The mountains of Arizona in the middle of Germany: Bavarian company brings the Wild West to Schleswig Holstein
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Since 1952, young and old have been drawn to Bad Segeberg once a year. Every summer the famous Karl May Festival takes place there; since it was started up it has become one of the most successful family theatres in Germany. Far more than nine million people have enthusiastically watched the productions so far. This year, for the 60th time, they will be captivating thousands of spectators from 25th June to 4th September.
After eleven years, hundreds of performances and several conversions and extensions, the old artificial mountain had had its day and it was high time for a new one. And so, in its anniversary season, the Karl May Festival surprised its audience not only with top actors and a new, action-packed interpretation of the adventure "The Oil Prince", but also with a new appearance. KaGo & Hammerschmidt GmbH, one of the leading artificial rock producers in Europe, is responsible for the remarkably realistic set of 800 square metres of artificial rock. Thanks to the specialist from Upper Franconia and the new, breath-taking backdrop, wild gunfights, stagecoach robberies, explosions and exciting duels are now even more convincing.
The Bavarian company was responsible for designing the entire cliff backdrop, working according to the model by the artists Gerd Staub and Andrea Steinlandt. In their designs, they were guided by the reddish sandstone rocks in the American state of Arizona, with the stratification and erosion typical of this region. The work had to be carried out very authentically according to exact models in order to come as close to the Wild West as visually possible.
The material used here by KaGo & Hammerschmidt is ideal for the requirements of the customer, Kalkberg GmbH, for whom safety plays an enormous role. It is not only very robust, weather-resistant and frost-proof, but also flame-resistant, which is crucially important in this case because the artificial mountain, which is up to twelve metres high, has to stand up to extreme temperatures in the course of the fighting and wild stunts with fires and explosions.
"I know the thrilling stories about Winnetou, Old Shatterhand and co. from my youth. Designing a set for the Karl May Festival, a set which will be admired by thousands of people for the next 10-15 years, is a great honour. But realising the exact requirements of the customer within the very limited time frame of only six weeks turned out to be particularly difficult. However, thanks to careful planning, a professional team and outstanding cooperation with Kalkberg GmbH, steel construction companies and everyone else involved, we succeeded in meeting this challenge, " says Klaus Gohl, one of the Managing Directors of KaGo & Hammerschmidt.
About KaGo & Hammerschmidt GmbH
KaGo & Hammerschmidt GmbH was founded in 1992 by managing directors Klaus Gohl and Kai Hammerschmidt. The medium-sized company had its origin in the design of living space habitats with artificial plants, rock imitations, water and light effects. The leader in the field creates zoos and complete bath and sauna landscapes with its products. In 2010 the company received for the second time the award „Mittelstandslöwen” for product innovation.
