50th Chemiepokal
The anniversary – the 50th Chemiepokal boxing tournament at the Steintor-Varieté in Halle (Saale)
A big shout-out right from the start! German heavyweight boxer Dilvan Yakazan defeated Cuban boxer Duniel Duneas by knockout in the second round. On June 13th and 14th, 2025, approximately 60 boxers from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Cuba competed for the coveted trophy in their weight classes.
The 50th edition of the Halle tournament was entirely dedicated to the tradition that dates back to 1970 and was once again supported by our Felix Graf von Luckner Society. Boxers like Henry Maske and Vitali Klitschko became famous through their victories in Halle. For the anniversary, we welcomed former boxing greats such as Ulli Kaden, Arthur Abraham, Steven Küchler, Timo Hoffmann, Dominic Bösel, and many more, including legendary trainer Ulli Wegener. In front of a sold-out crowd, the Mayor of Halle (Saale), Dr. Alexander Vogt, made sure to step into the ring and deliver his personal greeting (in several languages) to the boxers, coaches, referees, organizers, and guests.
We’ll see you next year at the 51st Chemiepokal.
Night of the Museums – we are in
Find more information >>> HERE <<<
Opening of the Peace Grove
On April 17, 2025, the Peace Grove was officially opened to the public during a ceremony.
Ceremony at the Peace Grove
We will officially open Halle’s Peace Grove to the public with a small ceremony and would like to express our sincere gratitude for the city’s support.
When and where: Thursday, April 17, 2025 4:00 PM Halle Planetarium, Holzplatz 5, 06110 Halle (Saale)
Admission is free.
Visit at Lidice
A delegation from the Graf Luckner Society – including the entire board – paid a visit to the memorial in Lidice
Deeply touched, we spent time in glorious weather on the lovingly and dignified grounds of the former village near Prague, which was razed to the ground in a Nazi act of revenge following an assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich, Deputy Reich Protector in Bohemia and Moravia. Men, women, and 82 children were murdered in the process.
Reinhard Heydrich was born in Halle (Saale) in 1904, which gave the group’s visit a special significance that everyone was aware of.
Impressed by what we experienced in Lidice, we agreed not to limit ourselves to this visit, but to bring the warning emanating from this place to future generations in Halle and spread it from there.
Handing over a dove of peace
Hartwin Neumann presented our society with a dove of peace that he designed himself in recognition of our work for peace.
We planted the first Trees Of Peace
With the desire to achieve one of our goals – the promotion of world peace – in mind, we have set ourselves the goal of planting trees around the globe, peace trees, known internationally as “Trees of Peace”. The impetus for this project came from a historical event, namely the fact that 5 trees were planted for Count Luckner in Israel in 1966.
You can find more information >>> HERE <<<.
As the first action for the “Trees of Peace” we chose the city in which our company is based, namely Halle (Saale). In particular, we chose an open space near the Plantetarium. On November 25, 2024, we took action and planted the first peace trees. You can find more information in the above mentioned link.
Update to the project “Integratation sets a precedent”
We are delighted to have received the news today that we have been able to gain another patron for our above-mentioned project. Dr. Judith Marquardt (councillor for culture and sport) agreed to do this in response to our request. Many of our members also know and value Dr. Marquardt due to her diverse activities and appreciate this second patronage to the same extent.
Receipt of a donation in kind
Today we received a donation in kind from Switzerland, which we were very pleased about.
It is the rare book “The Sea Devil’s Fo’c'sle” by Lowell Thomas in a 1929 edition. Lowell Thomas (author of “With Laurence in Arabia” among others) had already written the book “The Sea Devil” in the early 1920s, which formed the basis for Luckner’s popularity in the USA. In 1959 Thomas ensured that the count was honored in the program “This is your life”.
The book donated today deals with stories of the count, which he described in German, for example in the book “Seeteufels Weltfahrt”. The program also included signed pictures and a great newspaper clipping that we had not seen before.
We were very pleased about the donation in kind, thank you very much for the support of our museum and send our warmest greetings to Beinwill am See in Switzerland.
Update to the project “Integratation sets a precedent”
Today, July 15, 2024, Ms. Katharina Brederlow, Councilor for Education and Social Affairs of the City of Halle (Saale), officially took over patronage for our project. We are very pleased about this and would like to thank you very much for the trust you have placed in us!