„Saxony House“ opens its doors at the beginning of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games

Vancouver, February 9, 2010 – During the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the Free State of Saxony opens the doors of Saxony House anew to attract the attention of the visitors of the Winter Olympics from all over the world and the Canadian host city.

From February 12th - 28th, 2010 the southeast German state will present itself in the building of the Vancouver Rowing Club. A varied stage program awaits the visitor. The competitions of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games can be watched on several flatscreen television sets. Live music, from German mood music and Rock and Pop by the band „De Erbschleicher“ from the Ore Mountains to lounge music, will be alternating with video films and talk shows.

In Saxony House special attention will be paid to traditional Saxon gastronomy. Hearty dishes and local beer are supposed to make Saxony literally palatable to the guests. But cocktails will be served, too. Aside from a public hall with stage, bar and dance floor there will be a separate VIP Lounge.

Saxony House will be opened for the first time on Friday, February 12th at 6 pm and then be open every day until the finals on February 28th from noon until 2 am. Admission is free – also in the evenings, when the Saxons invite you to the disco clubnight starting at 11 pm – a show with sounds of the 70s and 80s as well as today's hottest house music sounds, party atmosphere and glamour with DJ Ron Spank from Dresden. Many former world class athletes like the ski jumper and multi Olympic champion Jens Weißflog and the reigning Olympic luge champion from Turin, Sylke Otto, will be guests in Saxony House. Of course, the current top athletes will be there, too, since many athletes from the German Olympic team come from Saxony. For example René Sommerfeldt, the luge athlete Tatjana Hüfner, the Nordic combination athlete Björn Kircheisen or the figure skating world champions Aljona Sawtschenko and Robin Szolkowy.

Saxony is one of the oldest German states and looks back on 1075 years of history. It is known first and foremost for its cultural highlights. For example, the state capital Dresden with the Semper Opera, the Church of our Lady and the State Art Collections surely belongs to the leading art metropolises in the world with an impressing Baroque architecture which it owes not least to Italian architects that have been brought into the country by the Saxon electors.

Leipzig, Saxony's largest city, is the oldest exhibition center in Europe and accommodates not only the historic university but also the well-known Gewandhaus Orchestra and the
Bach Archive, since Johann Sebastian Bach lived in Leipzig for 27 years and wrote his most significant works here. The composers Richard Wagner and Robert Schumann likewise contribute to Leipzig's reputation as a city of music. Wagner was born in Leipzig and Schumann who was born in the Saxon Zwickau lived here for many years. Further highlights in Saxony are Meissen, where 300 years ago the European porcelain has been invented and the world-famous porcelain-manufacture has been founded, and Görlitz with its historic downtown and more than 3500 listed monuments.

But Saxony has also been known for all times as a land of winter sports. Because of a continental climate with cold winters snow is guaranteed until April in the Ore Mountains, also known for the manufacture of nutcrackers and wooden toys, and the Vogtland, famous for its manufacture of musical instruments. The best-known ski resorts are Oberwiesenthal, with 914 meters the highest city in Germany, and Altenberg with its world-famous bobsleigh and toboggan run in the Ore Mountains as well as Klingenthal, where with the Vogtland Arena stands one of the most modern ski jumps in Europe, in the Vogtland.

Address: Saxony House, Vancouver Rowing Club, 450 Stanley Park Drive I, Vancouver B.C.

Sponsors of Saxony House:

Cellagon ®

Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden und
Ostdeutscher Sparkassenverband

Wirtschaftsförderung Sachsen GmbH

Wernesgrüner Pilsner

Wirtschaftsförderung Erzgebirge

Richter Fleischwaren Oederan

Contact: Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH, Public Relations Department, Ines Nebelung, Bautzner Str. 45 – 47, D-01099 Dresden, Tel.: +49 (0)351-49170-25, Fax: +49 0351-4969306,
info@sachsen-tour.de, www.saxony-in-vancouver-2010.com; http://www.saxonytourism.com