Seitenroda (dpa/th) – On the occasion of the 15th birthday of the Leuchtenburg Foundation, a new porcelain work of art has been on display there since Tuesday. The three meter high work “The Porcelain Queen” by the freelance artist Kati Zorn brims with references to the traditional Thuringian porcelain industry. Tiles bearing the insignia of former and current producers are arranged alongside smaller porcelain products. A female bust with a crown of cups and a little devil on her shoulder is enthroned in the middle – as a symbol for the challenging manufacturing process of porcelain.
The Leuchtenburg Foundation celebrated its 15th anniversary on Tuesday. Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) and former Prime Minister Christine Lieberknecht (CDU) were also invited to the ceremony. In 2007, the foundation bought the castle near Seitenroda (Saale-Holzland district) from the Thuringian state development company after years of vacancy.
With ten million euros in subsidies and four million euros from foundation funds, large parts of the facility were renovated, new buildings were built and the “Porcelain Worlds” exhibition was established. Among other things, it contains the tallest porcelain vase and the smallest porcelain teapot in the world, according to the foundation. In 2019 – before Corona – almost 90,000 visitors came to the castle.
According to the foundation’s curator, Wolfgang Fiedler, and foundation director Ulrike Kaiser, the next major project at the Leuchtenburg is already in the drawer: “We want a barrier-free castle.” The ascent from the parking lot a few hundred meters below is difficult, especially for older people.
An elevator construction from the parking lot up to the 800-year-old fortress is planned. Around six million euros in funding are available for this purpose. However, the approval of the municipality is still missing. “We have to start by the end of the year,” urged Fiedler. “Otherwise the money is gone.”
