“House of Europe. European Artifacts at the German National Library” is an illustrated book compiled by the German National Library. The collections held by the nation's written and musical memory are a good starting point for taking a look at Europe’s past and present from the continent's geographical centre.

In doing so, we find that “Europe” has left many marks on German culture, some of which are quite surprising. In this context, Europe is not understood as a geographical territory or an economic constellation, nor is it historically limited to the EU; instead, it is presented as an idea, as the vision of a community of values which now more than ever before can be understood as a mission of cultural policy – wholly in keeping with the etymological meaning of the word “Europe”, i.e. “the far-sighted one”.

The book contains images of 183 items from the German National Library's collections, one for each day of Germany’s presidency of the Council of the EU. The fascinating pictures accompanied by just a few words inspire curiosity about the history of our incredibly diverse cultural region. At the same time, the book testifies to the fact that “German” culture is inextricably bound up with the history of Europe and will continue to be so in the future. Brief essays enhance the visual cosmos and serve as vehicles for well-known personalities to express their views on Europe – with surprising results.

This work was published by Hatje Cantz and is also available in digital form on our website.

Online edition "House of Europe"

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