists
and conductors, who now help to form and guide musical culture both within and beyond
Germany, received a solid musical training at the regional Music High School based in the town.
The Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the Castle Festival, known and loved well beyond
the region, play an important part in this cultivation of tradition. Wernigerode’s reputation as
a centre of choral music has been further strengthened internationally by the very successful
mounting of the International Johannes Brahms Choir Festival and Competition.
The region also numbers among the best-known and best-loved holiday and recreation areas
in Northern Germany. Millions of people, from near and far, visit the Harz National Park and
its towns every year. Amidst the beautiful natural landscapes of the Harz region there are to
be found mining industry museums as well as old castles, fortresses and limestone caves. Also
famous far beyond the borders of the Harz region is the supposed witches meeting on Walpurgis
Night on the legend-laden Brocken, the Harz Mountains’ highest peak, at the end of April,
where they “drive out” winter. You see, then, that “the colourful town beneath the Harz” is
always worth a visit.