Christmas fairy tale: Be a princess for once | nd-aktuell.de

Ruckidigu. There’s blood in the shoe. The shoe is too small. The real bride is still at home.« Hardly a girl, hardly a woman climbs the legendary steps of the royal stone stairs of Moritzburg Castle without slipping on their shoes. The sneakers are taken off in a flash, but your foot definitely won’t fit into the narrow opening. It is made of bronze and screwed to a metal plate. The legendary shoe is reminiscent of the key scene in the Czech-German film production “Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella,” which was shot here in the winter of 1972/73. Galina from Kazakhstan, who came with her whole family from southern Germany, enthuses: “I would like to become a child again.” Three women in their sixties walk towards the castle and listen to the soundtrack of Karel Svoboda’s fairy tale film on their cell phones. They come from Brandenburg, celebrate their “girls’ day” here and also press their feet into the shiny metal. “Unfortunately,” they regret and laugh mischievously. “But we’re out of there too, after all we have our princes at home.”

Just 15 kilometers from Dresden in the Meißen district lies the fairytale Moritzburg, picturesquely surrounded by ponds and graceful parks. Built in the 16th century, August the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, had the castle converted into a representative, baroque hunting lodge. Magnificent furniture, leather and silk-embroidered gold wallpaper, paintings, hunting trophies and Meissen porcelain in banquet halls and apartments testify to his passion for luxury and pomp. In the winter of 1973, the castle became the perfect filming location for what is probably the most beautiful fairy tale film of all time – which flickers on screens in German living rooms every year at Christmas. This year again three times on different channels.

»When visitors come to the exhibition, they want to let themselves fall into their dream world. You know it’s a cinematic illusion, there’s a lot of faking, but the feelings are real. We try to recreate the film atmosphere, set decorations, props, wardrobe. We report on the days of filming, including bankruptcies and mishaps,” says curator Margitta Hensel. She reports that despite temperatures below zero, not a single snowflake fell in and around Moritzburg. The only thing that helped was artificial snow made from fishmeal, and it smelled terrible. The castle pond was frozen over. Skaters made sure it shined brightly for long shots.

The curator is pleased about the ongoing enormous influx of visitors from all over Germany and other countries, especially on the 50th anniversary of the filming at the beginning of this year. The questions offered to fairy tale enthusiasts throughout the year are also popular. Who am I? Which roles in the film correspond to me?

Cinderella, the main character, is self-confident and emancipated. She wants to be seen and recognized and it is not for nothing that she asks the prince three riddles before she gets involved with him. »The cheeks are stained with ash, but it is not the chimney sweep. A little hat with feathers, but it’s not a hunter. A silver knitted dress with a train to the ball, but she’s not a princess,” says the fairy tale. “Only if the prince sees and recognizes her as a holistic person will he get her,” explains Margitta Hensel. “And not just like that: ‘I’ll buy this now, I’m the prince after all.’ No. A basic relationship constellation is depicted here in a very loving and funny way,” says the curator and adds: “I think everyone has a little Cinderella in themselves. This is particularly evident in working life.” Margitta Hensel laughs. »You’re not the boss, you’re a subordinate. And the work that has to be done has to be done, both at work and in the family. And of course sometimes you are not seen, not appreciated. Situations like this have certainly happened to everyone, including me.” The curator emphasizes: “Cinderella, this incredibly pretty girl has a deep soul, a love within her, not only for the animals, but also for her fellow human beings. And you can feel that, it really touches your heart.«

The exhibition also touches on the topic of stepparents, the relationship with a parent who may not be the “right” one. Conflicts that often occur in patchwork families today. How do I handle this? »That can only happen in the form of love. Whether it’s parental love, child love, partner love.” Mutual recognition is the core theme of the exhibition. »It touches my heart the most when I see how the beauty of the fairy tale radiates on the guests. When I look into her shining eyes, it makes me totally happy. This is where I draw my strength from,” reveals Margitta Hensel. Last but not least, visitors can write their heartfelt wishes on a piece of paper. Health and love are in the foreground and children often want a horse.

“Sleeping Beauty was a beautiful child,” says an equally famous fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Right at the entrance to Hartenfels Castle in Torgau stands the beautiful child, a life-sized doll with black hair and a rather stern look. She invites you to the exhibition “The Fairytale Castle in the Flower Dream”. The Great Wendelstein of Hartenfels Castle’s spiral staircase served as the backdrop for the 1971 Defa film “Sleeping Beauty” directed by Walter Beck. The cantilevered spiral staircase, tower-like in front of the main facade, is considered a masterpiece of German Renaissance architecture.

Two other Sleeping Beauty film adaptations produced by Defa will be presented in the exhibition: animated cartoons whose original puppets can be seen here in key scenes. This of course includes the festival with the twelve fairies and the transformation of the princess by the evil, uninvited thirteenth fairy. Based on the classic, the basic motifs and cultural-historical background of the fairy tale about the “Sleeping Beauty” are presented in an interactive picture book, as they were collected and told in various European countries. The historical significance of flax and spinning is explained. Who doesn’t know the craft firsthand? Hardly anyone. And what are the thistles all about, what is the fascination with roses and how did people once dress at court?

The magnet in the exhibition is a photo station. Here everyone, whether children or adults, can slip into the role of fairy tale characters. Numerous royal robes made of brocade, velvet and silk, opulent cloaks, rich feather headdresses and gold-colored crowns hang on a coat rack. Eight-year-old Lina needs help zipping up the back of her dress; She pulls on white velvet gloves up to her elbows, slips on her heels and puts on a hat with long feathers. She looks at herself in the mirror, then takes off her hat and replaces it with a crown. Now she is happy. She proudly sits down on the red, majestic velvet sofa and beams gracefully.

The Torgau Sleeping Beauty exhibition documents and discusses literary variants of the fairy tale as well as film adaptations in the 20th and 21st centuries, shedding light on social conditions and gender roles. If Cinderella is said to have self-confidence and sovereignty in her choice of partner, Sleeping Beauty does not fare well. The museum educator Stefanie Molnar counters: “It is the story of a young girl who does not adhere to social conventions. At the age of 15, an age at which girls used to be engaged, she goes looking for adventure alone, without her maid, walks around the entire castle, climbs an old tower where she actually has no business,” explains the Torgau scientist . »She is then stabbed by the spindle and loses her physical integrity. A drop of blood emerges, which could also be interpreted as defloration. She is then banished from society, in the fairy tale through a hundred-year sleep. The entire family, the entire court is affected by this. A huge hedge of thorns is growing behind which the “shame” is supposed to be hidden until no one can remember what actually happened.

Numerous princes who wanted to penetrate to the beauty were miserably caught in the thorns and met a tragic death. “It’s only after a hundred years that someone comes and she opens up to them,” says Stefanie Molnar. »But he doesn’t actually do anything about it. He’s just in the right place at the right time. He doesn’t even draw his sword. He steps towards the thorn hedge and it opens. The prince kisses the princess in her sleep and she wakes up.” Happy ending with a but: “He doesn’t ask Sleeping Beauty for permission. She has no say at all. She hasn’t even seen him before. Nowadays that is a sexual assault, it is unthinkable that this could happen today.” However, the feminist points out: “For the young woman who was socially ostracized at the time, it was the only chance to find a young man who would give up on her anyway takes his castle. Everyone is now happy that the story has a happy ending.«

Sleeping Beauty exhibition at Hartenfels Castle, Schlossstr. 27, 04860 Torgau, Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., €5, reduced €4; Cinderella exhibition in the Moritzburg, Schlossallee, 01468 Moritzburg, Monday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., €12, reduced price €10, up to 16 years €4.