Franz Grapke photographed those objects in the night sky that are too faint to see with the naked eye. His extraordinary photographs were taken in his garden in the outskirts of Geisa and show impressive images of the Milky Way, the moon, nebulae and galaxies.
The special exhibition “Fascination Night Sky over Geisa/Rhön” by Franz Grapke from Geisa was opened on April 8, 2022 in the ANNELIESE DESCHAUER Gallery. To be very close to the stars, to feel the infinity and to see this indescribable wonder of the universe, all this is made visible through his pictures.
Like once Athanasius Kircher
In her welcoming speech, Doris Heim, the chairwoman of the sponsoring association, recalled the polymath Athanasius Kircher, who was born in Geisa in 1802 and who was already concerned with astronomy in his scientific research at that time. With the current exhibition, Franz Grapke, with the support of his wife Ilona Will, has now taken the stars from the sky, made nebulae and galaxies visible from millions of light years away from Earth.
Valentina & Sebastian love songs
Valentina Schel and Sebastian Ritz from Geisa did the same in a musical way with their wonderful interpretation of modern love songs about the moon and the stars. The young music duo impressed the audience with songs like “Sternenhimmel” by Hubert Kah in a romantic version, “Stars” by Simply Red or “Vollmond” by Nena.
Franz Grapke
Astrophotographer Franz Grapke was born in Geisa in 1951, grew up in the Sauerland region and returned to his hometown of Geisa in 1991. He was a flight instructor for gliding and ultralight flying, later paragliding was added. After 50 years, he ended his flying career. In the gallery he already gave a very well attended lecture about the fascination of flying.
But now, for some time, he has been devoting himself intensively to his second passion, astrophotography, and is actively supported by his wife Ilona Will. He bought an astromodified digital SLR camera and chose the watchtower at Point Alpha as his first shot to capture star trails. So he spent many nights since then with his telescope in the garden under cloudless skies, waiting for hours for the right moment. The result is stunning images of the highest quality and breathtaking documents of infinity.
Finissage
On the occasion of the International Day of the Museum on May 15, 2022, Franz Grapke’s exhibition came to a close on the open day with a finissage.
For this purpose, the Friends had invited to coffee and homemade cake in the studio of the gallery.
Astrophotography at the Old Slaughterhouse
With the subsequently opened private exhibition in the Old Slaughterhouse in Geisa’s Schulstraße, Ilona Will and Franz Grapke want to make their contribution to the revitalization of the core town of Geisa and the presentation of the town’s history.
Mayor Manuela Henkel congratulated warmly to the opening and was pleased that the cultural offer in Geisa could be extended by this astro exhibition in the historical framework.
The opening time is flexible and can be arranged by phone or by personal approach with free admission. Contact person is Ilona Will, phone 0151/56 75 76 64, the homepage is: