Today the museum is closed
In 1984 Lothar Baumgarten created the permanent installation Yurupari – Stanza di Rheinsberg (Rheinsberg Room) in an historic room of the Castello di Rivoli; he returns today for a conversation with Director Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
Part of the Museum’s permanent collection
Baumgarten’s installation – whose title refers to the artist’s birthplace
Rheinsberg – alludes to the phenomenon of “Time”
to historical time through the dialog it establishes with the architectural context
but also to the transitory nature of time through the choice of materials employed
The gallery covered with cobalt blue pigment hosts words in the indigenous language Yurupari indicating the flora and fauna of their world placed near feathers so that the work as a whole alludes to colonialism and the expropriation of environments and cultures
info@castellodirivoli.org T +39 011.9565.222 Piazza Mafalda di Savoia 10098 Rivoli - Torino
from Wednesday to Friday10:00 AM - 05:00 PM
a narrow smokestack rises into the air from a defunct nuclear power plant
was the first of its kind built in East Germany
there’s a mint-green room with huge control panels
“Everyone’s jaw drops when they come in here,” he says
But it’s started to look a little old-fashioned
you could probably manage all the complex processes in this control room with just a mouse and a screen,” Möller says
yellow curtain to reveal a pitch-black porthole
On the other side of almost 10 feet of glass
is the radioactive site of the former reactor
He’s worked at the plant for almost 30 years — and before that
it was actually something very special,” he explained
These were the early days of nuclear energy
My father traveled to the Soviet Union to study and get qualified.”
was the first nuclear power plant in East Germany
Möller only had a vague idea of what his father did
He was more interested in building machines than splitting atoms
But after studying in the city of Magdeburg
and he wanted to find a way to return to his hometown
The nuclear power plant was one of the town’s main employers
After an explosion and nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
some Germans started to question the safety of their own plants
the Rheinsberg power plant reached the end of its lifespan and was retired
Möller says the closure needed to happen — but it created big challenges
He has dedicated his professional life to dismantling the power plant that his father helped build
I ask him if he feels that his work has been at odds with his father’s
“The retirement of the plant was according to plan
engineers finally removed the Rheinsberg reactor
They wrapped the radioactive material in a protective sleeve
and they lowered the whole thing onto a huge train car
it sits in a temporary storage facility in the city of Greifswald
“Every ton we’ve dismantled and stored is still a burden,” Möller says
He thinks nuclear energy might still have a future in Europe — if scientists find better solutions for the waste
where a sign reads “radioactive control area.” It looks like a messy construction site
with huge heaps of soil and a giant white sheet
“We’re now taking apart the storage buildings,” he says
It only took two generations for nuclear energy to rise and fall in Germany
Germany sped up its plans to close all its nuclear power plants
That’s supposed to happen in the next six years
As Germany moves ahead with its nuclear phaseout
it could learn a useful lesson from Rheinsberg — that the legacy of nuclear energy will be felt for decades to come
Möller knows this could be the end of the nuclear era in Germany
The control room of the Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant
UPDATE: A previous version of this story indicated that East Germany questioned the safety of nuclear plants after Chernobyl
East German officials questioned the safety of nuclear plants in private but did not go on the record at the time
May 27, 2020 Cedric Voets For most
the pandemic lockdown has been an endless carousel of staring at the same four walls
and six unwashed pairs of underwear we've been reusing since March
who found themselves stuck in foreign lands when the travel bans hit
surviving off nothing but hotel scones and terrible WiFi
But no one's quarantine experience is quite like that of a small Bolivian orchestra
which is close to spending its third month stuck inside an ancient palace surrounded by wolves
Stop me if you've read this Stephen King novel before
the Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos
a Bolivian traditional instrument orchestra whose audiences are exclusively tenured humanities professors on a first date
But before they could break out the charango lutes
the country enacted its coronavirus lockdown
and perhaps our concerts would be canceled," recollects one of the players
presumably right before he heard a wolf howl and thunder crackle in the skies
Wikimedia Commons/Sebastian Cuenca Navarro Escape from Castle WolfenRhein
the players rehearse rigorously for six hours a day
though given the fact that most traditional Bolivian music sounds like the score to a horror film ..
