Well prepared for the visit to Photo Münsingen 2026

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During Photo Münsingen, from May 14th to May 17th, 2026, there will be a large number of events. The following information and schedule should help you keep track of everything.

Information sheet with opening hours, directions and site plan

Information sheet (two A4 pages)

Schedule of tours, lectures and events

Guided tours, lectures and events (one A4 page)

Coming soon – live and up-to-date

The following website provides information on all current events and all future dates.

Go to the online appointment overview

You can find the QR code at various locations on the exhibition grounds of Photo Münsingen.

QR code overview dates

Enjoy your visit to the last Photo Münsingen!

Urs Hintermann in an interview with the online portal BERN-OST

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The Photo Münsingen exhibition will take place for the last time over the Ascension Day weekend (May 14–17, 2026), as despite an intensive search, no one could be found to fill four vacant positions on the organizing committee. Furthermore, a five-figure sum will be missing from the 150,000 Swiss franc budget starting next year, as no new sponsors could be secured.

A reduced version and the charging of entrance fees were discussed but rejected, as a large part of Photo Münsingen takes place in public spaces.

The final edition is themed "Colours of Life" and features works by the singer and actor, among others. Carlos Leal, who photographed the invisible people on the fringes of Hollywood glamour.

After 25 years of Photo Münsingen, Urs Hintermann is left with primarily the memories of diverse photo exhibitions and contacts that have lasted to this day – his regret about the end of the event even extends to... China.

Read this full interview which Rolf Blaser, from the online portal BERN-OST, led with Urs Hintermann, the president of Photo Münsingen.

The anniversary program of Photo Münsingen 2026

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Photo Münsingen 2026: Colours of Life – Life in all its facets

"Colours of Life," in its broadest sense, represents the diversity of human experiences, feelings, and life paths, which, like different shades of paint, combine to form a personal whole. Life includes joy, pain, everyday life, and exceptional moments, lending it depth, contrast, and intensity. It is important to consciously perceive and shape this diversity in order to experience one's own life as vibrant, meaningful, and unique.

Photo exhibitions

Marginalized people on the fringes of Hollywood glamour

Carlos Leal is a versatile Swiss artist who has made an international name for himself as a musician, actor, and photographer. His powerful photo exhibition «Heroes of Another Story» Carlos Leal directs his empathetic gaze towards the unseen inhabitants of Los Angeles. His minimalist, understated visual language captures moments of quiet strength and inner resilience, meeting his subjects with profound respect and on equal terms.

Birds are becoming rare – increasingly rare.

Human activity, the decline of their habitats and stopover sites along migration routes, endanger the birds. Their colors, songs, and graceful beauty are being lost. The photo exhibition «Aux Oiseaux» from Lili Roze He seeks an artistic approach to this coexistence. If beauty can save the world, then we begin with the beauty of birds.

Punks in a socially deprived area

Blackpool, the once magnificent seaside resort northwest of Manchester, has long since seen its best days. The punks, who gather there every August, have also lost their revolutionary status. Both seem out of step with the times. Their despair and pessimism, but also their motto "Punks not dead," reflect this. Boris Müller in his photo exhibition «Blackpool».

Art meets science

Giles Revells Visual language blurs the line between still photography and moving images. He uses a high-speed camera to document his work. «DANCER» The dancers of the Royal Opera House. This resulted in works of pure artistic beauty.

My face and my body are the main instruments.

As a model in front of the camera, she uses Katerina Belkina the ancient theatrical practice of role-playing. The photography therefore closely resembles a theatrical performance. Her mixed-media work "Grimms' Fairy Tales" combines classic painting colors, photographic reality and collage tradition with digital brushwork to create dreamlike, weightless light spaces from everyday observations.

Trees in reduced landscapes

The series «Digital Art» from Kathrin Federer It explores the quiet presence of individual trees in expansive, minimalist landscapes – often in combination with powerful sky structures and atmospheric cloud formations. It's about reduction, precision, atmosphere, and the question of how little or how much an image needs to be powerful.

