Pömmelte. To mark the summer solstice this coming Sunday, 21 June, the Salzlandkreis is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Pömmelte Ring Sanctuary. A ceremony is planned for the morning, followed by a free programme from 5 pm for anyone wishing to celebrate the anniversary together with the Salzlandkreis. Guided tours will take place from 7.30 pm. District Administrator Markus Bauer extends an invitation to the grand celebration. Ahead of the anniversary, he says: “The reconstruction of this Stone Age site is a real success story for the region. After ten years and more than 400,000 visitors, we can rightly say: it is a place of encounter, then as now. It absolutely deserves to be compared to Stonehenge in England.”
The District Administrator emphasises that the Pömmelte Ring Sanctuary has now become a nationally and internationally renowned site in the Salzlandkreis, attracting tourists and history enthusiasts alike. “This benefits the Salzlandkreis equally as an attractive location for business, residential living and research.” The Ring Sanctuary is one of the ‘Himmelswege’ (Paths to the Heavens), a network comprising five extraordinary sites in Saxony-Anhalt whose prehistoric finds invite visitors on a journey back to millennia long past.
The Salzland Museum in Schönebeck houses a permanent exhibition featuring outstanding artefacts discovered during archaeological excavations. In this context, District Administrator Markus Bauer would like to thank everyone involved in the discovery and development of this historic site, including the modern, clay-built tourist information centre.
The anniversary programme on the day of the summer solstice has plenty to offer visitors from 5 pm onwards. On a stage outside the ring sanctuary, there will be various artistic performances, such as a puppet show and a drumming display. Especially for children, a play area, a bouncy castle and craft stalls have been set up outside the reconstruction of the millennia-old place of worship. There will be grilled sausages and freshly baked Stone Age bread. “We’ve put together a great programme for a few carefree hours,” says Markus Bauer. Getting to the Ring Sanctuary is easy. There are two car parks on site, and from there a free shuttle service covers the final hundred metres. Inside the Ring Sanctuary itself, visitors can experience the summer solstice
The morning ceremony is expected to be attended by the President of the State Parliament, Dr Gunnar Schellenberger, and the Minister for Culture, Dr Rainer Robra, as well as delegations from partner regions in Poland and Georgia. The musical accompaniment for the programme will be provided by the “Béla Bartók” District Music School of the Salzlandkreis.