Europe as a Continent of Freedom
The 50th anniversary days of the Pan-European Union Germany took place at two magnificent historical locations in two federal states: in the Bavarian Allgäu metropolis of Kempten, the oldest city in Germany, and in Zeil Castle, a cultural centre in the Württemberg part of this unique landscape.
The International Pan-European Congress, which has been held in this form for half a century, was dedicated to the Christian foundation of the idea of freedom on the weekend before the 10th direct elections to the European Parliament. The title was: ‘PANEUROPA: We are freedom’.
In a time of new nationalist and anti-democratic threats, the congress participants commemorated two Pan-European fighters against National Socialism.
Louis Terrenoire, once a concentration camp prisoner in Kempten and father of the international president Alain Terrenoire, and Prince Erich von Waldburg-Zeil.
The highlights of the 50th Pan-European Days in the Kempten Residence and in Zeil Castle included the awarding of the special level of the Pan-European Medal of Merit to former German President Joachim Gauck, a major rally on the European elections and the two festive church services with the Protestant Dean Dorothee Löser and the Catholic Diocesan Bishop Bertram Meier of Augsburg, who placed the international conference in the context of the Year of St Ulrich, which his diocese is currently celebrating.
A high-ranking panel discussed networking between the border regions of the EU member states, and a ceremony in Zeil Castle recalled the spiritual and historical roots of the European idea of freedom.
- Programme (DE) (PDF)
- Press release (DE) (PDF)