Looking Ahead To The Past Europe Plans 1997 As The Year To Celebrate History

Europe’s 1997 calendar of special events and exhibitions is chock-full of programs that should appeal to history buffs and culture lovers.

The calendar, compiled annually by the European Travel Commission, a consortium of 26 government tourism agencies, began Friday in Greece where Thessaloniki was named Europe’s Cultural Capital for 1997.

Familiarly known as Salonika, the ancient Macedonian capital is famous as a touring center for sites associated with Alexander the Great.

The first event is a salute to Melina Mercouri, the actress who, in 1984, persuaded the European Economic Community to designate a city each year for the honor.

The first year, it was Athens. Last year, Copenhagen. In 1998 it will be Stockholm.

Special exhibitions at Thessaloniki include Byzantine Treasures from Mount Athos. It encompasses a collection of icons, monumental paintings, illuminated manuscripts and other rarely seen works, plus materials relating to life in the ancient mountaintop monastery.

There also will be an Andy Warhol retrospective in a new Museum of Modern Art, master works by the Italian artist Caravaggio at the new Pinacothiki museum and gallery and displays relating to the history and culture of Macedonia.

The performing arts calendar at Thessaloniki includes concerts with Mstislav Rostropovich and Zubin Mehta conducting; classical and modern drama with Peter Ustinov, Peter Brook, Harold Pinter and the Comedie Francaise; and opera directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

Trondheim, Norway’s historic Viking capital, will celebrate its 1,000th anniversary throughout the year with historical exhibitions and sports and cultural events. Highlights include the Nordic world ski championships, an ice festival, a celebration of the 60th birthdays of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, a tall ships race and a theater festival.

The tiny principality of Monaco plans yearlong festivities focusing on the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi family’s reign.

Denmark commemorates the 600th anniversary of the start of the Kalmar Union with a major exhibition about Margrethe I, the Danish queen who organized the union that bound the three Nordic kingdoms, except for an occasional fallingout, from 1397 to 1521.

The kingdoms included Denmark, Norway (with Iceland and Greenland), and Sweden (with Finland). Denmark and Norway remained united until 1814.

In Austria, a yearlong series of special events celebrates the birth 200 years ago of Franz Schubert, the only one of the great Viennese composers actually born in Vienna. Highlights include walking tours and exhibitions at Schubert sites, including the composer’s tombstone next to Beethoven’s at Wahring Cemetery. While the tombstones remain, the bodies of both composers now rest at the Graves of Honor at Vienna’s Central Cemetery.

Special Schubert concerts are scheduled throughout Austria, culminating in a performance in November of his late and posthumously published masterpieces.

In Germany, this is the year for the quadrennial presentation of the “Landshut Wedding 1475.” The festival and pageant in the Bavarian town is a re-enactment of the wedding of Duke George the Rich and Princess Hegwig more than four centuries ago. The wedding play, first performed in 1903, is the largest medieval pageant in Europe.

The event is staged Wednesdays through Sundays, June 28-July 20, in the Bavarian town and includes a parade of 1,000 costumes, jousting tournaments and historical dances.

Germany also will mark the death 100 years ago of Johannes Brahms, with concerts and exhibitions related to the composer in Hamburg, Lubeck and Leipzig, among other towns.

Belgium celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Paul Delvaux, the surrealist painter. A major Delvaux retrospective is planned for the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels March 21-July 27. Another Delvaux exhibition focusing on the artist’s life, times and evolution of style, is set for April 4-Sept. 27 in Huy.

“Planning Your Trip to Europe,” from the European Travel Commission, features a comprehensive listing of events scheduled for 1997. For the free booklet, published this month, telephone (800) 816-7530.