The Baden-Württemberg State Exhibition in cooperation with the exhibition center Lokschuppen Rosenheim was the first show on Inca culture in Europe. The Inca Empire was the largest indigenous empire ever created on American soil. With Cusco in Peru as its center of power, it stretched for nearly 5,000 km along the Andes from Colombia to Chile.

The exhibition showed traces of the legendary pre-Hispanic Inca culture from its beginnings in the middle of the 11th century to the colonial era. The focus was on the life of the Inca nobles in Cusco, the architecture, the imperial religion with the Temple of the Sun, war, agriculture and, last but not least, the administration of the huge empire. The famous Inca rulers Viracocha, Pachacutec Yupanqui and Tupac Inca Yupanqui are not only regarded as the founders of the Inca empire, but also as the builders of Cusco, Machu Picchu and other world-famous places.

Many of the objects were on display in Europe for the first time: colorful and richly patterned textiles from the Inca and colonial periods, valuable and very rare stone sacrificial bowls, gold jewelry, knotted cords and reconstructions of archaeological sites. They explain religion, architecture, economy and power relations of the Inca Empire. The continuing influence of the Incas under Spanish rule is evidenced by paintings, ritual cups and textiles from the colonial period.