Idea of the project
Best wishes, your...
Letters from the 900th to the 1000th anniversary of the city of Freiburg
At the suggestion of Johannes Rühl, former deputy head of the cultural office, Freiburg came up with a special project for 20/21:Until the official end of the city anniversary in July 2021, letters from Freiburg and all over the world will be collected – letters whose recipients are most likely not born yet. This is because the letters will find their ways to their respective receiver only in 100 years.
Writing a letter that only will be opened in 2120 and whose addressee is not even born yet today seems to be a strange idea at first sight. But at closer view it offers a unique chance to express oneself and stresses many interesting aspects.
What would we tell somebody today who lives in the year 2120? Which subject, what information could be interesting for people in 100 years? What would they want to know about Freiburg in the year of the grand pandemic? Maybe they would laugh or wonder in disbelief when they read which problems we had to deal with in 2020?
The letter project offers the chance to comment on something in a future that none of us will actually experience, but for which we are responsible today.
And: If we think of our own great-grandparents, wouldn’t there be a lot that we would have been interested in? In their worries, their everyday lives, their hopes and their thoughts concerning the future? Imagine you suddenly receive a letter from a relative that was addressed to you back in 1920. An exciting moment!
The letters that we send today and that will be read in 100 years will contain a unique content. They will be a collective legacy for the posterity, texts and thoughts of this very different twenties, which will be found in no history book, no newspaper, and no novel.
To the people in 100 years we offer a unique insight in the situation of people at the beginning of the 21st century.
To the 1000th city anniversary we leave with this project a gift of unique cultural-historic value.
The letters offer a snapshot of our time, a highly subjective insight in the mood of the people and the state of the city and the world, back then in 2020, when a pandemic threatened mankind.
With these letters the 1000th city anniversary receives a strong echo from an extraordinary time of the history of Freiburg. And as they are closed, private letters they convey an impressive picture of the subjective reality of today.” (Johannes Rühl)
And this is how it works
After writing your letter, send it to its journey to the next century. Please send it to the address of the city anniversary project group which is:
Projektgruppe Stadtjubiläum
Rathausplatz 2-4
79098 Freiburg im Breisgau
GERMANY
Your letters will be received, numbered and listed by the city anniversary project group. The addressees will be noted down, the sender (you) will stay anonymous by name.
Afterwards the letters go to the city archive of Freiburg, where they will be stored in a special container. After the letter project is terminated on July 15th 2021, this container will be sealed and stays untouched for 100 years.
In 100 years the container will be opened and the letters will be delivered to their respective receivers.