Saxony-Anhalt’s most famous son, besides the religious reformer Martin Luther, is probably baroque composer Georg Friedrich Händel. On the balancity stage, the “Rossini Quartet” will perform music by Händel as well as classics by Mozart and Bach. A Chinese rock band will also take the stage. The Minister of Cultural Affairs. The State Secretary of Economics and Labour, Detlef Schubert, will visit the German Pavilion on 26 May 2010

The state capital of Magdeburg with its famous cathedral is not the only site in Saxony-Anhalt whose history and architecture makes it well worth a visit. Halberstadt, Naumburg, the Luther city of Wittenberg and Quedlinburg are also major attractions in a region known for its many palaces, churches and castles. The Collegiate Church of St. Servatius in Quedlinburg with its cathedral treasures boasts the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site. Half-timbered houses feature prominently in the cityscape of Wernigerode, situated in the Harz foothills. To highlight this special form of building, the German delegation will celebrate a traditional topping-out ceremony on 26 May 2010, followed by a round of drinks. And, as befits a genuine German celebration of this kind, the guests from Saxony-Anhalt will hammer a symbolic nail into a half-timbered house that has been erected in front of the German Pavilion.

Twenty students from the University of Art and Design in Halle, a creative incubator with a long history and a high potential for innovation, will accompany the programme. During the Saxony-Anhalt Days, these students will play the role of miners, dressing up in costumes from their homeland. With the help of interactive architecture models, they will make palpable for the visitors how Saxony-Anhalt manages to achieve a balance between historical and modern architecture. It’s all about the right mixture. Multiple success stories have shaped not only the state’s past, but also its more recent history. The residents of Saxony-Anhalt like to call themselves early risers – maybe this has something to do with it? Do visitors know that aspirin tablets are produced here, or that the glass in the dome of the Berlin Reichstag came from this region?