Indirect state support for the arts and culture in the form of tax breaks is not laid down in a separate piece of legislation but instead consists of a multitude of regulations contained in various specialised acts. In the case of VAT, some cultural products (such as books) are subject to a lower rate of 7% instead of the standard 19%; under certain conditions, public cultural operations and non-profit activities (e. g. theatre performances) are exempt from VAT and corporate tax altogether. Since January 1st, 2000, an Act on the Taxation of Foundations is in force, which includes tax incentives... read more →
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If you are not happy with the results below please do another searchAt present, the Federal Constitution for the Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz – GG) includes one phrase referring to culture and the arts: "The arts and science, research, and teaching shall be free." (Article 5.III GG). According to the interpretation of the Constitutional Court, this clause not only stipulates a right for creative artists to be protected from state interference but also mandates the state to preserve and promote culture and the arts. This principle was explicitly reaffirmed in Article 35 of the 1990 Unification Treaty. In the past two decades, there have been efforts to insert a more precise "cultural... read more →
The media have only become a focus of public cultural policy in the narrower sense in recent years. Previously, only film promotion was considered an object of this policy area. It is carried out by the Federal Government and the Länder in order to promote film as a cultural asset and to support the national cultural industry. Article 5 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany states that everyone has the right "freely to express and disseminate his or her opinion in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself or herself without hindrance from generally accessible... read more →
National minorities The Federal Republic of Germany has ratified the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. It entered into force for Germany on 1 February 1998. The autochthonous minorities and ethnic groups of German nationality, i.e. those traditionally resident in Germany, are protected by this Convention. Four recognised national minorities live in Germany: the Danish minority, the Frisian ethnic group (North Frisians, Sater Frisians), Sorbs and the German Sinti and Roma. The protection and promotion of national minorities also includes the minority languages Danish, North and Sater Frisian, Upper and Lower Sorbian as well as... read more →
The culture industries are a separate and autonomous pillar of cultural life in the Federal Republic of Germany. Generally, the cultural field is divided into three sectors: a) private cultural enterprises, b) state or municipal publicly financed institutions and c) not-for-profit, intermediary organisations, foundations, associations etc. According to the Conference of Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy in 2009 the cultural and creative industry consists of 11 submarkets: music industry, book market, art market, film industry, broadcasting industry, performing arts market, architecture market, design industry, press market, advertising market and software and games industry (and others). Once a year, the... read more →
The preservation of cultural heritage is a central task of cultural policy at all levels. Especially within the framework of monument preservation and in museums, the tangible evidence of cultural traditions is promoted and illustrated. Cultural infrastructure: monuments, museums, world heritage list According to the report on building culture, monument protection and monument preservation (2017), there are approximately 1 million individual buildings gardens, land, movable monuments and monument areas in Germany, 63 per cent of which are architectural monuments another 37 per cent are ground monuments. The proportion of listed buildings in the building stock is 2.9 per cent. According... read more →
After the Bundestag elections in autumn 2021, the new coalition agreement concluded between the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Bündnis90 / Die Grünen and the Free Democratic Party of Germany under the title "Mehr Fortschritt wagen. Alliance for Freedom, Justice and Sustainability", the following priotiries for cultural policy were agreed upon: "We want to make culture possible with everyone by ensuring its diversity and freedom, regardless of form of organisation or expression, from classical music to comics, from Low German to record shops. We are convinced that cultural and artistic impulses can promote the awakening of our society, they inspire... read more →
Cultural diversity in general Cultural diversity has become increasingly important in Germany in recent years. This can be seen in a variety of publications[1], studies[2], programmes[3], events and projects by cultural institutions[4] on this topic. In 2013, a separate institution on diversity was established in North Rhine-Westphalia - the Zukunfts-akademie NRW as a centre for diversity in art, culture and cultural education – which, however, ceased to work due to the end of funding in late 2019, with the dossiers and handouts created remaining as a store of knowledge on the academy’s internet platform. Other important players in this area... read more →
In addition to the long-standing international town twinning arrangements, there are now bi- or multilateral partnerships of regional actors (e.g. municipal communities) with comparable territorial authorities of other states in many German states, primarily but not exclusively in Europe. This cross-border cultural exchange is particularly lively in the so-called "Euregios" (Germany is involved in 26 European regions), e.g. EuRegio Saar-Lor-Lux-Rhine, Euregio Egrensis, Euroregion Erzgebirge e. V., Euroregion Elbe / Labe and the Euroregion Spree-Neiße- Bober. Since the 1970s, many private actors, professional associations (e.g. theatres, museums or libraries) and informal networks have begun to develop their own international relations and... read more →
In view of the cultural policy autonomy of the Länder - and also of the municipalities - the scope and focus of cultural support can vary greatly from Land to Land and from municipality to municipality. Although there are numerous committees at the various levels of cultural policy, binding agreements in the form of committee resolutions or binding recommendations are extremely rare in the cultural sector. The exchange of experience - and to a certain extent voluntary self-coordination - is ensured at the level of the Länder by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of... read more →