Blind spot

Valentina Verdasca On her wanderings, she discovers "blind spots"—striking buildings, surprising perspectives, or hidden places that fascinate through their form, color, or atmosphere. With her friend Oona, she brings these scenes to life: contrasting the emptiness, playing with shapes, and merging with the evocative world of color, as seen in the photo exhibition. "Blind spot".

Club photography

An important element of Photo Münsingen is club photography. The goal of the 43 teams is to capture the «Photo Münsingen Award 2026» to win on the topic of «Colours of Life».

The photo clubs of Regio Photo (A collaboration between three countries) from Münsingen, Riedisheim and Kirchzarten present pictures on the theme "Minimalism" .

PHOTOSUISSE alongside the photo exhibition "Architecture" even the best and "The best of 2025".

Further photo exhibitions

15 photographers exhibit their work in the Photo arena.

Sandra Eigenheer and Marco Zedler celebrate the poetry of nature. Markus Eichenberger explores vast landscapes. Beatrice Hildbrand celebrates the beauty of existence. Joep Hijwegen captures the light of the late hour. Guido Klumpe shows the urban space. Elena Martynyuk It transports us to fantasy worlds. It stages an ode to stillness. Lea Meienberg. David Wagnières celebrates the creativity of theatre.

The photo exhibition «In Colours» showcases the best works from the youth competition «U25 Photo Challenge»The ten most extraordinary books of photo book competition can be seen at the Bookfactory booth.

Photo competitions, photo workshops, audiovisual productions, lectures and events

Photo contests

The best entries from the following photo competitions: “Competition for photo clubs”, «U25 Photo Challenge» and Photo Book Contest They can be seen in the corresponding photo exhibitions.

Photo workshops

With more than 30 photo workshops Photo Münsingen offers a wide range of photographic training courses, which can be booked immediately.

Audio vision

  • One highlight is the multimedia presentation. “Wonder of Earth” from Christian KleppThe geoscientist and landscape photographer takes you on a spectacular journey to remote places that tell the story of the Earth's constant change.
  • Four blocks of music are held every afternoon in the fire station hall. audiovisual short productions gezeigt.

Lectures

Lectures on a wide variety of topics Markus Eichenberger, Tobias Ryser, Joep Hijwegen, Miriam Bennouna, Remo Zehnder, Chiara Ruoss, Ralf Turtschi and Christian Reding.

Events

  • For the first time, Photo Münsingen, in collaboration with Stämpfli Kommunikation, is presenting the «PROMPT BATTLE» In this live event, two players at a time are given a task to complete quickly using AI tools. The audience then evaluates the results.
  • Photographing under expert guidance? Photo booth Photo Münsingen 2026 makes this possible for visitors.
  • Felix Maurer He creates portraits on location using his analog instant camera.
  • To mark the 25th anniversary, visitors can enjoy the Photo booth They can even step in front of the camera themselves. Whether alone or in a group, they pose and take their personal souvenir photo with them directly as a high-quality, free print or send it to their smartphone.
  • The awards ceremonies for this year will also take place at PHOTOSUISSE at Photo Münsingen.

 

The 25th and last Photo Münsingen

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The 25th Photo Münsingen will take place over the Ascension Day period from May 14 to 17, 2026. As always, the anniversary will feature numerous creative photo exhibitions by renowned photographers, photography clubs from Germany and abroad, interesting photo workshops, and audiovisual productions. We will announce the program at the beginning of 2026.

Unfortunately, 2026 will also be the last Photo Münsingen. Due to staffing and financial constraints, the popular photo event held in the beautiful Schlossgut grounds has been discontinued. Despite intensive efforts, we have not been able to fill vacancies in the leadership of the organizing committee and the various departments. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain sponsors and partners or to find new ones.

With its unique format, Photo Münsingen has attracted thousands of interested visitors year after year, both across Switzerland and beyond. We look back with pride on countless photo exhibitions and workshops, both from the photography club scene and from renowned professional photographers.

Now we are fully committed to ensuring that the 25th Photo Münsingen anniversary will be a magnificent finale with special attractions.

For further information please contact:

Four passionate photo days

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More than 3000 photography enthusiasts visited Photo Münsingen 2025 over the Ascension Day holidays. Passion wasn't just the theme of many of the photo exhibitions. "The photographers also demonstrated that they do their work with great passion," said organizing committee president Urs Hintermann.

