The idea for the „Slawenburg Raddusch” with the exhibition about archaeology in the area of lignite mining in Lower Lusatia was suggested by the Landesamt für Bodendenkmalpflege und Archäologischem Landesmuseum (BLDAM) itself.
The help with design, making the script for the exhibition et cetera was all done by them. Until the day of opening on 28 May 2003, all was funded by local and national governments, but running and maintaining it since that day is the task of an association.
Lignite mining has destroyed the natural and cultural landscape horribly over the past 150 years. A surface of about 650 KM2 has been sacrificed to this. Just a small minority of archaeological sites could be excavated. The (re)establishment of a destroyed monument from the 9th – 10th century, serving as scenery and building for an exhibition on lignite mining archaeology is a tiny ‘wiedergutmachung’. This is the only location where you can see any of the results of this lignite mining archaeology in the area. The building is 60 metres in diameter and 7 metres tall, surrounded by a 5 metres wide ditch. Two bridges lead the visitors inside.
The fortification is made with modern materials and techniques and serves as camouflage for the exhibition. It is situated at the exact original site and most information used for building it came from the site itself. Archaeologists were involved from the beginning and still are. There is no experimental archaeology on site. Sceneries depicting life in the Slavic village a long time ago are shown using mannequins.
