Moritz Götze and Rüdiger Giebler in the Tharangambadi Museum / India

08. February 2020

On February 8, Moritz Götze and Rüdiger Giebler will open a new exhibition in the Tharangambadi Museum in India as part of their “Grand Tour” project. The location is not chosen by chance, since in 1706 there has been a mission station in Tharangambadi, whose missionaries came from Halle an der Saale, the hometown of Götze and Giebler. Every year in July, the residents of Tharangambadi commemorate the arrival of the first Lutheran missionaries Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (1682–1719) and Heinrich Plüschau (1677–1752) on July 9, 1706 with a parade through the city. After their arrival, Ziegenbalg and Plütschau sought contact with the local people with great interest. This was the beginning of a unique dialogue that continues to this day. The MM missionaries laid the foundation stone for the beginning of printing in India in Tharangambadi. In 2017 the Ziegenbalg House Museum was opened, in which Moritz Götze and Rüdiger Giebler are now exhibiting.