the Bolivian embassy will be able to repatriate its musicians in June
before the specter of Old Fritz makes the orchestra come play with him forever
For more weird tangents and Prussian ghost sightings, do follow Cedric on Twitter
Top Image: Ingo Moringo/Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons / J. Goldiner
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a vast area of more than 2,000 lakes connected by canals and rivers
View image in fullscreenMorning on the ZootzenseeLike many parts of Germany
I’d heard about it from some Berlin residents who told me it was a favourite summer getaway
Not that the mental picture they had conjured was entirely accurate
Before setting off I blithely told people: “It’s like the Norfolk Broads.” In the marina I start to realise how inadequate a description that was
View image in fullscreenA pair of Eurasian cranes in a meadow beside a canal near Rheinsberg.Boats
grow larger when you stand at the wheel and take command
had seemed like a modest vessel now swells into a leviathan capable of destroying other boats
our exit from the marina is not without incident
another boat blocks an essential bit of water
and our stern swings towards a rather expensive-looking yacht
View image in fullscreenAt dawn on the ZootzenseeI am left traumatised
Their confidence in their supposed captain is shaken
My heart is banging away at what Greek galley skippers used to call “ramming speed”
out into our first lake without further dramas
There I get a few minutes to practise steering without the possibility of imminent disaster
then tackle another canal with a narrow bridge
I have somehow forgotten everything I ever learned
along with other minor navigational bits of knowledge
like the difference between right and left
My crew adopt roles: some handle extra fenders
possibly because they cannot bear to watch
At sunset we anchor by a small island and swim
View image in fullscreenKevin’s daughter Maddy goes for a swimAt dawn there is mist drifting gently over the reed beds and the splash of an osprey seizing its breakfast
On our third day we reach the lovely little hamlet of Flecken Zechlin and moor outside the local smokehouse
These waterways are inhabited by a staggering variety of underwater creatures: familiar names like carp
One fish that has seen a resurgence is the sturgeon: assisted by mass releases of fry
it is returning to German rivers where it was once common
most of our voyage is self-catered: we’ve got a bike on board
where we stock up and cook vast curries and pasta dishes every evening
German supermarkets are significantly cheaper than UK ones
especially for alcohol – handy since my crew are shockingly thirsty
rented from the marina and strongly recommended if you want to entertain older children
This proves a real hit: all our younger crew members quickly become expert
and I wish we’d hired more than one so they could go off on expeditions together
View image in fullscreenMaddy collecting fish rolls from the Fischerhütte in Flecken ZechlinEach day we cover a few miles
hearing the echoing trumpet calls of cranes and seeing the flash of kingfishers in the shallows
The route I had planned was thrown aside after talking to the marina staff – they give us detailed maps and great tips on the best lakes and anchorages
Mosquitoes emerge every evening and sometimes we do retreat to the main cabin for an hour at dusk
but you could also moor for the night at jetties and eat in restaurants
The canals and rivers link through to various castles
but for us it is the tranquil nature that is special
but never have to anchor near any other boats
The boat is well-equipped and roomy (boats come in different sizes
ours could sleep up to 12 comfortably in five cabins with beds and bunks)
By dallasnews Administrator
and its lakeside lawns and gardens are used for outdoor concerts.A chartered cabin cruiser enters one of the locks on the canals and rivers that link the many intertwining lakes north of Berlin.Luisenhof is a popular restaurant and pub in the village of Neuglobsow
best known for its traditional glass-blowing shops and for catering to bicyclists.News RoundupsCatch up on the day's news you need to know
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Our captain sings a sea chantey as he maneuvers out of a lock along a canal linking two small lakes in what was once East Germany. The shores are lined with reeds, water lilies and young pines. He smiles approvingly as our cabin cruiser passes adult swans with fluffy chicks.
“The water is much cleaner now,” he says. Water bird populations have rebounded since the end of communism.
