October 26, 2017: the exhibition "The Life of Anton Chekhov and His Home City of Taganrog" ("Das Leben von Anton Tschechow und seine Heimatstadt Taganrog") opened in the community center "Römerfeld" in the Austrian town of Windischgarsten. It features pictures taken by Taganrog photographers Sergey Plishenko, Vladimir Vergoti and Alexander Mirgorodskiy. The event was supported by Taganrog Foreign Relations Office, Russian Embassy in Austria and Russian cultural center (RKI) in Vienna.


On the Austrian side the event was coordinated by Windischgarsten Municipality and Mr. Herbert Zachl - member of the German Chekhov Society (Deutsche Tschechow-Gesellschaft). Additionally, Taganrog's German partner city Badenweiler provided materials from the collection of "Tschechow-Salon" Museum.


Herbert Zachl read a paper on the great Russian playwright and short-story writer Anton Chekhov and his personal connection to Taganrog. The local choir "Singkreis Windischgarsten" led by Claudia Berger performed Austrian folk songs. Among the guests were also Mr. Michael Schuckert - former prisoner of the work camp No. 356 in Taganrog, which he revisited with the official Austrian delegation in 2013, and Mr. Werner Frantes - one of the most active participants of the book donation program "Foreign Collection". In 2012 Mr. Frantes presented the oeuvre of Austrian writer Alfred Komarek within the framework of the International Chekhov Book Festival.


During the opening ceremony a video bridge connected the organizers in Taganrog's Tchaikovsky House and Windischgarsten's community center "Römerfeld". Foreign Relations Office's Dmitri Koulichev, professor Mrs. Galina Polenova, chairwoman of "Lorelei" - German Language Teachers Society Mrs. Albrina Ishenko, professional photographer Sergey Plishenko, German language teachers and learners from Taganrog.


Arrangements are being made for an exhibition dedicated to Windischgarsten and Austria in Taganrog. It will be held in Chekhov Public Library in March 2018.