The Rock of Wonders - Der Felseninsel Stein
In the late eighteenth century, the Prince, enchanted by the memory of Vesuvius, which he had visited on the Grand Tour in the company of Sir William Hamilton, built himself an Artificial Volcano on an Artficial Island in the middle of his Artificial Lake at Woerlitz. It was a Rock of Wonders, exploding on very special occasions to the delight of all. It also enclosed watery grottoes, mysterious passages, catacombs, and a beautiful amphitheatre. All these (and much more) have been restored in the last years by the Kulturstiftung Dessau Woerlitz, and the Stein itself was reopened with a grand festival at the beginning of September.
Click here for more details (site in German).
Some of these pictures were taken in April, others in September when Lady Hamilton's Ensemble performed at the re-exploding of the restored Volcano.
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Contemporary engraving of the Stein in action.
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View from the lake: left, in April; right, in September
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The amphitheatre looking up to the volcano: left in April, right in September
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The amphitheatre looking down from the volcano: left in April, right in September
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The team involved in the organisation of the September celebrations
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The view from the top of the Volcano
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The Villa Hamilton, a copy of Sir William's Villa Emma, beside the Volcano
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