Dive into the “Anatomy of Happiness”

Human happiness is closely related to the body. How closely is revealed by the KÖRPERWELTEN permanent exhibition in Heidelberg. Here, the anatomist Gunther von Hagens developed the method of plastination at the University of Heidelberg, a groundbreaking technique for preserving bodies.

Today, KÖRPERWELTEN is one of the most popular exhibitions in the world. Curious people around the globe explore the mysteries of human existence. But it is not just the anatomy of the body that is central – rather, it is about raising awareness and understanding the significance of the body in relation to one's own happiness. The exhibited plastinates create a new awareness for a responsible approach to one's own body and a healthy lifestyle. What moves us? What drives us? And how does happiness actually work? All these questions and many more are answered in the “Anatomy of Happiness” and just as many are raised anew. The human body never ceases to amaze and inspire us.

Last admission: 5:00 PM

Danny and Helen's romantic dinner is interrupted when Helen's brother Liam bursts into the room covered in blood. Not his blood, he says. A boy has been stabbed on the street, and Liam just helped him. Danny wants to call the police. Helen stops him, as Liam has a criminal record, it's better not to draw attention to him. Danny is persuaded to protect his brother-in-law and doesn't realize the fatal tangle of half-truths, lies, and love he is getting involved in.

In a chamber play, "Orphans" raises societal questions about guilt, responsibility, and civic courage, revealing how quickly values like morality and helpfulness are discarded once personal interests and entanglements take precedence.

In this workshop, we dedicate ourselves to translucency. This property is reserved for porcelain in the world of ceramics. A thinly thrown vessel wall made of porcelain allows its materiality to appear vibrant and permeable through light. The environment and the content of the vessel directly change the impression of the translucent vessel. Tea in a light, thin porcelain bowl lets its color shine differently in the bowl as well as on the outer wall each time and invites contemplation of this interplay in the light of the "here and now."

In the 3-day workshop, we try our hand at throwing thin-walled porcelain vessels on plaster and wooden boards and throwing thick-walled vessels to cut, perforate, emboss, and shellac them in order to achieve different wall thicknesses and translucencies.

In doing so, many material-immanent properties of porcelain are explored, and we learn which techniques can be well applied at what moment.

This workshop is aimed at anyone who wants to spend time with porcelain at the wheel and engage with the possibilities and challenges of this material. Experience at the wheel is desired.

Course times: Fri. 4-8 PM, Sat. 10 AM-5 PM, Sun. 10 AM-4 PM

A shared lunch is included in the course fee.

Course is fully booked, we will maintain a waiting list - please email warteliste@keramikwerkstatt.fabrik-freiburg.de

The Eberswalder Ensemble under the artistic direction of Urs-Michael Theus presents music for dancing, swinging, and swaying on Mother's Day.

Admission from 3:00 PM.

by Leo Meier

If we all just shut up for five minutes, we would already figure out how to deal with this broken world. That's what the three characters in Leo Meier's new comedy think - but staying silent just isn't easy for them. The need to talk is too strong about the ethics of driving, deadly shark attacks off the coast of Australia, and improvisational poetry in honor of a contented titmouse. While inside, the desired silence becomes more and more unlikely, suddenly there is... a zombie apocalypse outside the door?!
Leo Meier is an actor and author, his frequently performed text "two gentlemen from real madrid" was awarded the Audience Prize at the Heidelberg Stückemarkt in 2022, as well as the SWR 2 Radio Play Prize 2022, and the Nachspielpreis 2023. His newest play "five minutes of silence" is a light-footed, poetically absurd farce, with which Lucien Strauch, since the 23.24 season dramaturge for drama and music theatre at the Theater Aachen, presents himself as director.

Tschaikovsky in Aachen? - Absolutely! In 1887, the famous composer visited the city for a few weeks and also used the stay for compositional purposes. He liked the surroundings, took long walks, and was particularly enthusiastic about the animals in the zoo, which he visited as well as numerous cafes. In this world premiere by the composer André Parfenov, General Music Director Christopher Ward, together with students, follows in the footsteps of Tschaikovsky in Aachen.

