The Lindenau Museum Altenburg is one of the most unusual and beautiful art museums in Germany. It was founded in 1848 by the natural scientist, statesman and patron of the arts Bernhard August von Lindenau (1779-1854) together with an art school. For his museum at Altenburg's Pohlhof, he acquired valuable collections such as the famous 180 Italian panel paintings from the 13th to 16th centuries, as well as antique vases, a collection of casts of masterpieces from antiquity and the Renaissance and an extensive library with works on the history of art and architecture and on the expeditions of the time.

As the first museum building soon became too small, a new, magnificent museum building was erected at the foot of Altenburg Castle Hill in 1876. Since 1945, the collections have been significantly expanded to include paintings, sculpture and graphic art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Thanks to the support of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Free State of Thuringia, the traditional Lindenau Museum is currently being extensively renovated, modernized and expanded.

Interim in the „Kunstgasse 1“

The museum and art school are closed for the duration of the construction work, the studio, moved to temporary premises in the center of Altenburg. In addition to thousands of works of art, the museum archive, the office furniture, the extensive scientific library and the art school's equipment with heavy printing machines also had to be moved to the new premises.

The small permanent exhibition in Kunstgasse 1 provides an overview of the Lindenau Museum's various collections, from antiquity to the Renaissance and contemporary art. In the immediate vicinity of the permanent exhibition, a display depot presents plaster casts of famous works of art history. Just a few meters away, you can watch the restorers at work through a glass front.

Kunstgasse 1 is also home to the studio - the art school of the Lindenau Museum - has found its place. In the GRAPHICS studio, the CERAMICS studio and the ATELIER im studio, visitors have the opportunity to get to know various artistic techniques. The educational program is now complemented by the studioBAMBINI (children's art workshop), studioLEONARDO (wood workshop) and studioDIGITAL (media workshop), where courses, workshops and open workshops for all age groups are also offered under professional guidance.

Special exhibitions and KUNSTWAND

In the permanent exhibition in the interim of the Lindenau Museum, the KUNSTWAND provides an opportunity for presentations of specific works from the collections. Larger special exhibitions take place during the warmer months in the Prinzenpalais of the Residenzschloss Altenburg.