„In a time before the written word, the stars of our skies were a cinema of the night.“

Raoul Schrott

It is Written in the Stars

In all times, on all continents, in all cultures, people see, experience, and feel differently. One thing, however, is common to all: the desire to gaze at the night sky.

But every culture sees its own images in its stars. From these it draws its oral traditions, onto these it projects its environments and stories – of the origin of the world and its human inhabitants, their hunting and harvests, their battles, and passions.

Seen from every point in our world, the night skies are different: the 17 cultures represented here see them from different vantage points. Here, aspects of all these cultures are gathered into one.

The network of stars spanning our world is also a global map of human history in cultural terms – and thus at once the most primordial and the most visible testimony to the connection between art and nature at the core of humankind.

On the Hunt for the Reindeer

“Two singers – one duel”. In his documentary, Joachim Gaertner takes us from the ancient, but also fascinatingly modern, spiritual trance-like throat singing of the Inuit women to the panorama of heroes and ancestors in the Polar sky.

The Night Skies

Tuareg – The Guide

The culture of the Tuareg stretches across the Sahara and the Sahel zone. In the past the night sky served this desert people as a means of orientation, for journeys, prayer and their calendar, which marks activities essential for survival. One of its most prominent asterisms is Amanar.

Inuit – Wolf + Reindeer

The lands of the Inuit stretch from Greenland across Canada to Alaska and across the Bering Straits. Their culture has a very particular view of the few stars and constellations that are visible in the polar night. In some regions a star is only considered to be the size of a harp seal.

Navajo – Thunder + Lightning

The Southern Dene – or Navajo and Apache – live in the American Southwest. Their kinship with the Northern Dene does also manifest itself in the constellations of their night skies – which also, however, betray Asian influences. Their Thunderbird is probably the largest constellation in the world.

The Sternenhimmeltool

With the Sternenhimmeltool, you can enter the centre of the 17 night skies and their stories interactively – a sensational journey of discovery across the globe and across the universe.

Essays – Interviews – Films –

The Stars of the Night Sky

Andreas Blühm

Drawing on the images of stars in works by significant artists of the period 1609 to 2004 – including Adam Elsheimer, Caspar David Friedrich, Vincent van Gogh, Alexander Calder und Thomas Ruff – the art historian Andreas Blühm provides an entertaining insight into the history of astronomy.

The Conquest of the Heavens

Sibylle Anderl

"There is an extraordinarily close connection between astrophysics and art", says Sibylle Anderl, astrophysicist and philosopher of science. In this interview, she talks about looking and wonder, about the limits of knowledge, about detective work and the creative magic of astronomy.

STERNENHIMMEL DER MENSCHHEIT

Program 2022

There will be a further program of interdisciplinary events and exhibitions in 2022. Raoul Schrott will offer audiences updates on the progress of his monumental book project; September will see the second STERNENHIMMEL-Festival with international guests from the worlds of science and culture.

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