The highlights

This year's theme—passion—offered space for a variety of photo exhibitions. Among the most impressive images are certainly the human sculptures of Louis Blanc's «cORpuS», Hansruedi Ramsauer's «Surreal worlds» and Kostas Maros' «HIDDEN – Hidden Places in Switzerland».

The competitions

«Passion» was also the theme of the «U25 Photo Challenge", the competition for young people, which was won this year by Janis Fasel with an impressive surfer photo. The "Photo Club Competition». The first prize went to the photography club of the Migros St. Gallen Club School with their work "Living Passion in Tango." Finally, in the third competition – «The most beautiful photo book in SwitzerlandManuel C. Studer won the "Fishing Championship" award, which Photo Münsingen organizes annually in collaboration with Bookfactory. His book "The Fisherman's Championship" is dedicated to Lake Constance fishermen and impressed with its impressive black-and-white images.

The multimedia show on Friday evening

The photographer demonstrated passion for the underwater world Raphael Studer with his multimedia lecture “Deep Thrill: Fascinating Underwater World”, which impressed with fascinating images of everything from the smallest microorganisms to giant whales.

Thanks to the helpers and sponsors

The organizing committee thanks the more than 100 volunteers, all exhibitors, speakers, and generous sponsors, including in particular the main sponsors Bookfactory, Nikon and Photo Vision Zumstein.

The 25th edition of Photo Münsingen

The next Photo Münsingen will take place from 14 to 17 May 2026. It will be something very special, as we will be celebrating the 25th edition of Photo Münsingen, the popular photo event.

The photos and the press review

To the photo gallery of Photo Münsingen 2025…

To the press review of print media…

To the press review of online services…

Four days full of events – how to keep track

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There are a host of events taking place during Photo Münsingen from May 29 to June 1, 2025. The following schedule should help you keep track.

Schedule of tours, lectures and events

Download the following schedule and print it out compactly on one A4 page if required.

Guided tours, lectures and events (A4 page)

Online overview of all scheduled events

All future and current events are listed on the following page, which you can access via a link or a QR code. You can find the QR code at various locations throughout the Photo Münsingen exhibition grounds.

To the online overview

QR code overview dates

 

Photo Münsingen 2025: Passion in Photography

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Experience how photographers implement this theme at Photo Münsingen 2025. You will be amazed at how much stamina it takes to implement a photographic project. You have to push your body to its limits, brave the storms, go to places that are hard to reach and use the latest technology.

Valentin Felder – An Unwound Clockwork

«An Unwound Clockwork» is the English title for «The Gearbox in the Sand» and is a 30-minute stop motionanimated film in Steampunkaesthetic, using modern features with Victorian-era materials, creating a retro look. The project was started in 2013 by Valentin Felder and a friend while they were at school. It has evolved part-time over the years and has been continuously documented with behind-the-scenes pictures and videos to keep the project's supporters up to date.

Kostas Maros – HID­DEN

You will come across the shoe cabinets in the opera house's costume department everywhere at Photo Münsingen 2025; they adorn leaflets and posters. What is behind them? They are part of the project «HIDDEN» by the Basel photographer Kostas Maros and the art historian Catherine Iselin. Over the course of two years, the two of them visited 25 places in Switzerland that are inaccessible to us or remain hidden. These places are fascinating and arouse curiosity. With a professional camera, wide-angle lens and great depth of field, Kostas Maros manages to breathe life into the hidden places.

Daniel Brändli – Pas­sio­na­te Denisa

The photo exhibition «Passionate Denisa» is a tribute to the model Denisa Strakova. Daniel Brändli describes her as the most passionate in terms of her professionalism.

Thomas Wunsch – CODE OF HONOR

Thomas Wunsch began working in the field of photography at the age of 17 when he moved to the USA and became a member of the Kodak Young Photographers League. He specialized in portrait, fashion and abstract photography and had numerous celebrities in front of his lens. His works have been exhibited worldwide and published as LP and CD covers. His photo exhibition «CODE OF HO­NOR» belongs to informal-abstract photography.

