Summer serenade on the balcony

The Francke Foundations’ archive is always full of surprises. During preparations for the latest annual exhibitions, a file with astonishing contents came to light that had previously gone unnoticed. It describes, in great detail and with draft drawings, the construction at the end of the Seven Years’ War of an observatory for a quadrant – an instrument for determining the position of stars, which was apparently state-of-the-art at the time. This raises questions: Was the »observatory or quadrant house« actually built? If so, where? Are there any traces of it left? And where did the money come from, at the end of the war, for such an expensive investment in education? So why was such an ambitious project pursued? This entertaining talk will explore these questions using the original file in the library’s cabinet exhibition, whilst also revealing a secret about a strange, large stone on the foundation’s grounds. Afterwards, we’ll head up to the orphanage for an exclusive glimpse into the Camera Obscura directly beneath the Old Building – and then out onto the building itself for a convivial get-together with jazz and punch.

The event is already sold out!