In the old days, unregulated pollution ruined the rivers and lakes that are among the cleanest in Europe today, attracting hikers and bikers, kayakers and campers.
I studied in divided Germany during the Cold War. Now, my wife, Annie, and I see the changes since the fall of the Berlin Wall as we tour the largely rural Lake District of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg, which lies between Berlin and the Baltic Sea. We discover quiet woods, enchanting villages and towns with stunning old architecture — a scenic region that is rapidly being revitalized but is still quite affordable.
Our adventure begins an hour north of Berlin at the town of Fürstenberg on the Havel River, where Erich, an old friend, has a lovely home facing pristine Roeblin Lake (Röblinsee). We enjoy a brisk swim before dinner and wake in the morning to the tick-tock call of a cuckoo.
A paved biking trail runs through nearby woods, linking Berlin with Denmark. We pedal around the shores of two secluded lakes to a quaint village called Neuglobsow. There are artisan glass blowers and stylishly restored lodges with B and B rooms (“bett und bike”) for cyclists. Lunch is pork cutlets, fries and beer at Luisenhof, an attractive restaurant at which many bicycles are parked.
Another day takes us to smaller Grossmenow, where Erich has friends who sell deer and wild boar meat that has been hunted on their land. Their half-timbered brick house, with protruding posts and beams, dates to the mid-19th century, when the villagers worked in farming, fishing or logging. Today, the place is mainly a summer and weekend retreat for Berliners.
Wanting to buy organic goat cheese at a specialized dairy, we watch a young girl feed oats and barley to 150 Toggenburg milking goats. And we kayak through Fürstenberg itself, which escaped heavy wartime bombing. Its centerpiece is a sedate Lutheran church with a tall spire. Low 18th- and 19th-century buildings line cobblestone streets and quiet backwaters, where the Havel divides into lazily flowing channels. Vegetable gardens and fruit trees overlook docks with small boats.
Captain Peter is waiting. Our visit to this delightful part of Germany is winding down. But we would gladly return for the fish alone.
British Airways (BA.com) offers excellent connections from Dallas to Berlin via London.
Cardinal Boating (cardinalboating.com), charters British-built cabin cruisers with controls labeled in English.
Some useful websites: mecklenburg-lakes.com; m-vp.de/english/0351.htm; mygermancity.com/rheinsberg; fuerstenberg-roeblinsee.de/index-e.htm
Bikes, canoes and kayaks are widely available for rent. Direct trains connect Berlin with Fürstenberg and Rheinsberg.
Thank you for reading. We welcome your thoughts on this topic. Comments are moderated for adherence to our . Please read the guidelines before participating.
Chemist Dr Oscar Archer argues we should set up an international nuclear waste repository to be used as a source of fuel for next-generation nuclear technology.LoadingEnergy: I’m a big fan of it
I was taught not to waste it and to save it where possible
Go through your house and turn every light on
Set a jug of water in the microwave on high
Crank up the air conditioning and the radio
Go into the laundry and put a quarter load on hot
The transition to PRISM worldwide would take place on the back of Australia’s pioneering embrace of the technology
Australia would export starter bundles of metal fuel from our own PRISM fleet while continuing to derive revenue from the multi-national repository and uranium exports
All those extra kilowatt hours also represent carbon going into the atmosphere
which the best science tells us is going to have a big cumulative effect
It will impact the way we live in the long- to medium-term
Does all that make using power something we should actually avoid
that it would make more sense to avoid emitting that carbon
Then we could use all the power we were comfortable paying for
we can't avoid using some power every day
and businesses and factories have to have access to reliable
affordable power or they can't do what they're set up to
the engine only transformed one percent of the chemical energy from the petrol into power and the remainder was blown out with the exhaust
We'd want to catch all that waste and recycle it for the remaining energy
That’s more or less what nuclear power is like today
which brings me to my main point: Australia needs a new
with the challenges of greenhouse gas emissions
petroleum dependence and the necessity to reduce our use of coal—the single most polluting fuel—we need a revolutionary way of creating energy
That way is IFS+IFR: Intermediate Fuel Storage and Integral Fast Reactor
namely the commercially offered PRISM breeder reactor from General Electric Hitachi
The concept was brought to my attention by my friend Ben Heard
and it would work like this: Australia establishes the world’s first multinational repository for used fuel—what's often called nuclear waste
We would do only with an ironclad guarantee our international partners would help us to develop a fleet of integral fast reactors
which would allow us to recycle the used nuclear fuel for another 99 times more zero-carbon energy
