Berlin Weekend for Democracy
Berlin celebrates the 175th anniversary of the March Revolution on March 18 and 19, 2023, the Weekend for Democracy and offers a wide range of anniversary events from March 1 to April 30.
Democracy cannot be taken for granted. How hard it had to be fought for was particularly evident in the March Revolution of 1848 - and yet the event was forgotten: What happened back then? What is the significance of the March Revolution? What significance does it have for democracy today?
Kulturprojekte Berlin is organizing the Berlin Weekend for Democracy on March 18 and 19, 2023, to mark the 175th anniversary of the March Revolution.
From March 1 to April 30, 2023, on the occasion of the anniversary, there are numerous events on the theme.
You can find the complete collection of events [HERE].
To open the Berlin Weekend for Democracy, the Governing Mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey invites you to a first city walk in the footsteps of the revolution 175 years ago on March 18, 2023 at 11 am. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Mrs. Elke Büdenbender as well as the President of the Berlin House of Representatives will attend the opening ceremony as guests. The starting point will be the installation of a barricade at the historic site at the corner of Friedrichstraße and Jägerstraße.
This historical event will be made visible in the urban space and a diverse program will be designed in close cooperation with more than twenty partners - from artistic interventions in the urban space to exhibitions and talks to performances and interactive tours.
The events focus on democracy today and the historical revolution of 1848 in Berlin. When Europe first experienced a wave of protests and radical upheavals aimed at democratization and social justice in 1848 and '49, these demands also reached the broad masses of Berlin.
On March 18, 1848, thousands went to the barricades for them, which had been quickly improvised everywhere. Instead of listening to the demands, the Prussian king had the uprising violently suppressed. Nevertheless, even his military could not stop the change in people's minds.
Berlin became part of the revolutionary movement that paved the way for many of the cornerstones of today's society: civil liberties and a constitution guaranteeing them, freedom of the press and assembly, and an independent judiciary - it was here that the democratization of Europe was set in motion. And this was done above all by young people under the age of 25, who had to suffer particularly from the oppressive conditions.
On March 18 and 19, 2023, Kulturprojekte Berlin, together with partners such as the Cemetery of the March Fallen, the Gorki Theater, the Humboldt Forum, the German Historical Museum, and the Federal and Berlin State Centers for Political Education, will focus on the value of democracy during the Berlin Weekend for Democracy.
The event will start at a barricade in the city, which will be the starting point for tours in the footsteps of the revolution. Ten representative Berliners* of the revolutionary era will guide the way from there to the former palace as city markers.
Verschiedene Orte Berlin