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THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN n° 686, 18-24 OCTOBER, 2013
EDITORIAL > Together in Leipzig
Today, Leipzig is commemorating the battle which took place 200 years ago. The hundred-year-old monument which now stands where soldiers fought reminds us of this major episode of European history. This bicentenary is a vibrant event: 30,000 spectators and 6,000 re-enactors are meeting on Sunday 20 October to re-enact the Battle of Leipzig of October 1813, or the “Battle of Nations”, as the collective memory remembers it – a battle which remains to this day one of the bloodiest battles in history.
Leipzig is thus putting on commemorative but also celebratory events. Exhibitions, talks and conferences take the modern visitor beyond the mere end of Napoleon's domination over Germanic and more generally European countries. The Leipzig National Historical Museum questions the founding myth of Germany through the exhibition “Heroes Made To Measure”; a few months ago, a summer camp called “Europe yesterday, today and tomorrow” enabled the younger generations to meet and talk about Europe; and, last but not least, concerts, historical military parades and a giant panorama also commemorate the 1813 events in grand style.
If, like us, you are not in Germany on the river Pleisse, then follow us on napoleon.org as we take you to Leipzig with our special dossier. We hope it will help you understand better these historical events which were to mark the fate of Europe for the next hundred years at least.
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DOSSIER > "1813 and the Lead Up to the Battle of Leipzig"
200 years ago, as the year 1813 was coming to an end, Europe was to engage itself in one of the biggest conflicts of all times: the Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of Nations. See our special dossier to better understand this tumultuous episode of European history: a detailed timeline, biographies, illustrations, and our article of the month by Peter Hicks: "Napoleon in 1813".
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BICENTENARY EVENTS >
See our selection of events from 16 to 20 October: exhibitions, re-enactments, commemorative ceremonies and concerts in Leipzig, for instance:
- "Leipzig 1813 - In the Turmoil of the Battle of the Nations", Yadegar Asisi's world's largest 360° panorama
- “Lieberwolkwitz – a Village in 1813”, historical re-enactment of civil life in a village at the time of the Battle of the Nations. From 10am, Heart of Liebertwolkwitz village
- 18 October in the morning: “Orientation Ride” of the historic cavalry over the southern battlefield
- 19 October: “At the Battle of the Nations' Watchfires”, civil and military history presentations: harvesting crops, appearance of the military, lighting of the watchfires, 5pm, Southern Battlefield
- 19 October: Concert: “War Requiem” by Benjamin Britten, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of the Nations and the composer's 100th birthday, 8pm, Leipzig Thomas Church
- 20 October: “Triumph and Fall”, choir night in memory of the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig with Gewandhaus Choir and soloists, works of Franz Liszt, Maurice Duruflé, Sergei Rachmaninov and Marcel Dupré, 8pm, Gewandhaus, Great Hall
- In Krakow (Poland), an opportunity to learn more about Prince Poniatowski with the exhibition "Portraits and Memorabilia", until 15 December, at the Krakow National Museum.
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WHAT'S ON
Elsewhere in the world...
- On the other side of the Channel, in London, don't miss the opening of the new permanent gallery, “Nelson, Navy, Nation”, at the Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, on the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October. This gallery opening will be marked by a series of talks. You can already make a note for 24 October: Dr Sam Willis will talk about "Britain's Greatest Naval Dispatches".
- And on the other side of the Pond, a Napoleon exhibition at the Frazier History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, “The Eye of Napoleon”, is opening on Saturday 19 October, and will be on until 9 February 2014.
- Still in the USA, another event, but this time it is a conference related to the War of 1812: Dr Richard Merritt will present his book On Common Ground on the history of Niagara-on-the-lake at the Welland Public Library, Ontario (Canada), on 22 October.
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE > Michael Broers “A Turner Thesis for Europe? The Frontier in Napoleonic Europe"
The frontiers of the Napoleonic Empire were more complex and more marked than the international boundaries which the French advance swept aside. It proposes that there was an ‘outer' and an ‘inner' empire, spheres defined less by the amount of time the French ruled them, than the degree to which they were pacified and, most importantly, than the degree to which their elites accepted French public institutions and acculturated to their public mores.
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200 YEARS AGO > Battle of Leipzig.
Read our detailed timeline of the battle from 16 to 19 October, 1813, as part of our dossier: “1813 and the lead up to the Battle of Leipzig”.
150 YEARS AGO > The “Vice-Emperor” was born
On 18 October, 1863, Eugène Rouher became Minister of the State, which reinforced his already prominent place. This lawyer had always made his conservative views very clear, from the Second Republic to the Second Empire, and had always professed his preference for a strong political regime. On that day, his contemporary Emile Ollivier qualified Eugène Rouher of “vice-emperor”. Indeed, Rouher was to become the necessary intermediary between Napoleon III and his government, Senate, and legislature. From this special place, he would counterbalance through his Constitutional Reform in 1861 the recently elected Liberals.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Lucie Louvrier
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 686, 18-24 OCTOBER, 2013
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OPERATION ST HELENA
The Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien, in association with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have announced the prolongation of its international fund-raising campaign to restore and save Napoleon I's residence on the island of St Helena. All the details regarding the campaign as well as donation forms and advice for donating from outside France, can be found on napoleon. org.
You can still donate online to the project via the Friends of the Fondation de France in the US here.
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JUST PUBLISHED
- Matthew Dennison, Queen Victoria, A Life of Contradictions, London: Harper Collins, 2013.
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EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
WHAT'S ON
See our selection of events for the Bicentenary of the Battle of Leipzig, from 16 to 20 October.
PRESS REVIEW
- "Nelson, Navy, Nation": a selection of articles related to the opening of the new gallery at the Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London
- Thousands to re-enact the Battle of Leipzig, on Sunday 20 October in Germany
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Exhibition on Prince Poniatowski in Krakow
- Bonaparte exhibition in Louisville Kentucky, with video
- War of 1812 (USA) - Marking of Brig. Gen. Benson's grave honors War of 1812 service
- War of 1812 (USA) - War of 1812 mural in Dundalk receives state arts funding, Baltimore News Journal
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