PARADISE IS EVERYWHERE – THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REFORMATION
This city-wide initiative marked the anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation and explored what the promise of paradise means to us today.
The title of the Berlin-wide joint initiative marking the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation was taken from a phrase attributed to Martin Luther: “Das Paradies ist überall” (“paradise is everywhere”). For several weeks from Easter to Pentecost, we worked together with our partners to bundle several projects and initiatives exploring the theme “What does paradise mean for us today?” at roughly 70 sites throughout the city. For example, visitors were invited to examine tall red “gates”, each of which provided site-related information on the theme of paradise as a place we all yearn for (“Sehnsuchtsort Paradies”). These gates also spotlighted the Reformation and its impact on topics such as school, language, religious rites and divorce law right up to the present day.
Over 200,000 people took up the invitation to explore the theme of paradise in unique urban settings throughout Berlin