Vortragsreihe „Exponat des Monats“: Freimaurerei in Braunschweig

In the organizer's words:

"Exhibit of the Month" is a series of lectures by volunteers from the Braunschweig Municipal Museum. Every month there is a lecture on an object that is exhibited in the Old Town Hall. The presentation takes place in the Kleine Dornse of the Old Town Hall.

The Enlightenment had only just begun to supplant absolutism when liberal-minded members of the Brunswick nobility recognized the opportunities to realize the Enlightenment in independently organized alliances in the duchy. In this intellectual climate, the masonic lodge "Carl zur gekrönten Säule" was founded on February 12, 1744 under the patronage of Duke Carl I. Over the course of the 19th century, the bourgeoisie increasingly took the place of the nobility in the lodge. Entrepreneurs, scientists and artists now shaped the life of the lodge - including personalities such as Hugo Luther, Max Jüdel, Ernst Amme and Julius Konegen, as well as scientists such as Adolph Nehrkorn and composers such as Franz Abt.

Freemasonry sees itself as an ethical and philosophical community. In addition to social gatherings and lectures, the lodge ritual is the central element. The National Socialists, who sought to bring all citizens into line politically and intellectually, did not tolerate Freemasonry. It was banned in 1935. The lodge did not return to public life until 1963.

The lecture traces the eventful history of this traditional Brunswick lodge. The exhibit of the month is a masonic bag in the exhibition in the Old Town Hall.

Lecture by Thomas Parr.