Minister of the Arts Markus Blume stresses:

Culture with a kick – click by click: bavarikon4u makes culture an experience: Oriented on the curriculum, presented in a captivating way and definitely without fake news, the new website takes young people on a digital journey through time and through Bavaria's history and culture. Are you ready for the culture kick? Go for it! Use the digital services of bavarikon4u to delve into history at a mouse click and to dive into art at a swipe.

Was Bismarck a party animal? Did Sisi have a tattoo? What does Beethoven have to do with space? Unconventional questions and unusual and tongue-in-cheek contributions are a key in bavarikon4u for leaving the trodden path of culture conveyance and to reach out to those who have not discovered their interest in historical topics yet. The makers of bavarikon4u want to show that history is not boring in itself and does not have to be restricted to a target group with scholarly aspirations.

The visitor of the new website will find educational contents there – articles, picture galleries and videos – with low-threshold access: In the section "history", for example, a "Middle-Ages quickie" and a "Bavaria quickie" are offered, containing brief and easily understandable contributions. In order to serve also those whose appetite will grow by consuming the carefully dosed knowledge titbits – and this is one of the objectives of the service – there are always links to further contents: bavarikon4u is also, so to speak, an editorial shop window for the digital services of bavarikon – of the "parent" website at www.bavarikon.de –, the Historisches Lexikon Bayerns (Historical Encyclopaedia of Bavaria), the Literaturportal Bayern and their associated partners.

The topics are selected also making sure that there is a connection to the school curriculum. One example is the subject field of France. In picture galleries, users can click through the "heads of the French Revolution" or explore Napoleon's life and power struggles.

Dr. Klaus Ceynowa, Director General of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, explains:

bavarikon4u wants to convey knowledge in an entertaining way: Users are introduced to historical 'fun facts', but also to historical personalities, so-called 'Faces', in short videos. Thrilling criminal cases and fraud cases raise interest in the genre 'true crime'. I am very pleased that we can now offer a custom-tailored service for a new target group and user group.

The new service, which is continuously expanded, is rounded off by an extra bavarikon4u podcast, where history is told in 10-minute segments. In order to reach out to young people directly on the channels where they are active, bavarikon4u is also complemented by its own TikTok channel, where the new website is advertised.

To the website:
www.bavarikon4U.de

Further services:
www.bavarikon.de
www.literaturportal-bayern.de
www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de

Press release for download  (PDF, 102 KB)  (in German)

Contact
Lisa Buschmann M. A.
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
Digital Library and Bavarica
Bavarica Division
Ludwigstrasse 16, 80539 Munich
Phone  +49 89 28638-2291
lisa.buschmann@bsb-muenchen.de

About bavarikon
bavarikon is Bavaria's digital treasure vault. It makes the diverse cultural heritage of Bavaria accessible free of charge, worldwide, and addresses both the general public interested in culture and academic users. By now, over 450,000 content items from more than 150 cultural institutions have been made available online. bavarikon is a joint project of the State Ministry of Science and the Arts and of the Bavarian State Ministry of Digital Affairs. The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek manages the portal's day-to-day editorial, technical and organisational operation.