The commitment to PRISM development would negate the need for geological repository on a science fiction timescale
The 30-year half-life of the eventual waste products would allow for far simpler storage solutions on an intermediate time scale
Unblocking the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle for our international partners and customers would boost our uranium exports as nuclear power would pull share from coal in global energy growth
Each PRISM ‘power block’ set of twin reactors would add 622 megawatts of saleable zero-carbon generation to Australia
which would further improve our revenue position and drive down our domestic energy footprint
Australia would be running on PRISM reactors fuelled by the used fuel we would be receiving
while the world would running on a much larger number of Generation III+ reactors
which we would supply with uranium under a fuel leasing model
All those lights and appliances would no longer be wasting power
but would be contributing to solving global nuclear waste
In the context of not just energy production but industrial activity in general, conventional nuclear power is relatively safe and mature
PRISM offers further safety advantages thanks to its liquid sodium metal coolant and metal fuel
which permit the reactor to remove decay heat passively and operate at atmospheric pressure
the forerunner to PRISM at Argonne National Labs in Idaho
during which time entirely passive shutdown due to coolant pump deactivation was thoroughly demonstrated
Heat removal failure was the principle cause of the accidents at the Three Mile Island and Fukushima Daiichi conventional plants
In similar scenarios tested with the EBR-II reactor
the sodium coolant and the metallic nature of the nuclear fuel led to thermal expansion
heat removal by natural convection and shutdown of fission in a mere five minutes
Sodium metal is an ideal choice as a coolant as it does not corrode steel or reactor fuel
A number of liquid metal-cooled fast reactors are in operation around the world today
according to the World Nuclear Association
and they have clocked up some four 400 reactor years of operational experience
It must be stressed that PRISM's liquid metal-cooled design works at atmospheric pressure; the danger of explosive release of radionuclides or irradiated coolant is negligible
plutonium and other elements in nuclear waste and decommissioned weapons material which are responsible for long-lived radioactivity
The eventual leftovers are just fission products
and their radioactivity will be as low as natural background in just 300 years
the medical effects of radiation attract unwarranted attention and are rarely considered in context
We don't think twice about grilling our food over open flames
but the resulting chemicals are most definitely implicated in a range of cancers
When radioactive materials are kept at some distance and sealed within appropriate containment
Such containment has proven successful and safe for decades
Let's not waste the energy that's there for the collecting
I'm in favour of renewables and certainly have no wish to see them restricted for spurious
Their fossil fuel-replacing potential is utterly specious
A recent survey of over 1,200 South Australians revealed only 20 percent of people are actually opposed to nuclear power
so those who believe in a 100 per cent renewable future would seem to belong to a vocal minority
The next stepsThe technology and the market are there to be seized
but for Australia to have a shot at being part of the PRISM revolution
we must remove restrictions on the establishment of nuclear installations and set effective regulations under the expanded auspices of our internationally recognised regulatory body
We must also level the clean energy playing field
Australia finds itself in the unique position of possessing an abundance of ultra-low emissions fuel—uranium—ideally suited to an energy technology that will directly replace stationary fossil fuel generation
and the safety and design issues have already been worked out
IFS+IFR won't be without technical challenges
but I believe that all it needs to proceed is popular and political support
Popular support can be built through continued outreach and education; the internet provides universal access to accurate nuclear information and professional analysis which can counter the repetitive messages of fear
Political support can be expected follow accordingly
but will ideally come from all major parties through sober consideration of the vast suite of benefits relative to the risks
More countries in our region are considering nuclear power as economic development enhances their standard of living
Australia will appear more regressive for each additional year we shun nuclear
especially as the only OECD country to do so in legislation
We also risk relinquishing any stabilising and guiding influence we might have among our neighbours
We have a window of opportunity to be the leaders in an endeavour that will decarbonise our electricity supply and power our future
you'd better turn all that stuff back off
This article contains content that is not available
Ockham’s Razor is a soap box for all things scientific, with short talks about research, industry and policy from people with something thoughtful to say about science.
