modernes wohnen photos
my name is wolfgang savelsberg. i came to the foundation in 1997 and am entrusted with the task of managing the castles and the art collection. my name is uwe quilitzsch, i’ve been working here for more than 36 years and my first day of work was on stein island —that really made an impression. i’m in charge of the archives and the library at the foundation, for the photo library and for publications. we’re in wã¶rlitz on the lake’s eastern outlet. the prince of anhalt-dessau had the idea here to replicate the gulf of naples and other southern italian attractions.
in 1794, stein island, constructed of artificial stone, was opened with an artificial volcanic eruption. that was an attraction in the 18th century and it’s also been an attraction in the 21st century, because since 2005, there have been artificial eruptions in wã¶rlitz on occasion. we’re looking at villa hamilton. the prince had a special relationship with the english ambassador at the court of naples, sir william hamilton. he was on the one hand an ambassador, but on the other hand he was interested in mount vesuvius and became, in the course of his life, a geologist or even volcanologist. and the prince, together with hamilton, climbed vesuvius, and this experience influenced him deeply, so that he copied a small villa that the diplomat had in the gulf of naples
and rebuilt it as a temple of friendship in wã¶rlitz. we’re lucky. the english ambassador is unlocking the door for us and letting us in. the interior of the villa hamilton presents itself today as a treasure chamber. the murals have been restored, the walls are decorated with the finest art, and the floors are shining in their former glory — this hasn’t always been the case. in 1983, stein island was closed as it was in imminent danger of collapsing, but this decline was not prevented, it just got worse and worse. let’s take a look at the condition of some the island’s details in old photos. at the end of 1989, the villa hamilton roofless, the entire island ravaged.
and then herr schabowski pulled the note from his pocket and said that the border is open. and for stein island that was just in the nick of time, actually maybe a little bit past any hope of rescue. the renovations started in the year 2000, and in 2005 the island was opened, together with the villa hamilton. stein island consists of a bewildering system of seemingly underground passages. you step out of one of these and then the view unfolds onto an archaic roman theater. a roman theater on stein island: you have to wonder why.
the prince was a passionate theater lover. he founded the court theater in dessau, and here on stein island, theater pieces were performed in the style of the time. this could have been goethe’s “iphigenia in tauris,†it could also have been a quite trivial piece that is hardly known today. the main thing for him was theater. we’re in one of these confusing, numerous, underground passages again, and this one will lead us to a very special place on stein island, namely, into the water grotto of the wonder stones of wã¶rlitz, as the place was once called by contemporaries. huge vaults of rock, partially founded in water, give us an unresolved
topographical impression of the region, probably that of naples. they are technical feats of stonemasonry, of this huge widely spanned archway, from which these rocks so ruggedly protrude. this is a great work of art, implemented here under the guidance of architect friedrich wilhelm von erdmannsdorff.