Missouri Germans Consortium

The Traveling Summer Republic (Reisende Sommer-Republik) is a long term culture & arts project about utopian thinking.

The foundation of the Republic is inspired by a true story: In 1834, 250 German emigrants were forced to spend five weeks on a small uninhabited river island, Harriersand, located in the Weser River between Bremen and Bremerhaven. After much trouble, the Giessen Emigration Society (Giessen Auswanderung Gesellschaft), as they called themselves, left the river island bound for America to create an ideal German republic in the state of Missouri. But their utopian project failed.

In summer 2005 several professionals in the field of culture, arts, and sciences founded the visionary Traveling Summer Republic on the Harriersand island. For one weekend the “Island’s Congress 2005 – a Trip to Utopian Ideas” was held with dozens of cultural events: open air cinema, performances, theatre, workshops, discussions, concerts, sailing ships – dealing with utopian ideas: What are our dreams and visions for a better and peaceful society today?

The Summer Republic’s philosophy: Utopian ideas can never succeed, but they are a driving force to bring you forward.

See their Website:  www.utopia-exhibit.net

http://www.aufbruch-in-die-utopie.net/

Regular public events:
Signalfeuer (Light Beacon) – round table discussions
Utopisches Flimmern (Utopian Flicker) – film screening series with discussions
Utopische Bibliothek (Utopian Library) – books about past and present of utopian thinking, including research materials about the Giessen Emigration Society. The Utopian Library is on display in the archives located in the Exhibit: Utopia, Revisiting a German State in America

Special events (excerpt):
Inselkongress 2005 (Island’s Congress)
Grosse Giessener Flucht 2006 (The Big Giessen Escape)
Schiffskongress 2009 (Ship’s Congress)

Reseinde Sommer-Republik website: http://www.sommer-republik.de/index.html