The Byzantine: Splendour and Everyday Life 26 February – 13 June 2010. Gold, silver, silk, ivory, religious relics – the Byzantine Empire and its capital Constantinople was envied in the West for its precious riches. The exhibition shows many of these wonders. But the significance of the Christian Eastern Roman Empire goes far beyond its treasures. In Byzantium antiquity lived on continuously into the late Middle Ages. This is where ancient tradition and scholarship were preserved, and our legal system also has its roots here. Byzantium was the bridge from antiquity to modern Europe, at the same time connecting East and West. The European-influenced Byzantine Empire had links to the Middle East and, via the Silk Road, all the way to China. Byzantine rituals still live on today in the traditions of the Orthodox Church. But what was life in Byzantium really like? The exhibition leads us into a foreign world, which laid the foundations for today’s world. Computer animations and short films transport us to the most important locations of the Byzantine Empire, like Constantinople, Ephesus, Thessaloniki, Pergamon, St. Simeon’s Hill of Wonders near Aleppo and Saint Catherine’s Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. Presented in context, the approx. 600 exhibits from collections all over the world take on a new significance, which goes beyond their great artistic and aesthetic value as they cast an entirely new light on the Byzantine Empire and its legacy.

Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland