text: Carsten Theumer
Lutz Otto Richter
Halle 1940 – Halle 2005
The issue of this medal honours the construction engineer and art collector Lutz Richter.
Issued by: Dr Irmgard Richter
Design and model: Carsten Theumer, Höhnstedt/Saalkreis district
- 10 bronze medals, 10.5 x 10.5 cm
- 1 silver medal (925/1000)
- All cast by the artist himself
- Paper art: Andreas Richter, Dobis
The front of the medal shows Lutz Richter in profile at an open window. A curtain wafts outside, caught by a draught, as clouds pass overhead.
An attempt at capturing the sudden and unexpected parting his family was forced to take from Lutz Richter.
On the back of the medal, an aeroplane flying past us hints at the location: we are in Giebichenstein, a historical part of Halle, and, with their own home at number 14 on the Burgstrasse, both the Richter family’s abode and their place of work. Lutz Richter loved his quarter with all his heart and played a huge part in planning and developing his town house, the construction of which he accompanied with passion and dedication until its completion in 1996.
In the scene depicted here, the mighty Saale river has burst its banks, flooding the entire quarter and the adjacent landscape. Only the familiar landmarks rise up out of the water: the keep of Giebichenstein Castle; the church of St. Peter in the Kröllwitz district; the huge aviary next to the lookout tower at Halle Zoo; and, in the distance, the Petersberg. This is no normal flood; the Saale seems to have become a futuristic ocean – or is it all just a dream?
Yet house number 14 on Burgstraße rises up above the water. With its helm and long glass, the conservatory on the roof has become a navigation bridge; a whale passes by, swimming through the waters above the inn “Zum Mohr”.
But the captain is not on deck. Perhaps the pistons are already pumping, the ship being readied to cast off ...