Austria
From March 2 to June 20, performances of the Spanish Riding School will take place in Vienna, in front of Schönbrunn Palace. This school is the oldest in the world; it was founded in Vienna in 1572. Lipizzaners - the famous snow-white horses - trace their lineage to the horses of the Roman cavalry, which were crossed in Spain with Arabian stallions: this is how horses of the Spanish breed, renowned throughout Europe in the Middle Ages as the best war horses, were accidentally bred. The most intricate dance figures performed by the Lipizzaners to music are nothing other than combat techniques that have come down to us from the 5th century BC. In addition to the performances, those interested have the opportunity to attend the morning training sessions of the horses.
Until mid-April, the days of sacred music will continue in Vienna, and those who do not manage to attend them can go to Tyrol, where in the towns of Hall and Innsbruck an Easter festival of religious music will take place throughout the month.
The city of Graz, capital of the province of Styria, has been declared European Capital of Culture for 2003. A recently opened exhibition titled "Mountain of Memories" introduces all interested to the history of the city. The philosophy of the project is this: the city's past will appear as it was reflected in the memory of its inhabitants, as seen through their eyes. Of particular interest is the section of the exhibition dedicated to the culture of everyday life in the city: its markets, architecture, and population.
And from April 26 to August 24, an exhibition and symposium under the general title "Phantom of Pleasure. Visions of Masochism in Art", dedicated to the work of the famous Austrian Sacher-Masoch, will be held in Graz.
United Kingdom
From April 17 to 21, the Easter Festival will take place in the towns of Gosport and Fareham, Hampshire. Guests can expect concerts, dance performances, traditional craft workshops, and folk music. The festival will be held at the indoor venues of Fernham Hall in Fareham and the nearby Ashcroft Art Centre, located on the south coast of Hampshire. There will be festive fairs, music, dancing, songs, and club parties where everyone can meet the performers.
April 27 - the Boat Market in Beaulieu: the largest and most popular boat market in Europe opens at 10 a.m. for all maritime enthusiasts who like to bargain. More than 800 trading stalls will present a wide variety of boat items and equipment - from engines and tools to ships' logs and books. Yacht clubs and sailing schools will also have the opportunity to put various items up for sale. In the boat-trading area, 100 used boats and launches will be sold.
For fans of traditional English pastimes, the exhibition "British Golf" will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from April 4 to 6.
Germany
From March 15 to May 4, the exhibition "Cracks in the Wall" is open in Berlin, presenting the culture and art of Germany in the eighties. From 1961 to 1889, a virtually insurmountable concrete barrier divided Berlin into two parts. Now the Wall returns to its historical place to tell of art that does not recognize borders. It is now clearly visible that the leather jacket of an East Berlin rock star, a novel based on the legend of Cassandra, the successes of East German actors on West German television, and the friendship between artists of the "East" and "West" - all this contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The exhibition presents the biographies and work of people who overcame the Wall from both sides through literature, painting, theater, film, and music. The purpose of the exhibition is to preserve from oblivion the history of mutual cultural influences between the "East" and "West" and, possibly, to resolve the disputes about the value of the GDR's artistic heritage that arose after the reunification of Germany.
In Thuringia, the Bach Festival continues until April 10. Established in 1992, this festival has for many years remained one of the most important cultural events in Thuringia. Arnstadt, Eisenach, Erfurt, Weimar, Gotha, and Ohrdruf will give a warm welcome to all who are interested in Bach's music. The program includes concerts, oratorios, cantatas, masses, readings, and much more.
The night from April 30 to May 1 is the festival of all witches, Walpurgis Night. Rooted in pagan antiquity, this festival is dedicated to the beginning of spring. In Germany, it is traditionally celebrated on Mount Brocken in the center of the Harz region, where metals, sulfur, and arsenic have been mined since ancient times. Here, according to legend, witches gather led by the devil Urian, hold a wild orgy, and compete in sorcery skills. These days, romantically minded citizens gather on Brocken at festive bonfires (many in carnival costumes) and pay tribute to the traditional "gluttony and drinking." Magicians and musicians also perform here.