Welcome to the realm of knowledge in the Baroque era: Stepping onto creaking floorboards into the quiet grandeur of our historical library hall, one is immediately enveloped by the collective knowledge of the Early Modern period. Like stage sets in a Baroque theater, the original bookshelves jut into the space, housing around 50,000 books from all fields of knowledge. Behind unassuming book spines lie remarkable treasures, such as the first German Bible printed in America.

At the end of the 17th century, the orphanage's library was established as one of the first public libraries in Germany. Primarily through donations, book exchanges, and their own publications, the library grew so rapidly that within a few years, it was comparable to significant German university libraries. In 1728, it received its own building, which is considered the oldest surviving secular library structure in Germany. Not only in recent times has the library been visited by guests and researchers from around the world: Albrecht von Haller, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe all admired its bibliophilic treasures. We present a selection of them for you in rotating cabinet exhibitions in the former reading room of the library.

10 am - 5 pm

The Art and Natural History Chamber is considered the oldest German museum room. It was established by August Hermann Francke for educational purposes and is now once again set up according to the original museum concept of the 18th century in its historical location in the attic of the Historical Orphanage.

Eighteen richly decorated collection cabinets house approximately 3000 natural specimens, curiosities, and artifacts. They provide a unique impression of a Baroque cabinet of curiosities. Unlike modern museums, the chamber follows an encyclopedic collecting approach. A distinction is made between natural specimens and artifacts. The natural specimens are divided into rocks, plants, and animals, while the artifacts are categorized into visual arts, calligraphy, coins, everyday culture, and clothing. The goal was to create a mirror image of the world: a microcosm that made the macrocosm as the wonderful creation of God tangible.

In a series of events, art projects take place around the Art and Natural History Chamber. In the so-called "Contemporary Reflections on the Art and Natural History Chamber," foundations invite artists to engage in an artistic dialogue with the chamber.

Detailed information

Tue-Sun 10am-5pm

Palace-like, the orphanage rises on Franckeplatz. Then as now, it is the centerpiece of the Francke Foundations. Erected in 1698 as the first building of the school city, it represents a new facet of European Baroque, combining confident representation without extravagant ornamentation and setting the tone for orphanage architecture.

Today, the orphanage is our museum and cultural center. Right from the start, two permanent exhibitions guide you through the history of the foundation and the global impact of Pietism. On the first floor, the former prayer and singing hall surprises with its bright architecture. Today, it enjoys an excellent reputation as a concert hall due to its fantastic acoustics. In the adjacent conference rooms, a photo exhibition showcases the impressive renovation work since the foundations were reestablished in 1991. The second floor is reserved for our changing special exhibitions, which provide insight into important themes of the foundation's history from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Passing through the art and natural history collections in the attic, you reach the balcony via a narrow wooden staircase. Here, a wide view opens up over the impressive ensemble with school buildings from three centuries. There is also a splendid panorama of the Old Town of Halle from here. In the basement, children can explore their own paths in the Krokoseum.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

What power does the word have? For Halleschen Pietismus, the word was of central importance. On the ground floor of the Historical Orphanage, we show you how August Hermann Francke's reform movement could spread around the world.

Francke developed central reformative goals of Martin Luther's with Halleschen Pietismus. His approach was as clear as it was revolutionary: Every person should find God through their own Bible reading. However, for this to happen, everyone - boys and girls alike - had to learn to read, everyone should be able to afford their own Bible and it should be printed in their own native language. Therefore, Francke established schools for all social classes, printed millions of German-language People's Bibles, and created an international network through which the Bible was translated into many other languages. His educational initiative allowed a broad population to engage with the word. In the 18th-century evangelical parsonages, the authors of the Romantic and Enlightenment periods were highly regarded. A culture of self-reflection spread in Pietism, which was reflected in diaries and personal testimonies, giving us remarkable insights into the spiritual life of people of that time. Symbolically, the power of the word is also evident in the meticulously restored pulpit from the Church of St. Ulrich in Halle, where Francke preached from 1715 and which you can admire in the exhibition.

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

4 talers and 16 groschen are considered the founding capital of the Francke Foundations. How an unparalleled school city grew from this unexpected donation to a simple pastor in Glaucha can be discovered on the ground floor of the Historical Orphanage. A multimedia installation and numerous extraordinary objects will transport you into the fascinating founding and impact history of Francke's work. Because what began with a school for the poor and an orphanage, developed in a few decades into a true reform project that was based on education: Over 2,000 students learned in various schools, specially constructed economic buildings, a hospital, and a pharmacy guaranteed the care of over 3,000 people on the premises, unique cultural-historical collections in the library and chamber of wonders were established, and Francke's ideas were spread within and outside Europe. August Hermann Francke wanted nothing less than a "world change through personal change." Discover everything he set in motion through this.

