How did nationalism develop through culture in Europe?

Nationalism developed through culture in Europe for the following reasons:

1. Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation, art and poetry, stories and music helped to express and shape nationalist feelings.
2. Romanticism, a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiment. Romantic artists and poets generally criticized the glorification of reason and science and focussed instead on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings.
3. German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder claimed that true German culture was to be discovered among the common people - das volk. It was through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances that the true spirit of a nation was popularized.
4. The emphasis on vernacular language and the collection of local folklore was used to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences who were mostly illiterates.