Holland
April in Holland is the opening of the flower parade season, each with its own history. The Bollenstreek Flower Parade is the first and largest parade held in Holland annually. Fifty years ago, the organizers of small parades held in the villages of Bollenstreek decided to join forces in one large parade that would become the hallmark of bulb floriculture. Hundreds of volunteers devote entire months to building floats from one and a half million hyacinths, thousands of daffodils, and other flowers. On the morning of April 26, they leave Noordwijk, travel along the canals through Sassenheim, Lisse, Hillegom, Bennebroek, and Heemstede, and arrive in Haarlem in the evening, where they will remain in the city center for the rest of the weekend.
The night from April 29 to 30, called Queen's Night, is a special event for all residents of The Hague: the city hosts a large music festival, celebrating Queen Beatrix's birthday in advance. Concerts begin around half past six in the evening and continue until early morning. Well-known musicians and young talents will perform on numerous stages throughout the city.
The next day, April 30, is a national holiday: all over the country the Dutch hang out flags and dress in orange. Orange items are sold everywhere that day, and tourists who did not bring an orange costume can, for example, buy an inflatable orange crown at one of the many fairs. Festive fairs are a traditional entertainment on the Queen's birthday: trade goes on all over the country, as if one half of the population is selling boring things to the other half. Those who manage to get up early after night concerts in The Hague have a chance to find real rarities at the flea stalls. And the main fun begins in the evening: in Amsterdam people dance and make music right on the streets, the canals are crowded with boats: many Dutch celebrate their Queen's birthday on the water.
Spain
In April all Spain celebrates Easter, but the center and focus of religious celebrations, turning into popular merrymaking, is undoubtedly Seville. From April 13 to 20, pilgrims and tourists flock to this city to celebrate Holy Week. Every day throughout the week, thousands of penitents, surrounded by crowds of spectators, move in slow processions from all the churches of Seville to the cathedral of Our Lady in the center of the city, singing saetas - mourning hymns lamenting the sufferings of Christ and the pain of the Mother of God. The penitents, dressed in black, white or purple cloaks with hoods covering their faces, carry platforms strewn with flowers with life-size images of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The platforms are surrounded by thousands of candles; all along the way spectators shower them with rose petals. The culmination of the whole week is Good Friday, when the processions set out as early as morning.
And at the end of the month religious celebrations give way to secular ones: immediately after Easter, Seville opens the famous April Fair, which this year will last from April 28 to May 4. On the bank of the Guadalquivir they set up many casetas - pavilions decorated with mirrors, candles and paper lanterns, where people in traditional costumes (which receive special attention) sing and dance flamenco and the traditional local dance, the sevillana. In the following days, street amusements operate; from about noon to evening, Seville society strolls around the fair in carriages or on horseback, the streets are illuminated, people sing, dance, play guitars, taste sherry and traditional dishes from different regions of Spain. One of the most important events of the fair is, of course, the bullfight: famous toreros perform at the Maestranza square.
Italy
The main event of Italian cultural life in April will be the international jazz festival Crossroads ("Crossroads"), which takes place over three months in the Emilia-Romagna region. Musicians from all over the world will play in theaters, concert halls and clubs of large and provincial cities: Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Great Britain, Holland, Israel, Italy, the USA, France - not a complete list of participating countries. The performers are jazzmen of world fame and musicians who have not yet had time to make a name for themselves. The repertoire is just as diverse: international ensembles, the "Women in Jazz" project, musical and choreographic projects, classic jazz, ethno, nostalgic covers of songs by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, a French accordionist will pay tribute to his teacher Piazzolla, and an Italian vibraphonist to the legendary Modern Jazz Quartet... The main part of the April performances will take place in Ravenna.
Sunday, April 20, the first day of Catholic Easter, Florence celebrates with fireworks on Cathedral Square: the fireworks will be launched with the help of a mechanical dove that will fly out of the altar during the solemn liturgy.
And in Assisi, the city of Saint Francis and the center of the Franciscan order, Easter is still celebrated without innovations - according to customs going back to the Middle Ages.
From April to June, in honor of the Christian holiday, a festival of sacred music will take place in the cathedrals of Lucca.
Malta
On April 6 and 13, in the capital of the island, Valletta, you can attend a costumed military parade from the time of the Knights of St. John. Tourists from all over Europe come specially to see this parade. The venue is the medieval Fort St. Elmo. Around the same days, from April 10 to 17, the 9th Malta Bridge Festival will take place at the Galaxy Hotel in Sliema.