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Play by John Boynton Priestley

Director: Christian Tenbrock

About the Play
The alcohol flows, everything seems perfect. Arthur Birling, a provincial bank owner, celebrates his daughter Sheila's engagement to the noble Gerald Croft with his family - and thus also the merger of the two bank houses, Birling and Croft. He thinks the future is secure: Communism is defeated, capitalism is thriving, "and there is no more war."

Then an uninvited guest bursts into the family celebration. The peaceful dinner is disrupted by a mysterious inspector investigating the death of a young woman. His revelations shake those present to the core. It seems that previously unaware individuals are turning into cold-blooded perpetrators, and self-satisfied bourgeois citizens are becoming confessing sinners. Or are they?

John Priestley, with his 1944-written play, which has since been filmed multiple times and performed countless times, has not only written a scathing critique of capitalism but also a thrilling thriller that revolves around crimes that are much more intricate than almost any murder. We have carefully modernized this case study on the consequences of human actions, bringing it from the early 20th century into the recent past.

Presale expected to start on 07.04.2025

Folk music and fresh pop songs for Mother's Day

On Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, it is traditionally musical at the Cultural and Festival Hall Wittenberge. This year, the popular program "Musik zum Muttertag" features delicious coffee service. Starting at 3:00 PM, moderator Volker Grass will welcome pop singer Undine Lux and the duo Sylvia and Laurent on stage.

Undine Lux is the young pop singer with a pink, likeable charisma. Pink is her favorite color and modern pop is her musical expression. Through her appearance on the ARD show "Schlagerchance" and the ZDF Fernsehgarten, she became known to a very large audience. Great modern pop songs presented by a charming singer. Her own hits: "Zeig wie Du tanzt," "November in Paris," or "Wie Piraten stark" are catchy and potential hits.

From Thuringia comes Sylvia Darko with her musical partner Laurent. As the mountain railway queen of the Oberweißbach mountain and Schwarzatalbahn, the singer is known to a large audience. But not only regionally, the duo presents their program with very atmospheric, folk and modern pop songs across Germany. The new CD "Weil die Musik heut` erklingt" by Sylvia Darko features hits that are hard to top in terms of atmosphere. The audience will undoubtedly be very excited by the two of them.

Friends of Egerländer and Bohemian brass music, pay attention!

Hardly any brass music is as well known as the Bohemian. The unmistakable sound embodies Bohemian way of life and Egerländer tradition. The sophisticated music pieces indulge in boundless joy of life, but also convey melancholy and nostalgia for the lost homeland.

The Golden Egerländer is a true insider tip. Since its foundation, the passionate musicians have been filling halls and concert halls all over Germany. This is particularly due to the enormous quality of the orchestra and their music. It's no wonder that the professional musicians have played or are playing nationwide in military or police orchestras, such as the Bands of the German Armed Forces, the Berlin Federal Police Orchestra, and the former Berlin Air Force Band.

Since October 2022, the Golden Egerländer have been led by Edi Sagert, former musician with Ernst Mosch and former conductor of the Original Kapelle Egerland.

With their entertaining, authentic and temperamental style, but also with a lot of feeling, the orchestra shapes their stage performances, of course, in their original Egerländer attire.

Just as the motto of "Favorite melodies from the Egerland" suggests, the focus of the musical performances is on the interpretation of the most beautiful Egerländer sounds, including those from ERNST MOSCH and his Original Egerländer Musikanten. When, for example, the "Rauschenden Birken" resounds, the audience sings along to "Wir sind Kinder von der Eger," or when the "Böhmische Wind" blows softly through the concert hall, every friend of Egerländer brass music gets their money's worth.

Experience a unique concert highlight at the highest level - Fine Egerländer brass music!

