Meiningen museums
The Meiningen museums combine six cultural and historical museums in the Thuringian district town of Meiningen and house the largest art collection in Thuringia . The main part is housed in Elisabethenburg Palace , the former residence of the Dukes of Saxony-Meiningen . The castle is located in the west of Meiningen city center. The museums are supported by the Meiningen Cultural Foundation .
In the baroque three-wing complex of Elisabethenburg Palace, extensive art collections, theater history, regional history, music history and the Max Reger Archive are presented on two floors in 52 rooms with 3,400 square meters of exhibition space . There are also seven rooms for special exhibitions and galleries.
The museums
Elisabethenburg Castle
- Historic interior
Over the course of three centuries, the residential palace underwent several interior redesigns. Their stylistic diversity ranges from rococo to empire to historicism (neo-renaissance and classicism). The palace church , giant and Hessensaal as well as numerous stuccoed rooms on the middle floor of the main wing present themselves with a relatively intact baroque substance .
- Art collections
The extensive holdings of the art collections harmonize with the historic interior of the Elisabethenburg. Spread over the suites of two floors are masterpieces of European standing such as paintings, sculptures, furniture, ceramics, clocks and other handicrafts from different centuries.
- Theater history
The theater history department deals with the radical theater reforms introduced by the “Meiningen” at the end of the 19th century. Wherever the “Meiningers” performed, whether in London, Moscow, Stockholm or Vienna, the call always preceded them: “The Meiningers are coming!”. “Die Meininger”, that was the acting ensemble of the Meininger Hoftheater , which made a name for itself in the pre-media age with its magnificent productions. 2,591 guest performances brought Meiningen world fame as a theater city and the then Duke Georg II of Saxony-Meiningen the nickname "Theater Duke " (→ main article: Meininger ) .
- Music history
In the music department, the life and work of well-known artists who were closely linked to the city of Meiningen is presented. This applies in particular to Johann Ludwig Bach , Richard Wagner , Hans von Bülow , Johannes Brahms , Richard Strauss , Fritz Steinbach and Max Reger . There is also an extensive archive by Reger, and museum visitors can visit his study. Furthermore, manuscripts of music, objects from the more than 300-year history of the Meiningen court orchestra , the Anton Ulrich sheet music collection and a historical musical instrument collection are kept and shown in an exhibition.
Baumbachhaus Literature Museum
Not far from the castle is the literature museum and the Baumbach library in a romantic half-timbered house. It was the former residence of the poet Rudolf Baumbach , who came up with the text of the popular folk song " Up on the yellow car ". In the historical interior of the 19th century, the museum provides information about various writers who were closely associated with Meiningen in various ways, such as Friedrich Schiller , Ludwig Bechstein and Jean Paul . Furthermore, regional and local history is shown here. The museum was largely built up by the local researcher Georg Lilie .
Theater museum
The youngest museum is the theater museum "Zauberwelt der Kulisse", which opened in 1999 in the former riding arena near the castle. It offers an annually changing exhibition of historically valuable stage brochures and information from the travel time of the Meiningen court theater. These are presented effectively and scenically at certain times.
literature
(in chronological order)
- Christoph Hahn, Siegmar Hohl (ed.): The great museum guide. Collections on art, culture, nature and technology in Germany. Bassermann Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 2000, ISBN 978-3-8094-5013-9 , pp. 324-325.
- Alfred Erck et al. (Hrsg.): Lexicon for the history of the city Meiningen. Bielsteinverlag, Meiningen 2008, ISBN 978-3-9809504-4-2 .
- Maren Goltz: Treasures in the Green Library of Schloss Elisabethenburg. The musical instrument collection of the Meiningen museums. Meininger Museums, Meiningen 2009, DNB 997569107 .
- Literature Museum in the Baumbachhaus: The Baumbachhaus Literature Museum and its prominent residents. Meininger Museums, Meiningen 2013, DNB 104609033X .
- Ingrid Annel, Ulf Annel: 111 museums in Thuringia that you have to see. Emons, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-95451-510-3 , pp. 128-131.