Schloßbergmuseum

In the location's words:

The Chemnitz Museum of City History is housed in one of the most beautiful and best-preserved monastery complexes in Saxony. Around 1135, Emperor Lothar founded a Benedictine monastery on a ridge above the Chemnitz River, which lasted until the Reformation. The preserved building fabric dates back to different construction phases: The Romanesque south apse dates back to the foundation building around 1150, the early Gothic east wing is the oldest stone monastery building from 1275, while the south wing and the church were built in the late Gothic period under the abbots Heinrich von Schleinitz and Hilarius von Rehburg (1483-1539).

Elector Moritz of Saxony had the complex converted into a Renaissance summer residence in 1548-1549, as can still be seen today in the two magnificent halls on the upper floor. Later electors mainly used the palace as an administrative center and summer quarters for hunting trips.

Between 1929 and 1931, the city of Chemnitz set up a city history museum in the former monastery and castle, which over the years became known as the "Schloßbergmuseum". Due to dilapidation, all museum objects were removed in 1979 and the old cloister wings were renovated, while the destroyed wings were rebuilt in a modern form.

Since its reopening in 1994/1995, the historic building has housed an extensive collection on the history of Chemnitz. The permanent exhibition "Chemnitz History Picture Gallery" presents selected pieces of painting, sculpture, historical textiles, jewelry, furniture and everyday objects from the 12th to the 20th century. Every year, special exhibitions complement the cultural and art-historical offerings.

The exhibition "Gothic Sculpture in Saxony" is shown in the reconstructed monastery rooms on the first floor - the cloister, refectory, chapter house and parlatorium. This important collection of sacred art includes works by the artist Hans von Cöln, the Master H.W. and the "Chemnitz Holy Sepulchre" and offers unique examples of Meissen-Saxon sculpture and panel painting. The exhibition is a cooperation with the Dresden State Art Collections.

In the 1990s, a lapidarium was built in the publicly accessible park in front of the Schloßbergmuseum to present the Chemnitz stone fragments. In this modern low-rise building with glass side walls, important architectural fragments, portals, funerary tablets and sculptures from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque periods can be seen, which are atmospherically illuminated at night.

Saxony's smallest castle, Rabenstein Castle, is also part of the Schloßbergmuseum.