Shakespeare Stiftung

Weimar

Welcome

The German Shakespeare Foundation was established in 2000 in Weimar. Its founding body was the reunified German Shakespeare Society (Deutsche Shakespeare-Gesellschaft e.V.). This society was originally founded in 1864 at the initiative of the Dessau entrepreneur Wilhelm Ochelhäuser under the patronage of Grand Duchess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, making it the oldest and one of the largest literary societies in Germany. For nearly 150 years, it has promoted engagement with the works of William Shakespeare throughout the German-speaking world, working closely with universities, schools, and theatres.

The German Shakespeare Foundation supports the work of the German Shakespeare Society by providing funding for its larger projects. For example, it annually awards the Martin Lehnert Prize for outstanding theses by students and doctoral candidates, made possible through a bequest from the Berlin-based Anglicist Martin Lehnert.

The foundation supports the Shakespeare Yearbook, which the Shakespeare Society has published almost continuously every year since its founding, making it an outstanding cultural-historical record of Shakespeare reception and scholarship over the past 150 years. Since 2022, it has also honoured individuals from the fields of art and culture with the Shakespeare Prize, recognising those who have made exceptional contributions to the work of William Shakespeare and its dissemination.

To provide the many visitors to the annual Shakespeare Days with special highlights in the form of theatrical, musical, literary, or cinematic events, the German Shakespeare Foundation also subsidises these gatherings of German-speaking Shakespeare enthusiasts.

SHJB 159 (2023) Odysseen

ODYSSEEN: EINLEITUNG Shakespeare hatte Homers Werke nie direkt rezipiert, doch evozieren viele seiner Stücke und Gedichte eine homerische Welt. In diese Welt und ihre anachronistische Präsenz in Shakespeares Stücken führt der Beitrag von Anselm Haverkamp ein. Homer fungiert hier als eine historische Bezugsgröße sowohl für ästhetische Standards wie auch für ein historisches Bewusstsein überhaupt, was…

Spring Conference 2023, Weimar

Shakespeare’s Libraries 21.-23.04.2023 in Weimar. The first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays was released in 1623 with the title Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Previously, only a few of Shakespeare’s plays had been published at all. Without the First Folio, large parts of Shakespeare’s works, like Macbeth or The Tempest, would probably have…

Membership of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and Werner Heisenberg Medal for Prof. Claudia Olk

The President of the German Shakespeare Society, Prof. Claudia Olk, was elected a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In addition, Prof. Olk was awarded the Werner Heisenberg Medal by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation on March 23. The award was made “in recognition of her special services in the promotion of…

Yearly Conference „Shakespeare’s Libraries“ 21.-23.04.2023 in Weimar

To the registration form The first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays appeared in 1623 under the title Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Prior to this, only a few of Shakespeare’s plays had ever been published. Without the ‘First Folio’, much of Shakespeare’s work, including plays such as Macbeth and The Tempest, would…

Prof. Dr. Werner Habicht (29 January 1930 – 05 November 2022)

The German Shakespeare Society has lost a great personality in Prof. Dr. Werner Habicht. He was President of the German Shakespeare Society West (1976-87) and editor of the Shakespeare Yearbook from 1980 to 1995. The German Shakespeare Society remembers his work with sincere gratitude. On behalf of all members and the entire Board of Directors…

Conference for teachers, lectureres and Shakespeare friends in Würzburg

Advance notice Conference for teachers & Shakespeare friends. Brush up your Shakespeare: Identity & Diversity Thu, 8 & Fri, 9 December 2022 at the Burkadushaus Würzburg in cooperation with the German Shakespeare Society, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg and the Domschule Würzburg Identity and diversity play a major role both in Shakespeare’s time and in our present time.…

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