And on Easter Sunday, early in the morning of April 20, processions carrying the statue of the Risen Christ will move through the towns and villages of Malta. To meet the bearers with the statue on their shoulders, children traditionally bring out their figolli - Easter almond cakes, so that the Risen Christ may bless them.
On the same day in Valletta, at Fort St. Elmo, there will be a theatrical performance on a historical subject, depicting the battle of French and Maltese troops in 1800 - a performance that the Maltese regularly treat tourists from all over the world to several times a year.
And from April 21 to 27, a history festival will be held in Valletta: performances, processions, traditional music and dances.
Finland
From April 9 to 13, the port city of Oulu will host days of children's and youth theater. Along with a wide showcase of Finland's professional children's and youth theaters, theater groups from various European countries will come on tour. Dozens of performances will be played at the festival; in addition, workshops, exhibitions and seminars for theater workers will be organized.
From April 23 to 27 in Espoo, near Helsinki, you can visit the April Jazz Espoo festival, which has already made a name for itself through the participation of famous musicians such as the Modern Jazz Quartet, Gerry Mulligan, and Dave Brubeck. In the concert halls of the jazz festival, performers from different countries will appear before the audience, and in restaurants jazz rhythms will sound until morning. The venue for the main concerts is the Espoo Cultural Centre. In the square in front of it, a tent will be set up that can hold more than a thousand spectators, where on Sunday afternoon the traditional jazz concert "for the whole family" will take place, attended by parents with children and even grandparents with grandchildren. Foreign musicians will perform at club parties and give mega-concerts at the Lansiauto-Areena sports and cultural complex.
France
The XVII International Kite Festival will take place from April 5 to 13 in the city of Berck-sur-Mer, near Pas-de-Calais. Every year the festival gathers thousands of enthusiasts of this rare art from all over the world: in the mornings on the beach everyone can fly their kites (special children's days are also provided), in the afternoon the "Gardens of Wind" - kites continuously taking off and soaring in the sky - capture the attention of delighted spectators, and workshops on making kites are also held here. An exhibition called "A Story Told by the Wind" presents a rare genre - aerial photography (pictures taken with the help of kites). And in the evening, competitions between teams from different countries begin. The "Night Flight", which will take place on April 12 at ten in the evening, promises to be especially impressive.
The Nantes Museum of Fine Arts is presenting an exhibition of works by Matisse, painted between 1917 and 1925, when the artist lived in Nice. During this period, Matisse mastered the "intimate" register of painting: canvases painted on the Côte d'Azur depict scenes of "blissful idleness": windows opened to the sea, languid women in oriental dresses... The exhibition includes about twenty paintings brought from the Paris museum of the Orangery and other museums in France; for the first time the Nice period in Matisse's work is presented so fully.
And in the south of France, in the town of Cognac (Charente district), from April 10 to 13, the famous detective film festival among fans will take place. This festival has existed for more than twenty years, refuting the widespread opinion that the detective thriller and detective comedy are genres more characteristic of American cinema. Devoted fans of the European detective story gather in Cognac, which, in their opinion, is incomparably higher in level than the Hollywood production that has flooded the whole world.
Czech Republic
"One World" is the name of the international film festival dedicated to human rights, which will take place for the fifth time in Prague from April 8 to 16, and from April 22 to May 7 in fifteen other cities of the Czech Republic. Lucerna, one of the most famous Prague cinemas, will place at the disposal of festival guests two auditoriums and a video library containing more than one thousand two hundred video recordings related to the issue of human rights. The festival will feature 130 films and videos from all over the world. Screenings will be accompanied by public discussions; in addition, the program includes photo exhibitions, open-air concerts by musicians from all over the world, various "ethnic" events, and special screenings of feminist cinema.
The One World festival was founded by the Czech foundation People in Need to foster mutual understanding among people of different cultures, to impart to them an idea of human rights and shared responsibility for what is happening in the world. Another task of the festival is to be a creative laboratory where contemporary trends in documentary cinema are discussed and new projects are developed. One World supports and promotes documentary cinema by showing films in theaters that are usually inaccessible to a wide audience. Since its inception, the festival has established itself as one of the largest European film festivals dedicated to human rights.