11 March – German composer Felix Mendelssohn conducts the first performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion since the latter's death in 1750, in Berlin; the success of this performance sparks a revival of interest in Bach.
^Gerhard Schildt: Von der Restauration zur Reichsgründungszeit, in Horst-Rüdiger Jarck / Gerhard Schildt (eds.), Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region, Braunschweig 2000, pp. 753–766.