Press briefing
29.04.2014
1914 – In the Middle of Europe.
Rhineland and the First World War
1914 – In the Middle of Europe
2014 is the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. The Rhineland Regional Council
(LVR) will use this date as an opportunity to carry out a large collaborative project including
exhibitions, excursions, an events program and research projects.
“1914 – In the Middle of Europe” is a unique, interdisciplinary, cultural project for the LVR and
its Department of Culture and the Environment. It is the first time that all of its museums and
cultural departments have collaborated on a large project together with contributions from
numerous national and international partners.
Rhineland and the First World War
The project’s thematic focus is the eve of the First World War that led in 1914 into the
“seminal catastrophe of the 20th century”. The cultural environment of the Rhineland therefore
becomes the focal point. The Rhineland played a particular role before and during the First
World War due to its geographic location, the highly industrialized districts on the Rhine and
the Ruhr, its population density and infrastructure as well as its emerging centers of modern
culture. As a border river, the Rhine was a national symbol, projecting its own unique mix of
romance and militant nationalism as well as industrial and artistic avant-garde.
Herausgeber: LVR-Fachbereich Kommunikation, Kennedy-Ufer 2, 50679 Köln
Telefon: 0221 809-2781, Telefax: 0221 809-2889, Mail: presse@lvr.de, www.rheinland1914.lvr.de
Seite 2
100 years later: 2014 becomes a thematic year
A multidisciplinary program is on offer, with international perspectives and current relevance,
with key words such as globalization, new media, structural change and new social role
models; all aimed at the general public.
It began with the “Aggression and Avantgarde” congress in September 2013 and continues
throughout the whole of 2014 with a program of linked exhibitions and excursions and various
events hosted by the different partners involved in the project.
Overview of project partners
The following partners are pooling their strengths using a variety of thematic perspectives in
coordinated exhibition projects:
LVR-Industrial Museum in cooperation with the Ruhr Museum, Essen
Max Ernst Museum Brühl des LVR
LVR-State Museum Bonn
Psychiatric History Documentation Centre Düren and Leopold-Hoesch-Museum & Paper
Museum, Düren
LVR-Open-air Museum Kommern
LVR-Open-air Museum Lindlar
LVR-RomanMuseum Xanten
Prussian Museum NRW in Wesel
Former cooperative “Vorwärts” e.V. in Wuppertal
Cologne City Museum, Museum for Applied Arts and Rhine Westphalia Foundation Industrial
Archive of Cologne
Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg
Heinrich-Heine-Institut in Düsseldorf
August Macke House Bonn
LVR’s cultural departments and external partners will also be providing the collaborative
project with numerous other events such as WDR 3 with the WDR 3 radio day.
www.rheinland1914.lvr.de
www.kongress1914.lvr.de
Media contact:
Birgit Ströter
LVR Communication Department
Tel: +49 (0)2 21 – 809 – 77 11
“1914 – In the middle of Europe. Rhineland and the First World War” is a project by the LVRDepartment of Culture and the Environment with various partners. The project’s sponsor is Ute
Schäfer, Minister for Families, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport for North Rhine Westphalia.
LVR-Fachbereich Kommunikation, Kennedy-Ufer 2, 50679 Köln
Telefon: 0221 809-2781, Telefax: 0221 809-2889, Mail: presse@lvr.de, www.rheinland1914.lvr.de