To celebrate Germany's turn in the presidency of the EU Council, the German National Library is publishing this wonderful series of pictures, representing a visual "catch" culled from the more than thirty-four million media sources maintained in their storehouses in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main. Through the theme "Europe in Germany," this volume pursues the many marks that Europe has left on the national cultural memory. Here, Europe is regarded not just as a geographic space or an economic policy group, but above all, as an idea and a vision of a society that holds common values. Now, more than ever, Europe can be seen in the context of today's social discourse as a cultural, political mission entirely in keeping with the etymological roots of the word "Europe" in the phrase "far-sighted." Starting with the geographical center of Europe, this illustrated volume invites readers to take a journey through brief essays that bring surprising opinions on Europe to the fore.

STEPHANIE JACOBS (*1963), who has a PhD in art history, has been head of the Deutsche Buch- und Schriftenmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek (The German National Library's museum of books and other writings) in Leipzig since 2007. She is the editor of the publication In the Center of Europe.