The exhibition in Rendsburg

Location

Scenes of Silence is shown in the old Victual House at the Parade Ground in Rendsburg.

Until the midth of the 19th century, Rendsburg was the most southern Danish fort and, after 1695,  gained highest military importance as a strategic location. The town was increasingly influenced by armed forces. Thus, even a new district was built for its purposes: the Neuwerk.

Centre of this baroque district with the straight-line ground plan is the wide parade ground, the square for deployments of troops, which is surrounded by historic architecture. Also remarkable are the streets which were arranged radial with the ground in their middle, and which were termed – mostly until today – according to the seating arrangements at the royal Danish table.

The victual house, with four storeys and three wings, was built from 1704 until 1708 during the enlargement of the fort and was used as a storehouse for the subsistence of the whole garrison, animal food as well as building materials. Its inside and the roof were destroyed by a fire in 1862 and not rebuilt for years.

The landmarked building is completely preserved from the outside; inside the installation of the exhibition nestles to the spacial circumstances and thus creates an exciting interplay between history and present.

Why Rendsburg?

In addition to numerous touristy attractions and its location between Hamburg and Flensburg, Rendsburg offers best conditions for the first permanent exhibition of Scenes of Silence. Due to the Deutsche Gesellschaft der Hörgeschädigten – Selbsthilfe und Fachverbände e.V., the Fachschule für Gehörlose und hochgradig Schwerhörige, the Reha-Zentrum für Hörgeschädigte being based in Rendsburg, and the Landesverband der Gehörlosen e.V. being based in Kiel, a unique concentration of competence about deaf culture is existing in the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein. Furthermore, the Landesbeauftragte für Menschen mit Behinderung in the Ministry for Social Welfare, Health and Consumer Protection of Schleswig-Holstein, Dr. Ulrich Hase, is almost deaf himself and is one of the most important supporters of the project.