The Castello di Rivoli’s first exhibition was conceived as a blueprint for the permanent collection
focusing on pivotal moments in contemporary art
many of whom were invited by the director Rudi Fuchs to create new works or modify existing ones to reflect the surroundings of the museum’s Baroque rooms
Among the artists represented in “Ouverture” were exponents of Conceptual Art and Minimalism such as Carl Andre
The general introduction was followed by a large mural work in ink by Sol LeWitt
and Daniel Buren’s brand new Cabane éclatée n
a pavilion that opened up dizzying new perspectives on the Chinese room
The exhibition continued with works by leading Arte Povera artists such as Alighiero Boetti
Michelangelo Pistoletto and Gilberto Zorio
Giovanni Anselmo’s Verso oltremare suggested a place or places beyond the confines of the Castello interior
and Luciano Fabro united spatial and pictorial concepts by inserting his Foglia (Leaf
1982) inside a reconstruction of his Aachen Habitat (1983)
The Land Artists Hamish Fulton and Richard Long were also represented
along with others who cannot easily be ascribed to any one movement but who have been fundamental to the development of contemporary art
Joseph Beuys’s installation Olivestone featured old containers used for decanting olive oil
while Lothar Baumgarten’s Yurupari – Stanza di Rheinsberg (Yurupary – Rheinsberg Room)
recreated a composite scene that evoked the American tropics
A considerable amount of space was dedicated to painting and the work of Anselm Kiefer
the German Neo-Expressionists Georg Baselitz and Jörg Immendorff
and the American artists David Salle and Julian Schnabel
Also on display was work by the Italian Transavanguardia artists Sandro Chia
who created a purpose-designed setting for his own canvas works
dedicated to Arthur Rimbaud and Kazimir Malevich
the Castello was able to explore its potential as an exhibition space for the very first time: the show was laid out over the first two floors of the building
and featured some hundred works and installations by as many artists
The selection provided an international overview that anticipated the Castello’s subsequent exhibition programme and established the core group of works that formed the basis for the Museum’s permanent collection.[MB]
Shenyang is currently a student of Shanghai Conservatory of Music
His operatic roles include Masetto Don Giovanni at Verona Philharmonic Theatre and Zhou Xiaoyan International Opera Center in 2005
and Don Alfonso Così fan tutte in France and Germany with Berliner Sibelius Orchestra in 2006
including the Modern Chamber Music Concert at the Eastern-Asia Music Festival in Korea and the Modern Chamber Music Concert at the Beijing Music Festival
He has won several prizes including first place as Masetto Don Giovanni at the International Opera Competition in Verona
first place at the 5th Shanghai international opera master class in China in 2005
first prize Rheinsberg opera competition 2007
and first prize Verona L'Orfeo singing competition 2007
including Super Bass and Winterreise (a Chinese premiere)
which were released by FengLin Records Company
he will sing the Emperor in the opera Story of Beijing Place which will debut in Holland
Shenyang enjoys collecting classical recordings and writing
Song Prize final and BBC Cardiff Singer of the World final:
With the orchestra of WNO conducted by Carlo Rizzi
It is a sunny and beautiful morning in Rheinsberg
Nothing indicates that this week will be the last week alive for this calm town and most of its 5400 citizens
A young female doctor from the nearby hospital is taking her first week off this year
She is looking forward to try out her new Super 8 camera by making a documentary about her lovely town
Most of the footage that were found in Igor Seliakovs basement is filmed with her camera
Rheinsberg has a lot of nice places to show
but there are also places you better avoid
It is known as one of the first by the Soviet-Union exported nuclear power plants overall…
https://www.RheinsbergTapes.com
——————————————-
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