The work of the photo clubs

The central component of Photo Münsingen is the «Photo Club Competition». 38 photo club teams from Switzerland and neighboring countries are competing to win the «Photo Münsingen Award 2025» with their competition entry.

Further photo exhibitions

Photo Arena

In our unique, circular screen arena, ten works on a free topic are shown every two minutes.

 Deep Water Rush: Fascination Underwater World

In this multimedia show with live commentary, Ra­pha­el Stu­der the secrets of the oceans. From microscopic creatures to various shark species and giant whales.

Dive in and let yourself be enchanted by the thrill of the depths.

Photo Book Contest

Have you created a unique photo book? Whether it is a travel photo book, impressions from a city, a portrait of a fellow human being or beautiful landscape pictures. Everything is possible. The Photo Book Contest in cooperation with our main sponsor bookfactory runs until April 6, 2025.

U25 Photo Challenge

The youth competition «U25 Photo Challenge» starts on March 1, 2025. Teenagers and young adults born in 2000 and later can participate until March 31, 2025.

 Lectures

Book a date now!

Photo Münsingen also belong to this year audiovisual productions and Photo workshops. Take a look at our program now and mark the Ascension Days from May 29th to June 1st, 2025 in your agenda. We look forward to your visit.

Looking back on four wonderful photo days

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With the theme of “Music”, Photo Münsingen attracted numerous photo enthusiasts to the Aare Valley over the Ascension Days. “The combination of photography and music was very well received by the audience,” says OK President Urs Hintermann, satisfied with this year’s edition.

“We received a lot of positive feedback on the exhibitions and events surrounding our main topic,” says Hintermann. That's what they were like Mussorgsky concert on Thursday with the photographically interpreted “Pictures at an Exhibition” or the multimedia lecture “The Art of Transformation” sold out by rock star photographer Hannes Schmid.

This year, visitors once again appreciated the exchange with the photographers or were inspired by their work. Thanks to the spring weather, the open-air exhibitions in and around the Münsinger Schlossgut area could be enjoyed to the fullest - always accompanied by melodious performances.

The organizing committee thanks the more than 100 helpers as well as sponsors, patrons and partners. Among them the main sponsors Nikon, Bookfactory and Foto Video Zumstein.

Photo Münsingen 2025 will take place from May 29th to June 1st, 2025. The Photo Club Competition takes place on the theme of “Passion”.

To the picture gallery on Flickr...
To the press reports…

Guided tours, lectures and music: an overview of all dates

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On the four days of the exhibition Pho­to Mün­sin­gen In 2024 there will be numerous tours, lectures, audiovisual presentations, award ceremonies and musical performances. Plan your visit now! Here is our overview of when and what is happening.

Thursday May 09, 2024

Exhibitions and Photo Arena open from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m., Audio Vision blocks in the Füürwehrsaal at 13.00 p.m., 13.45 p.m., 14.30 p.m. and 15.15 p.m

11.00 Concert: Pictures at an Exhibition, Martin Klopfenstein Casino PZM
12.00 Guide: Oliver Stegmann, Circus noir Schlossstrasse 5
13.00 Guided tour: Wolf-Peter Steinheisser, Discover your Soul Castle
13.00 Lecture: Christian Reding, Nikon innovations parish hall
13.30 Leadership: Petra Angela Imhof, Cyberized parish hall
14.00 Piano class, Aaretal Music School Castle
14.00 Guided tour/lecture: Karl Schuler, snow leopards Senior Center Schlossgut
14.00 Guide: Hannes Schmid, rock musician flower house
14.00 Photo book competition award ceremony / U25 Photo Challenge Schlossgutsaal
14.00 Opanonna Schlossgutsaal
14.30 Guided tour: Andrea Knechtle, Vestiges – The End of Something Castle Alley
14.30 Leadership: Axel Brand, Danza Castle
15.00 Guide: Graeme Oxby, The Kings of England Schlossgutplatz
15.00 Guided tour: Photo Club Münsingen, movement flower house
15.00 Lecture: Christian Burkhardt, Bookfactory Universum parish hall
15.30 Guide: Vicenc Semper, Peu de foto parish hall
16.00 Lecture: Christian Reding, taking photos is child's play Stand Nikon
16.00 Guided tour: InfraWerkeMünsingen, electricity and heat Schlossgutsaal foyer
16.00 Leadership: Nicole Rötheli, emotions – One stage Village square
16.30 Lecture: Wolf-Peter Steinheisser, Nightsessions Fürwehrhuus

