Artificial Volcano Built By 18th Century German Prince Is Now Being Brought Back to Life

A Man-Made Island and a Volcano

Leopold III Friedrich Franz, prince and duke of Anhalt-Dessau, who ruled a small kingdom near the modern-day town of Dessau in the 18th century put a lot of resources and manpower into recreating the Gulf of Naples on his property, Smithsonian Magazine reported. More specifically, he financed the construction of a replica of Mount Vesuvius. The construction of the makeshift Naples was completed in 1794 and became known as the Stone Island of Woerlitz. Over the decades it became a decrepit ruin covered over with weeds and crumbling stone. But a five-year restoration project has now restored it to its former glory. The makeshift Naples is now a part of the Garden Realm of Woerlitz, a UNESCO World Heritage site, about an hour's drive south of Berlin.

Leopold III Friedrich Franz

Leopold III Friedrich Franz was an innovative individual who ruled during the Age of Enlightenment. He came across Mt. Vesuvius when he went on his rite of passage tour in Europe, which was typical for the nobility of that time. On his stop at Naples, he was captivated by the smoldering Mount Vesuvius volcano. He wanted his subjects to enjoy the magnificent Naples and knew that many might not have the means to go there in their lifetime. Uwe Quilitzsch, the Woerlitz Garden Realm's staff historian suggests that this might be his objective behind putting to place an artificial volcano and makeshift Naples on his property.

Construction of Makeshift Naples

Franz's architects created a building inside the volcano that was nearly five stories high and covered it with local boulders. At the top of the building is a hollow cone containing a high-ceilinged chamber with three fireplaces. The building's roof has an artificial 'crater' that people could fill with water. Near the volcano, a Greek-style amphitheater and a small villa were built as Franz's personal study space. As per historical accounts, Franz invited his friends to the property to watch the eruption of his volcano. After his death, most of Franz's makeshift Naples construction was preserved but the volcano was neglected. It went further into ruin after the area became part of East Germany after World War II.

Enter the Chemistry Professor

Wolfgang Spyra, a chemistry professor at the Brandenburg Technical University with a side interest in historical pyrotechnics, was contacted by the World Heritage site’s management to bring this ruined volcano back to life, Smithsonian Magazine reported.  UNESCO deemed the volcanic eruption to be safe and contacted Spyra to help them with their objectives. "A volcano that can’t explode is a very sad volcano, and I wanted to make it happy again," Spyra said. "We wanted to help the volcano get its identity back." Spyra put together a team and carefully reconstructed every part of the volcano.

Recreating the 'Event'

There was little to go on when it came to understanding what these volcanic 'displays' looked like back in the 18th century for the researchers. There was a 1794 painting, which according to the team, showcased that the volcano rose 56 feet above the river that flows past and the smoke reached the height of 30 feet. If the estimate made by the team regarding the smoke was correct, it implied that the smoke was from a natural source. For their other queries, the team looked into the witness account written by Carl August Boettinger, in 1797. In the account, he explained that the water released from the concealed "crater" at the top of the volcano simulated lava to the red lamps that gave the pile of stone an otherworldly glow.

Volcanic Eruption

Spyra and the team brought back the eruption in 2005, Daily Mail reported. At the volcano's peak, a fresh batch of pine needles was placed. After being lit, they erupted into a smoky fire. Students of Brandenburg Technical University in gas masks rushed from fireplace to fireplace in the room inside the volcano to pour lighter fluid on blazing wood fires. They tossed in special powder to create brightly colored smoke that billowed out from the volcano's summit. Red-tinged water comes out of the crater, to give the illusion of flowing lava. The peaking of the volcanic eruption caused water to be released over a ledge to form a waterfall and was lit from behind by a bright red Bengal fire. Sharp, loud explosions sent sparks shooting into the sky. Since 2005, these volcanic 'displays' have been organized a handful of times. Quilitzsch had a simple reason for it, "Would you ask a volcano when it's going to go off?"