Stone Circles Philosophie

I selected this heading because people often used these words to describe my project as I introduced the Friedensmal (monument) to them. Here, you can find an image of the Berlin Holocaust Memorial and here an image of Stonehenge. They share nothing with the Friedensmal in their design and effect on visitors. The Holocaust Memorial is located in the city of Berlin and its “stones” are actually 2,700 grey blocks of concrete. Stonehenge is constructed in nature, like the Friedensmal, but it consists of monumental boulders.

The Friedensmal features a different type of stone, blocks of Odenwald quartz of a completely different shape and size, arranged in a different manner as well. Stonehenge initially consists of a closed circle of stones that together with its insides represented a place of worship . The Friedensmal consists of 11 stones – which do not form a closed circle. They are placed around an old religious symbol well known in Judaism and Christianity: The Tree of Life. It overcomes all religion that is only focused on an external ideology, as it represents people found the connection to God inside themselves.

The Friedensmal shows 11 stones arranged in a ring, a design language that also appeals to the prehistoric past of our country and touches this root in our collective and individual consciousness. The Tree of Life breaks open the dark ring. It represents a journey, the development of a human’s soul. The Tree of Life concerns itself with the education of the heart – “Rationality shall belongs to people like love shall belongs to rationality. Striving for it is what it means to live, and it will outlast its own time.” (Markus Rabanus)

The Tree of Life breaks through the dark and vicious cycle of terror and violence. The stones are projection surfaces. Are we still trapped in the relative truths (projections) of our mind?

The Friedensmal is demarcated on the outside by the grey Threshold of Humility. It is dotted black and white, like there is light and shadow in our soul, and bears the inscription: “Recognize the sacred in your midst”. This perception of humans inspires the 1st article of the German constitution that: “Human dignity is inviolable”; it is a Sign of Renewal for Germany.

The Friedensmal shows people the way to the journey towards themselves. At its core, they turn around – at the Turning Point in the Blossom of Life – to carry this blessing outwards, into the world.