AND, they do not allow photos in the main area that I was most interested in when we visited.
You see, this Heritage Center has a very rare and super cool Cyclorama on display.
The "Behalt" Cyclorama is housed inside of the Center. If you are unfamiliar with cycloramas, they are large panoramic images that completely circle the viewer. The most famous Cyclorama is the one in Gettysburg. But, like I said, Cycloramas are rare (according to Wikipedia, only 4 are on display in America right now).
"Behalt" was painted by Heinz Gaugel. It is 10 feet by 265 feet. I would try to describe it, but that would be very difficult. Roughly, it illustrates the history of the Amish and Mennonite people going back to
1525. The Heritage Center's website does have a few pictures from Behalt displayed, along with some more information on it.We stopped by here one morning when they opened, and a very nice lady sold us our tickets for a guided tour of the huge painting. We watched a short film on Amish and Mennonite people, and then a very nice Amish fellow named Lester Beachy ended up giving us our tour.
Having an actual "tour" of the painting was very appropriate. Lester pointed out people in the painting who have contributed to the religion and how they live. The tour starts with Jesus, and kind of moves on from there. There are some dark moments as people are persecuted and executed for their beliefs.
I asked Lester about fitting the painting into the room where it is displayed. It looks like some piece of the painting had to be removed to accommodate doors and exit signs. He told me that the painting was done in the room, and Heinz painted around those things!
At the end of the tour, Lester did mention that he has written a book called "Our Amish Values". The book is an A-Z quick read guide about the Amish and their beliefs. There are some very nice photos from the area in the book, and Lester talks openly about their beliefs, and why they have them. He covers education, church, excommunication, etc. This is a nice and clear little book that gives a lot of good info about the Amish. We picked up a signed copy from Lester.
Also in the gift shop, they sell baskets that are made by local Amish with special needs. I thought that was very nice. I believe all of the baskets are signed on the bottom. Ours was. I thought this and the book were very cool, and very authentic Amish souvenirs to take home.
One other very cool treasure that I found in the gift shop was a huge shelf of prints signed by artist Heinz Gaugel! Prices varied, but for a very affordable $10, you could own a signed print by the late Behalt painter.
I am almost ashamed to admit that, after several trips through this area, this was my first stop at the very cool Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center. I love great art like Behalt, and I love authentic places like this. For those reasons, the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center gets my highest possible recommendation.
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