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Article: Big things come in small packages: the century's last cultural capital.
- Article from:
- Europe
- Article date:
- March 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Delegation of the European Commission. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Mankind is capable of many extremes: of lofty ideals; high-minded striving; dazzling wit, creativity, and intelligence, but also of base cruelty; narrow-minded prejudice; and mindless violence and destruction. Weimar, chosen to be this century's last European Cultural Capital, symbolizes both the best and the worst that man can do.
This cozy former East German town, which has retained its eighteenth century architecture, was where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), one of the greatest minds of all time, lived for fifty-seven years. He fathered German classicism, a literary movement based on humanistic principles and the belief that man is free to strive and ...