How a sleepy village turned into an artists' colony
July 24, 2018
For well over a century, the small village of Worpswede has been known for attracting artists with its wide open landscape and historic architecture. But the village dates back much longer than that: In fact, it just celebrated its 800th birthday.
Starting off as a small settlement of just eight farms, "Worpensweede" – as is was originally known – is first mentioned in official documents in 1218.
However, it would take another 750 years until it would gain its present reputation. In 1889, three painters from Düsseldorf took a trip to the remote village just north of the city of Bremen. They fell in love with the idyllic hamlet and decided to stay for good.
Read more: The Ahrenshoop artists‘ colony turns 125
One of a kind
The painter, designer, architect and communist Heinrich Vogeler was one of the Worpswede founders. He bought an old farm house in the village in 1895 and redecorated it with art nouveau details. The building became the creative epicenter of the village.
Even today, there's still a large number of galleries, museums and arts centers in Worpswede. About 130 painters, sculptors, jewelry makers and other creative minds continue to be attracted to living and working in the village that grew out of the utopian ideals of a coterie of late 19th century artists.
"Worpswede is a unique place, not just within the context of Germany," says Jörg van den Berg, artistic director of the local arts center. "Where else do you find a village with just 5,000 inhabitants that has its own arts scene as well as its own arts history?"
is,ss/sb (epd, dpa)