Truly cultured: Saxony-Anhalt, the home of the Sky Disc, invites you on a voyage of discovery

MAGDEBURG, Germany, Feb. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A symbol of the state and a part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme is on its travels. Saxony-Anhalt is sending its famous Nebra Sky Disc to the British Museum in London. The world's oldest astronomical artefact is on loan to the museum where it will play a central role in "The World of Stonehenge" exhibition from 17 February to 17 July.  But even in the absence of the Sky Disc, Saxony-Anhalt still has a huge amount to offer, from its many UNESCO World Heritage Sites, historic baroque gardens and landscaped parks through to exciting exhibitions and concert series. With its "Inspiring Six" campaign, the state is inviting visitors to discover and enjoy its "truly cultured" highlights. The Inspiring Six are testament to the proximity and interconnections between the cultural heritage in the area.

For millennia, people have been observing the night sky and trying to unravel the secrets of life. The most famous evidence of this, the Nebra Sky Disc, is normally at home in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle (Saale), that is when it is not on display in the British Museum in London. It is by no means the only artefact to be found in the state, because the whole of central Germany is regarded as an archaeological hotspot. Saxony-Anhalt has linked together the various sites to create the "Sky Paths", a unique experience for visitors that includes the location where the Sky Disc was found in Nebra, the Goseck solar observatory, and the Pommelte Woodhenge, which is the Stonehenge of Saxony-Anhalt. There are many interesting archaeological sites to be visited.

Our spring press kit puts the emphasis on the cultural offerings throughout the year. Some examples:

• On the "Through the Painters' Eyes" route, visitors can walk through Harz region and search out the original viewpoints for paintings across the centuries with the help of a multimedia app and GPS data.
• On the edge of the Harz region is the picturesque town of Quedlinburg, where the old town and the Collegiate Church are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Lyonel Feininger Gallery in Quedlinburg is staging an exhibition of graphical art entitled "From Rembrandt to Richter" from 3 April to 3 July.
• Saxony-Anhalt has also been home to famous composers, including Telemann, Schütz, Bach and Handel to name but a few. This rich heritage gives rise to many concert series and music festivals. But modern music can also be heard throughout the year. "Women in Jazz" in Halle (Saale) is an international festival that has a prominent place in the European cultural scene. Electronic, hip-hop and reggae will be heard against the impressive backdrop of huge opencast mining excavators on a peninsula.
• The religious reformer Martin Luther is famous throughout the world, far beyond the borders of Saxony-Anhalt. He translated the Bible exactly 500 years ago and the anniversary is being celebrated in 2022 in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Lutherstadt Eisleben. The Luther Memorials in Lutherstadt Wittenberg are marking the anniversary in an unusual way. The show "Tatort 1522" is an escape room where visitors have to solve challenging puzzles on the theme of the media, linguistic and religious aspects of Luther's Bible translation.

A selection of photos can be found here:

More information on the tourist destination Saxony-Anhalt can be found at:

https://saxony-anhalt-tourism.eu/

https://www.world-heritage-saxony-anhalt.com/the-inspiring-six/overview

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Contact persons:

Frauke Flenker-Manthey
Tel.: +49 391/568 9971
Email: flenker-manthey@img-sachsen-anhalt.de