Welcome

The German Shakespeare Society was founded in 1864. It is one of the oldest literary societies in Europe, if not in the world. It encourages engagement with William Shakespeare’s work in all its aspects – especially in German-speaking countries –  and relies on a close partnership with academia, schools and artistic practice.
The German Shakespeare Society also founded the Shakespeare Library in 1864 with the objective to “provide all resources for the study of Shakespeare in one place”. Today, the collection of the library encompasses about 10000 volumes, and new acquisitions continue to be made. The library is part of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Library. Every year in April, the “Shakespeare Days” take place in Bochum and Weimar alternately. Leading up to them, the Shakespeare Academy offers a preparatory workshop to students and PhD students. Beyond that, we regularly offer autumn conferences, study days, teacher trainings and workshops in different locations.

The peer-reviewed Shakespeare Yearbook publishes current contributions to Shakespeare scholarship. Further publications of the German Shakespeare Society include the German-English Study Edition, the Shakespeare Seminar Online, as well as the perpetual calendar Florilegium Shakespeareanum. The Shakespeare Scholarship, which is awarded in cooperation with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, provides PhD students with the opportunity to do research in Weimar and thus supports dissertation projects in Shakespeare studies. The Shakespeare Foundation awards the Martin Lehnert Prize on a yearly basis and the Shakespeare Prize on a biyearly basis.
A BBC Radio 4 contribution, which involved, inter alia, members of the German Shakespeare Society, outlines the significance of Shakespeare for the German-speaking region: Shakespeare is German.
Further Information about our events, current calls for applications, and publications can be found here on our website. Furthermore, there is information on (gift) memberships, our sponsors and partners, and about opportunities to support projects of the German Shakespeare Society through donations.