Westwards to India - Was Columbus the first European in America?

Until 15 February, the Salzland Museum is showing the special exhibition "Curse of Gold - Pewter Figures Tell the Story of America". The Freundeskreis Zinnfiguren Magdeburg e.V. (Friends of Pewter Figures Magdeburg) and befriended collectors are using more than 6,000 pewter figures to illustrate numerous scenes of historical events and famous places of worship, showing how the search for new land, greater riches and, above all, gold led to the destruction and downfall of the indigenous cultures. It is about the fateful history of the indigenous cultures of the Aztecs, Maya and Incas.

Westwards to India - Was Columbus the first European in America? This is the central question of a 45-minute lecture and the start of a small series of lectures to complement the exhibition in the Salzland Museum. Dr Axel Hentschel, himself a member of the Freundeskreis Zinnfiguren Magdeburg and a collector of pewter figures, will explore this question with his guests on Thursday, 8 January, and will be happy to discuss it afterwards. He will begin by providing information on Columbus and his time: Reconquista in Spain and the competition with Portugal; Columbus' voyages of discovery - did he really set off westwards without a clue?; Explorers before Columbus and daring theories!; What changes with Columbus' discoveries? The lecture and discussion will be followed by a tour of the exhibition.