In the permanent exhibition, visitors embark on a varied journey through Neolithic traces, from the life of the glorious farmer astronomer Johann George Palitzsch to the basics of astronomy.
Chapter 1: Local history
The area around Prohlis has a 7000-year history of settlement. Traces of dozens of longhouses and four circular ditches from the Neolithic period bear witness to this. Where the village founded by Slavs later existed for many hundreds of years, the residential area of the same name now stands in prefabricated housing from the 1970s of the GDR. Alternative plans to integrate the village into the new development area could not prevent it from being almost completely built over. These three levels of time – settlement, village and new development area – not only describe the history of the place, they also form the background for more in-depth questions about people's way of life today.
Chapter 2: Johann George Palitzsch
The estate of the farmer-astronomer Palitzsch is extremely sparse. The few items in the collection are displayed in a staged study room with a contemporary focus. A backlit map (Saxon mileage sheets) shows the small town of Dresden around 1780 with its detailed rural surroundings. This room is vaulted by the dome of our digital planetarium. Palitzsch's self-image as a farmer and explorer rooted in faith raises questions about the weighting of tradition and progress today.
Chapter 3: Astronomy
Palitzsch's preoccupation with astronomy draws attention to the fundamentals of astronomy. This includes the question of how our solar system came into being. Because comets contain unaltered material from the time of their formation, their study plays a major role. In addition to an excursion into the cultural history of our astronomical world view, visitors can also find out about the current state of comet research. The main attraction is a digital planetarium that provides insights into the dynamics of our solar system.