Friday 10st May 2024

Exhibitions and Photo Arena open from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m., Audio Vision blocks in the Füürwehrsaal at 13.00 p.m., 13.45 p.m., 14.30 p.m. and 15.15 p.m

11.00 Wieslaw Pipczynski, music improvisation for photo shows Fürwehrhuus
11.00 Lecture: Claudia Betschart, Bookfactory Software crash course parish hall
11.45 Wieslaw Pipczynski, music improvisation for photo shows Fürwehrhuus
13.00 Lecture: Christian Reding, Get a taste of photo technology parish hall
14.00 Leadership: Gerardo Garciacano, Bodmi Flower house exterior wall
14.00 Guide: Hannes Schmid, rock musician flower house
14.30 Guided tour: Cap fotoschule, sound colors Spycher youth center
15.00 Guide: Romano P. Riedo, Polaroid Work flower house
15.00 Lecture: Marco Felix, tricks for travel photography parish hall
16.00 Leadership: Manuel Giron, Unexpected Dimension Schlossstrasse 5
16.30 Lecture: Romano P. Riedo, inspiration on your doorstep Fürwehrhuus
19.00 Lecture: Hannes Schmid, The Art of Transformation Fürwehrhuus

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Exhibitions and Photo Arena open from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m., Audio Vision blocks in the Füürwehrsaal at 13.00 p.m., 13.45 p.m., 14.30 p.m. and 15.15 p.m

10.00 Lecture: Ralf Turtschi, Uganda's magic in a photo book parish hall
11.00 Wieslaw Pipczynski, music improvisation for photo shows Fürwehrhuus
11.45 Wieslaw Pipczynski, music improvisation for photo shows Fürwehrhuus
12.00 Guided tour: Photo Club Münsingen, movement flower house
12.00 steelmusic events association parish hall
13.00 Leadership: Petra Angela Imhof, Cyberized parish hall
13.00 Guide: Vicenc Semper, Peu de foto parish hall
13.00 Lecture: Christian Reding, Nikon innovations parish hall
13.30 Violin class, Aaretal Music School Schlossweg
13.30 Guided tour: Charles Brooks Architecture in Music Schlossweg
11.00 Award ceremony PHOTOSUISSE culture grape
14.30 Violin class, Aaretal Music School Schlossweg
14.30 Alpenrösli Yodeling Club flower house
14.30 Guide: Oliver Stegmann, Circus noir Schlossstrasse 5
15.00 Leadership: Gerardo Garciacano, Bodmi Flower house exterior wall
15.00 Guide: Graeme Oxby, The Kings of England Castle Square
15.30 Alpenrösli Yodeling Club flower house
16.00 Photo walk with Nikon Zf and Z8: Christian Reding Stand Nikon
16.00 Leadership: Manuel Giron, Unexpected Dimension Schlossstrasse 5
16.30 Lecture: Markus Eichenberger, Amazing Moments – Füürwehrhuus Fürwehrhuus

Sunday May 12, 2024

Exhibitions and Photo Arena open from 10 a.m. to 17 p.m., Audio Vision blocks in the Füürwehrsaal at 13.00 p.m., 13.45 p.m., 14.30 p.m. and 15.15 p.m

