Cultural excursion through Oldenburg - not only not only for future freshmen

"Nowhere is more colourful than in the world," once proclaimed Horst Janssen, honorary citizen of the city and one of Germany's most famous draughtsmen and graphic artists. The artistic enfant terrible, who died in 1995, was of course right. But it seems that Oldenburg is perhaps a little more colourful than anywhere else. The proof: a stroll through the cultural and leisure activities that make Oldenburg a city worth living in and loving.

The first stop is Schlossplatz. The Smart House Oldenburg is located opposite Oldenburg Castle - a house for science: a listed town house from the 16th century that was completely gutted, extended with a light-flooded new building and opened the year before last. The idea for the "Science House" was born when Oldenburg was the "City of Science". The Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors' Association for German Science) awarded the title in 2009 and Oldenburg presented itself as a "city of the day after tomorrow" under the guiding theme of "Talent, Tolerance and Technology", proving that it is an attractive science centre that can compete with traditional university cities. Today, the "Smart House Oldenburg", which is supported by the university and Jade University, offers lectures, discussions and events on current research topics that are open to the general public almost every day.

The Smart House Oldenburg State Theatre is Oldenburg's largest cultural institution. The six-section theatre enjoys an excellent reputation. This year will be extremely exciting for its audiences: Christian Firmbach takes over as artistic director in the autumn and is creating a new creative buzz. He is bringing 40 new ensemble members from 15 nations to Oldenburg. And of course there will be plenty of premieres in the 2014/2015 season. The drama programme includes Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" and theatre adaptations of literary classics such as Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks". In the music section, the operas "The Idiot" by Mieczysław Weinberg and Verdi's "Falstaff", among others, set new accents.

The Staatstheater is increasingly presenting young, wild and experimental theatre in the Exerzierhalle am Pferdemarkt. Among other things, the Austrian tragicomedy "Indien" will be performed there - not on stage, but in the catering area. This is the ideal way to combine an evening at the bar with theatre. No matter which play you choose: A visit to the Staatstheater is always worthwhile. Especially during the TheatreCampus. Students can then attend any performance for five euros and take a look behind the scenes in workshops. And if that's not enough, we recommend the "Sparte Sieben", which Firmbach and his ensemble have brought to life. This is made up of various creative and also - let's put it in a nutshell - crazy theatre projects and promises pop culture "shamelessly and at eye level". It will be interesting to see what lies behind projects such as "Bürgertheater", "Bingo-Bongo-Bude" or "Melodien für Moneten". More theatre can be found at hof/19 and Theater Laboratorium. The latter is one of the most successful private theatres in Lower Saxony with its puppet theatre and unconventional productions.

The Oldenburg Literature Office builds a bridge to modern literature and organises readings as well as poetry slams and interdisciplinary crossovers between literature and music. One of the highlights is the annual "LiteraTour Nord" in co-operation with the university. From October to February, six writers of contemporary German-language literature read from their new publications and compete for the "LiteraTour Nord Prize", which is endowed with 15,000 euros. In recent years, the later Nobel Prize winner Hertha Müller and authors such as Arno Geiger, Helmut Krausser and Juli Zeh have taken part in the reading tour through northern Germany.

Concerts, cinema, theatre, cabaret and cabaret can be found at the Oldenburg Kulturetage. Its team also organises the Oldenburg Summer of Culture, which turns the city centre into a stage. The whole thing is "free and outdoors", of course. Local bands as well as big names from the scene are guests in clubs such as Polyester and Umbaubar or Alhambra, one of the largest self-managed action and communication centres in Germany.

The Oldenburg Film Festival attracts international film stars every autumn and is one of the largest German film festivals for independent films. Some critics have already drawn comparisons with the renowned American "Sundance Film Festival". The Freifeld festival was a great success last year. A new edition is planned from 22 to 24 August in the Donnerschwee barracks. Horst Janssen would certainly have enjoyed the creative abundance and artistic excess of the Freifeld Festival.

Oldenburg built the Horst Janssen Museum in his honour, where his most important works and changing exhibitions can be seen. The State Museum of Art and Cultural History offers a broad spectrum from different eras. The Kunstverein Oldenburg is dedicated to modern art, and the Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch houses collections on natural history, archaeology and ethnology. The City Museum presents exhibits on local and regional history. For those interested in avant-garde media art, a visit to the Edith Russ House is a must.

And if you need a bit of relaxation after all that art and culture, you can get it on a cycle tour into the countryside. After all, "green" is also part of "colourful".