Peuerbach celebrates its star

On the occasion of the astronomer’s milestone birthday on May 30, the city of 5,000 inhabitants was awarded the contract for the Communale, the successor format to the state exhibition. The centerpiece is an exhibition in the castle museum, which shows the work of the scientist as well as the further developments up to space travel. Georg von Peuerbach lived from 1423 to 1461, so he was only 38 years old. The Peuerbach pastor recognized his talent and sent him to study astronomy in Vienna, where he soon gave lectures himself. He recalculated the movements of the planets, and his planetary theory paved the way for the Copernican worldview. “He was considered the leading scientist of his time,” said Alfred Weidinger, scientific director of Landes-Kultur-GmbH, who designed the exhibition. All other astronomers would later refer to his work. The folding sundial is considered to be his most important invention. “This was used to measure time up until the middle of the 18th century,” says Weidinger. Two original folding sundials made according to Peuerbach’s designs can be seen in the exhibition. Another topic, however, is modern space travel, which forms the basis of Peuerbach’s work. Visitors can watch a rocket launch with VR glasses or look at portraits created by artificial intelligence – there is no such thing as a historical portrait.

Luke Jerram’s “Museum of the Moon” is on display in the Castle Museum’s covered courtyard. The British artist photographed the moon and transformed it into an inflatable ball with a diameter of six meters. Afterwards, an expansive aerial architecture by Johannes Steininger should be accessible and tangible. The Kometor by the artist couple Manfred and Billa Hebenstreit will also feature new content and events during the communale, including in cooperation with Ars Electronica Solutions and with a video installation by Siegfried A. Fruhauf. The Austrian Space Forum (ÖWF) will hold one of its most important training sessions in Peuerbach in preparation for the Mars analog mission AMADEE-24 in Armenia.

The supporting program designed by Julia Ransmayr from the cultural department includes an exhibition (from May 31st) and theater performances (June 15th to 18th) under the title “Anna” in the vacant Schmidauer in the center, in which a graphic Novel by Mia Oberländer is brought to life, and audio stories in LILO, which are read by Burgtheater actress Marie Luise Stockinger, among others (from June 15). “With the Communale we want to pay tribute to a historically important personality in a contemporary way,” says Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP). Georg von Peuerbach had a lasting influence on the world view. The Communale runs until October 26th. It is financed by the state of Upper Austria with a budget of 2.4 million euros. The exhibition and event format celebrated its premiere in Eferding last year. 13,000 visitors came. All information is available at communale.at