11.00 Lecture: Oliver Stegmann, Circus noir Fürwehrhuus
11.00 Lecture: Ralf Turtschi, designing photo books parish hall
12.00 Guide: Lorenz Andreas Fischer, Eyes of Africa connection path
13.00 Photo walk with Nikon Zf and Z8: Christian Reding Stand Nikon
13.00 Guide: Romano P. Riedo, Polaroid Work flower house
13.30 Leadership: Axel Brand, Danza Castle
14.00 Guided tour: Wolf-Peter Steinheisser, Discover your Soul Castle
14.30 Guided tour/lecture: Karl Schuler, snow leopards Senior Center Schlossgut
14.30 Guided tour: Cap fotoschule, sound colors Spycher youth center
15.00 Lecture: Christian Reding, Get a taste of photo technology parish hall
15.30 Leadership: Andrea Knechtle, Vestiges The End of Something – Schlossallee
16.00 Leadership: Nicole Rötheli, emotions – on stage Village square
16.00 Guided tour: InfraWerkeMünsingen, electricity and heat Schlossgutsaal foyer

Photo Münsingen 2024: Music in focus

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The theme of “Music” is at the center of Photo Münsingen 2024: the competition for photo clubs and eleven of the 27 exhibitions are dedicated to it. You can see, among other things, rock stars, Elvis impersonators, the inner workings of musical instruments and an interpretation of the work “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky. Let's take a first look at a program full of music photography!

First there is the concert photography: the well-known Swiss photographer Hannes Schmid photographed rock stars on and off stage in the 1980s. In Münsingen he shows a selection of his photographs. They not only show well-known figures, but also capture the cultural changes and gender dynamics of this time.

“Emotions on Stage” is the name of the concert photographer’s exhibition Nicole Rötheli. She is present with the camera when musicians like Hecht, Stress or Stefanie Heinzmann perform. Grant emotional looks in blues and jazz clubs Wolf-Peter Steinheisser and Vicenç Semper.

Dance, instruments and Elvis

Axel Brand focuses on the elegance of dancers in his fine art black and white photography. Charles Brooks In “Architecture in Music” he takes a fascinating look at instruments from the inside.

Graeme Oxby documents the subculture of Elvis impersonators and their stories. Students of the CAP photography school photographed on the topic of “sound colors”.

Mussorgsky reinterpreted

Two special projects make the connection between music and photography directly tangible. Seraina Marchal was commissioned to create photos for the musical piece “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky composed his piano cycle in 1874 to match paintings and drawings. 150 years later, Seraina Marchal took the opposite approach for Photo Münsingen and was inspired by Mussorgsky's work. Your images will be projected alongside a piano concert played live by the pianist Martin Klopfenstein and will then be exhibited.

The versatile instrumentalist does it the other way around Wieslaw Pipczynski. He will improvise live on four series of images. Members of various photography clubs submitted the images.

The work of the photo clubs

The central component of Photo Münsingen is the competition for photo clubs. 52 photo clubs from all over Switzerland and neighboring countries took photos on the topic of “Music” and competed with their tableaux in the coveted competition «Photo Muensingen Award». These are being carried out for the second time U25 Photo Challenge and Photo Book Contest.

In the area of ​​club photography they represent Photo clubs from Münsingen, Riedisheim and Kirchzarten Images on the topic of “movement”. Photographers from Münsingen will also present their works on the topic “Electricity and heat”.

PHOTOSUISSE shows the best and award-winning pictures from the annual competition. The award ceremony for the «Swiss Photography Championship» by PHOTOSUISSE will again take place as part of Photo Münsingen.

Animals, places and society

Other photo exhibitions are dedicated to social phenomena: Petra Angela Imhof “Cyberized” explores the relationship between people and technology. Gerardo Garciacano shows street portraits of skiers and snowboarders. Oliver Stegmann takes a look behind the circus scenes in “Circus noir”.

Andrea Knechtle captures forgotten spaces and traces of past lives in “Vestiges – The End of Something”. Unexpected urban perspectives developed Manuel Giron. Romano P. Riedo presents Polaroid images with a special depth. Markus Eichenberger was impressed by the breathtaking starry sky in the Swiss Alps.

Lorenz Andreas Fischer shows animal portraits from Africa. And Karl Schuler After all, he was traveling in the realm of the snow leopards, where he ended up meeting them.

Book a date now!

Photo Münsingen also belong to this year audiovisual productions, Lectures, Photo workshops and – in keeping with the annual theme – musical performances. Take a look at our program now and mark the Ascension Days from May 9th to 12th, 2024 in bold on your agenda!