Dmitri Shostakovich stayed twice – in 1960 and 1972 – in the spa town of Gohrisch in Saxon Switzerland. During his first stay he composed his eighth string quartet in C minor, op. 110. It is now considered one of his most important works, and it has been proven to be the only work Shostakovich composed outside the Soviet Union. He wrote in a letter to his friend Isaak Glikman: “I lived in Gohrisch near the little town of Königstein, 40 kilometers from Dresden. The area is incredibly beautiful. By the way, that’s the way it should be: the area is called ‘Saxon Switzerland’. The creative working conditions have paid off: I composed my 8th string quartet there.”

Depuis 1989, les 33 communes du territoire vibrent au rythme de la musique classique à chaque édition des Jeudis Musicaux. Pendant quatre mois (de juin à septembre), plus d’une centaine d’artistes d’exception, se produisent dans les édifices religieux, églises et temples du pays royannais.