Hans Dieter Schaal. Festung K

The Königstein Fortress, located not far from Dresden on a rocky

plateau high above the Elbe River, is considered one of the most

interesting and best preserved fortifications in Europe. It has a long

eventful history dating back to the Bronze Age.

Königstein was first mentioned in documents in 1241. It was not

until the end of the 16th century that the former castle began to be

expanded into a fortress, which was then constantly adapted to

new conditions. However, it was spared from warlike destruction

over all the centuries. Instead, it was sometimes used as a 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 then GDR set up a youth workshop in the fortress based

on the teachings of Soviet pedagogue Anton Semyonovich Makarenko.

In 1955, the GDR's Ministry of Culture finally converted Königstein

into a museum and since 1991, now owned by the Free State of

Saxony, it has undergone extensive structural renovation.

The managing director of Festung Königstein gGmbH, Angelika

Taube, became aware of Hans Dieter Schaal as early as 1997, and in

the following years established an intensive collaboration with him,

which has now resulted in six permanent and twelve temporary

exhibitions. They illustrate the multifaceted history of the fortress in

a way that clearly stands out from pure documentation and always

creates something new and original from the factually given.

This book presents these exhibitions in large-format colour illustrations.

In addition, it contains descriptions and comments by Schaal that

clarify the history of the exhibitions and also give the reader insights

into the creative processes.