Ateneu

An Ateneu (in German "Athenaeum") is a traditional Catalan cultural association . The term Ateneu describes both the club itself and the building in which it is housed. The name Athenaeum (Greek Athenaion), which originally referred to a sanctuary of Athena - the Greek goddess of wisdom - later became a synonym for place of instruction or learned society .

The origin of Ateneus extends into the middle of the 19th century, back when in the wake of the Renaixença the Catalan bourgeoisie but also manifested the working shaft a growing interest in the preservation and development of their own regional culture - one of the first Ateneus was the 1860 founded Ateneu Català (today the Ateneu Barcelonès , located on Carrer Canuda in Barcelona ). In the 1930s, under the name Ateneu Republicà ("Republican Athenaeum") and Ateneu Obrer ("Workers Athenaeum"), the clubs that are committed to the idea of social progress and the cultural and political education of the working class are very popular. After the end of the Spanish civil war and during the subsequent Franco dictatorship , the Ateneu movement suffered a severe collapse, as many of its members had to go into exile and the nationalist regime tried to suppress the cultural and political independence of the formerly autonomous regions. Only at the beginning of the 1990s did the Ateneus experience a new renaissance.

Nowadays, almost every town and municipality in the Països Catalans area has its own ateneu. The equipment of a typical Ateneu includes various rooms for events of all kinds, a large hall with a stage, its own library and a café / restaurant. In addition to lectures, courses, conferences, discussions, readings, concerts, theater and film performances, the premises of an Ateneus often also serve as a meeting point for other local associations, such as B. the local Penya (football fan club), the Orfeó (choir) or the Club Muntanyenc (hiking club).

Web links

Commons : Ateneu - collection of images, videos and audio files

Some examples for Ateneus:

Side of the Ateneu of Barcelona (in Catalan)
Side of the Ateneu of Sant Cugat del Vallès (in Catalan)
Side of the Ateneu of Maó (Menorca) (in Catalan)