Press releases

From August 11 through August 23, as part of the Aachen World Cup Special, a wide variety of cultural events and artistic installations will be offered at a diverse range of locations throughout the city center. The city’s museums are also all about horses. They invite everyone interested to enjoy various exhibitions. From paintings to films and even book presentations—this curated collection has something for everyone.

Suermondt-Ludwig MuseumTuesday
, August 11, 1:00 p.m.
Art Break:
Ludwig Hohlwein (1874–1949), "Schrittarbeit" (Sheet 3/12 from “Turf. Twelve Racing Scenes”) 1909, color lithograph
Free admission

"Die Kunstpause" invites viewers to examine Hohlwein’s print as an example of early modern poster and commercial art and to discover the interplay of dynamism, control, and design in the racing motif.
At the center of the scene is the horse moving at a calm trot—not a moment of tension from the race, but rather the focused preparation and the interplay between horse and rider. It is precisely this apparent calm that makes the depiction particularly striking: the horse’s power is harnessed and structured, and every movement appears to be deliberately guided.

Thursday, August 13, 6:00 p.m. Book Presentation
: A Language of Love Free admission

On interspecies communication between horses and humans, with reference to psychoanalytic theory and therapeutic practice: Dr. Loretta Würtenberger and Hubertus Graf Zedtwitz will present their book *A Language of Love* and discuss their cultural-historical and personal explorations of the centauric pact between horses and humans. This publication, which draws on personal experiences with horses, reveals surprising connections to concepts in psychoanalysis and developmental psychology.

Tuesday, August 18, 1:00 p.m. Art Break
:
Carl Steffeck (1818–1890), *The Trakehner Stallion NEDJED ox*, ca. 1870
, and Georg Koch (1857–1931), The Trakehner Broodmare INWENDIGE, ca.
1917 On loan from the Trakehner Förderverein e.V. Free
admission

The noble Trakehner horses are considered Germany’s oldest horse breed and have been recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2022.
The painter Carl Steffeck specialized in paintings of horses at rest and in motion, in sports scenes, and in equine portraits, as did the Berlin-based equine painter Georg Koch; in this “Art Break,” the paintings are now examined from both a breeding history and an art history perspective.

Sunday, August 23, 10 a.m. FINISSAGE
: The Happiness of This
Earth All program events are free of charge. Only museum admission applies.

Last chance! With the conclusion of the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, the exhibition “Das Glück dieser Erde” also comes to an end. Take advantage of this last chance to visit the popular horse exhibition at the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum—and look forward to a fun-filled family day with special activities for kids!

Centre Charlemagne – New
Aachen City MuseumSaturday, August 15, 4:00 p.m. / Saturday, August 22, 4:00 p.m.
Public guided tours of the exhibition “Tradition – Innovation – Emotion. 100 Years of CHIO Aachen”Museum admission
plus guided tour: 3.00 euros

Curator Prof. Dr. Frank Pohle uses his extensive knowledge to guide interested visitors through the large photography exhibition.

Tuesday, August 18, 2:00 p.m
. Guided tour of the horse exhibitions at the Centre Charlemagne and the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum. Museum
admission plus 3.00 euros for the guided tour.

Treat yourself to the “full experience” and let us guide you through two of the major horse shows! We’ll start with the photo exhibition “Tradition – Innovation – Emotion. 100 Years of CHIO Aachen” at the Centre Charlemagne (Katschhof 1) and then head together to the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, where the second major exhibition, “The Joy of This Earth: Horses in Art,” awaits you. You’ll be accompanied by curators Prof. Dr. Frank Pohle and Wibke Birth, and afterward there will be an opportunity to stop for refreshments at “Café Wunderkammer” (Wilhelmstr. 18).

Wednesday, August 19, 7:00 p.m. City Walking Tour
: Aachen’s Equestrian Monuments
Participation is free.

With Emperor Frederick on horseback at Kaiserplatz from 1911 and the “Laughing Stallion” from the postwar period at Theaterplatz, the city boasts two important monuments. Both are fragments of a larger whole or references to it. There were plans for an equestrian monument to Charlemagne on Katschhof, but they were never carried out. A walking tour of the city with museum director Prof. Dr. Frank Pohle takes a detailed look at the monuments.

Ludwig Forum
AachenThursday, August 20, 6:00 p.m.
Centaur – Guided tour with Esther
BoehleNo registration required. Cost: €3 plus museum admission.

While equestrian sports are being celebrated this summer with the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, the Ludwig Forum is presenting a film installation on a related theme. Under the title *Centaur*, two short films are being shown on a large projection screen in the museum’s central exhibition hall: *Centaur* (2020) by the German-Iranian artist and filmmaker Yalda Afsah (b. 1983) and *Horses Across a Meadow* (2014) by the Swiss artist duo Marianne Halter (b. 1970) and Mario Marchisella (b. 1972)

Information on

The program is subject to change or postponement. You can find the latest updates in the City of Aachen's event calendar at https://www.aachen.de/veranstaltungskalender/ and on the respective museum websites.