On Oct. 18, Ukrainian poet, writer, and translator Yurii Andrukhovych was awarded the Heinrich Heine Prize of the city of Düsseldorf in Germany.

This was reported by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Düsseldorf honored “a determined advocate of European values ​​who is committed to a free and independent Ukraine and close ties with Europe,” said Mayor Stephan Keller. The award is a reminder to “continue to show solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people”.

According to Trend Detail News, Keller informed Andrukhovych about the award over the phone.

“I feel honored with this attention from Germany,” said the 62-year-old author. “Now, I will visit the Frankfurt Book Fair as a Heine Prize winner.”

The 50,000 euro award will be presented to Andrukhovych on Dec. 13 at a ceremony commemorating Heinrich Heine’s 225th birthday.

Andrukhovych became known, among other things, for his essays in which he critically and ironically described the post-Soviet reality of Ukraine. The award-winning author has also translated poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, the prose by Robert Walser, and Shakespeare into Ukrainian.

The Heinrich Heine prize of the city of Düsseldorf is awarded to personalities who through their work emphasize on the basic rights of man, advance social and political progress, mutual understanding, or spread the idea that all people belong to the same group: mankind.

Earlier this week, the Ukrainian Book Institute and the Goethe-Institut presented the Ukrainian program at the Frankfurt Book Fair. It includes about 40 events with the participation of more than 70 writers, cultural figures, human rights defenders, artists, and opinion leaders.