Exploration along the river with a focus on aquatic ecology and its current state. This guided river walk links Weimar’s water history with the living ecology of the Ilm. Starting point is the E-Werk; from there the route follows the Ilm downstream, connecting historical events, current renaturation efforts, and the question of how art, city, and water flow together. Participants experience the Ilm as a resonance space of the art project “Fluten”. Using typical river species as examples, the tour highlights the connections between habitats and biodiversity along the water. *The event takes place outdoors. The event will be held in German.

The FLUTEN opening walk begins on October 4 at 4:00 pm at E-Werk Weimar. From there, visitors are guided through the city, moving from one exhibition venue to the next. Each stop marks the opening of a new chapter of FLUTEN. The walk transforms the exhibition openings into a collective journey, weaving together art, urban space, and the shared experience of exploring flood narratives in different forms and perspectives, before concluding in the atmospheric halls of Gaswerk.

The keeping of countless animals in the backyards of this small agrarian town, the traditional methods of wastewater and sewage disposal, an inadequate drinking water supply, and at the same time a relentless increase and densification of the population in Weimar all made the city’s hygiene problems ever more evident during the 19th century. In 1866, the residential city was struck by cholera, which claimed 73 lives within six weeks. In desperation, the city administration turned to the renowned Munich professor of hygiene, Max von Pettenkofer (1818–1901). He came – and brought with him doctors and local politicians from all over Germany to a special cholera conference convened in Weimar. But could the experts provide a remedy?