Culture is a complex word. There are many definitions for it. It refers to the totality of artistic and intellectual achievements of a community, characterising formative achievements of the community of a past epoch, or even to a cultivated person. However, soil can be cultivated in exactly the same way, or a culture of micro-organisms can be created in biology. We – Wir sind Paten Erfurt – have decided to pursue artistic, spiritual and creative culture and have, therefore, been offering our Kulturcafé in cooperation with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar – one of the largest cultural foundations in Germany – for three and a half years.
On 5 March 2021, a joint online tour took place through the Nietzsche Archive in Weimar, more specifically through the exhibition „Nietzsche Superstar. A Course of Modernity.“ After Nietzsche’s death in 1900, his wife Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche commissioned the designer Henry van de Velde to redesign the building. Van de Velde proceeded to design the entire interior. Today, the interior design of the Nietzsche Archive is one of van de Velde’s most successful creations.
The speaker for the tour was Mrs Florentine Holle. She guided us through parts of the exhibition, explained the background and told anecdotes about various exhibits.
Among other things, some of the designer’s furniture was on display. An example was a reclining sofa with an integrated bookshelf in the backrest or a pretty but rather uncomfortable wooden chair. Van de Velde was of the opinion that art had to subordinate itself to a large whole and even in some cases cut up paintings for this purpose.
The special thing about the exhibition is that some of the furniture and other exhibits have been recreated. This means that visitors can even try them out during guided tours on site.
We would like to thank the Klassik Stiftung Weimar for the opportunity to take a virtual tour during the Covid pandemic and look forward to the upcoming guided tours on site. Further information on the exhibition can be found at
