Königstein Fortress, located not far from Dresden on a high rocky plateau above the Elbe River, is considered the largest fortress complex in Europe. The place has a long eventful history dating back to the Bronze Age. A castle was first mentioned in documents in 1241. It was not until the end of the 16th century that the castle began to be developed into a fortress, and its construction was constantly adapted to new conditions. However, it was spared from wartime destruction during all the centuries. Instead, it was sometimes used as a military hospital or prison camp in times of war, for example during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 and for the last time during the Second World War. In 1949, the former GDR set up a youth workshop in the fortress based on the teachings of the Soviet pedagogue Anton Semyonovich Makarenko. In 1955, Königstein was finally converted into a museum by the Ministry of Culture of the GDR and since 1991, now owned by the Free State of Saxony, has undergone extensive structural restoration. For twenty years now, the task of making the multifaceted history of the fortress vivid has been, in cooperation with the museum management, in the hands of Hans Dieter Schaal, a widely respected architect, artist, exhibition designer and stage designer, known for his analytically differentiated mises-en-scène, with which he makes the complexity of reality visible and also brings its backgrounds into focus. Schaal’s exhibition designs are far removed from pure documentation. Like a theatre director, he creates something of his own, something new, out of the given. Under this premise, six permanent and twelve temporary exhibitions have now been created at Königstein Fortress, which this book presents in large-format colour illustrations. In addition, it contains descriptions and comments by Schaal that clarify the history of the exhibitions and also provide the reader with insights into the creative processes.weiterlesen