A talking piece of wood? From it, a puppet is carved, a puppet with a long nose that grows when it lies, a puppet that is supposed to go to school but instead sees much more exciting things, given that it was just finished being carved. And in the process, it gets up to quite a lot of nonsense. For over 100 years, the stories of the mischievous little puppet Pinocchio have been captivating people all over the world. The humor and innocence of Pinocchio on the one hand, and the question of what it means to be a child on the other, are what make this puppet with a long nose so timeless.
Based on Carlo Collodi by Kristina Kühne
with Nina Holtvoeth, Mareike Haas, Philipp Feld, John Paul Roßmy
Direction: Christian Zell

A talking piece of wood? From it, a puppet is carved, a puppet with a long nose that grows when it lies, a puppet that is supposed to go to school but instead sees much more exciting things, given that it was just finished being carved. And in the process, it gets up to quite a lot of nonsense. For over 100 years, the stories of the mischievous little puppet Pinocchio have been captivating people all over the world. The humor and innocence of Pinocchio on the one hand, and the question of what it means to be a child on the other, are what make this puppet with a long nose so timeless.
Based on Carlo Collodi by Kristina Kühne
with Nina Holtvoeth, Mareike Haas, Philipp Feld, John Paul Roßmy
Direction: Christian Zell

The award-winning cabaret artist and comedian LinkMichel takes his audience on a hilarious journey through all the eccentricities of everyday life. He tries to explain what he himself does not even understand in the least, and fails. Full of energy and fast-paced, he exposes the ubiquitous human foibles without hesitating to reveal his own shortcomings. Playing with the expectations of the audience, he leads them astray only to surprise them with the most unexpected punchlines in the end. With incredible wit and expressive facial expressions, LinkMichel sets off a comedic fireworks display that keeps the audience laughing non-stop. An evening full of subtle wordplay and high recognition value.

Doors Open: 7:00 pm

We all access the internet daily through web browsers. The question of how browsers determine what we experience online has fascinated artists early on. Based on a research project by the KIT Institute for Art and Architectural History on browser art, the exhibition »Choose Your Filter!« provides insights into 30 years of browser development. Here, you can discover and try out browser visions through interactive installations. 

Wed to Fri from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Sat and Sun 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Live and full of passion, Willi presents his photos and films. Those who only knew Willi from television will now get to know the reporter and moderator as an adventurer. Willi travels to Alaska to fulfill a childhood dream and photograph grizzly bears. In Africa, Willi learns about the meaning of climate change and experiences firsthand how people struggle for their daily water. Willi takes on a challenge by swimming across a large lake and wanders through his homeland without money or equipment.
On these paths, Willi takes his audience - whether young or old - like no other.
Willi's multimedia presentation is informative, funny, exciting, and unforgettable for the whole family.

The cultural hall opens one hour before the start of the event!

Operetta by Ralph Benatzky

Operetta in 3 acts
Libretto and text editing: Eric Charell, Robert Gilbert and Kurt Feltz
Duration: 130 minutes including intermission

PRODUCTION TEAM
Puppet construction: Bernhard Leismüller
Puppet heads: Kathrin Klimke / Bernhard Leismüller / Sebastian Demmel
Costume tailoring: Bernhard Leismüller / Amand Pérez / Fabienne Haspel
Stage design: Bettina Hummitzsch
Set construction: Ralf Böhringer
Production assistance: Patrick Vonmoos
Direction, dramaturgy: Bernhard Leismüller

PRODUCTION
"For a marionette stage, 'The White Horse Inn' presents a great challenge. Not least the numerous props used by the puppets pose the highest demands on the puppeteers. Letters, glasses and suitcases, even musical instruments and animals must be mastered."

STAGE HISTORY
The premiere of "The White Horse Inn" took place on November 8, 1930 at the Berlin Schauspielhaus. The setting is the White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang in the Salzkammergut region of Austria. In London, the play had 651 performances in a Erik Charell production, and in New York, The White Horse Inn was performed 223 times on Broadway at the Center Theatre in 1936, once again in a newly composed musical production by Charell.
The work was banned in Nazi Germany due to its Jewish co-authors. The scene at the baths, which was perceived as scandalous, also angered the Nazis.
On June 19, 2009, "The White Horse Inn" was newly staged.
The rediscovered Rössel is brighter and jazzier than the arrangement played to this day from the 1950s. Even the historical recordings of individual musical numbers could only provide an approximate idea of it.