Welcome to the realm of knowledge in the Baroque era: Stepping onto creaking floorboards into the quiet grandeur of our historical library hall, one is immediately enveloped by the collective knowledge of the Early Modern period. Like stage sets in a Baroque theater, the original bookshelves jut into the space, housing around 50,000 books from all fields of knowledge. Behind unassuming book spines lie remarkable treasures, such as the first German Bible printed in America.

At the end of the 17th century, the orphanage's library was established as one of the first public libraries in Germany. Primarily through donations, book exchanges, and their own publications, the library grew so rapidly that within a few years, it was comparable to significant German university libraries. In 1728, it received its own building, which is considered the oldest surviving secular library structure in Germany. Not only in recent times has the library been visited by guests and researchers from around the world: Albrecht von Haller, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe all admired its bibliophilic treasures. We present a selection of them for you in rotating cabinet exhibitions in the former reading room of the library.

10 am - 5 pm

In the public tour, you will learn about the production of Meissen porcelain at various workstations in the show workshop. After the tour, you can individually visit the Museum of the Meissen Porcelain Foundation.

Using traditional techniques, all Meissen porcelain is still produced today by hand. The tour through the show workshop provides insights into manufacturing and design.

The tour takes place at 11:30 & 12:30.

The sculptor Christiane Löhr, born in Wiesbaden in 1965, who now lives in Cologne and in Prato, Italy, creates an impressive sculptural and installative cosmos. For this, she uses various materials from nature, which she spatially and architecturally places in a new context. Organic elements such as flying seeds, plant stems, burrs, tree blossoms, or horsehair are used by her as construction material for her unique work. The sculptor rather casually finds all the shaping natural formations to then bring them into a new order and make conscious placements in the space.

 

Wed to Fri from 2 to 5 PM, Sat/Sun from 11 AM to 5 PM

Palace-like, the orphanage rises on Franckeplatz. Then as now, it is the centerpiece of the Francke Foundations. Erected in 1698 as the first building of the school city, it represents a new facet of European Baroque, combining confident representation without extravagant ornamentation and setting the tone for orphanage architecture.

Today, the orphanage is our museum and cultural center. Right from the start, two permanent exhibitions guide you through the history of the foundation and the global impact of Pietism. On the first floor, the former prayer and singing hall surprises with its bright architecture. Today, it enjoys an excellent reputation as a concert hall due to its fantastic acoustics. In the adjacent conference rooms, a photo exhibition showcases the impressive renovation work since the foundations were reestablished in 1991. The second floor is reserved for our changing special exhibitions, which provide insight into important themes of the foundation's history from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Passing through the art and natural history collections in the attic, you reach the balcony via a narrow wooden staircase. Here, a wide view opens up over the impressive ensemble with school buildings from three centuries. There is also a splendid panorama of the Old Town of Halle from here. In the basement, children can explore their own paths in the Krokoseum.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Where have I ended up? asks Marie-Claire. But she is not alone; six other young people arrive with her. The seven are greeted by a mysteriously funny oracle. "Know thyself," it proclaims in many tongues. It will only release the newcomers from its underground temple when they are ready to face their challenging everyday lives anew. For the lives of the seven, from which they have been thrown, hold a test of courage for each of them, which they can now prepare for here. And they are already in the midst of the game of revelation. It's good that they have trainers from the other side of the world by their side. With valuable tips, they can bring clarity to the darkness. In the end, they can even help the many-headed oracle together to better understand the world outside and thus save its clairvoyance.

This production of the Theaterteenclub is a collaboration with the theater department of the Head Start Educational Academy in Bangalore. The joint theatrical search of the two theater groups, what makes true heroes and how the cultural context changes the perspective on it, will be brought to the stages in Böblingen and Bangalore under the direction of an Indo-German directing duo.

Directing duo: Prisca Maier-Nieden, Samta Shikhar

Copyright: Kunstschule Böblingen

Entrance: 18:50 Uhr

What power does the word have? For Halleschen Pietismus, the word was of central importance. On the ground floor of the Historical Orphanage, we show you how August Hermann Francke's reform movement could spread around the world.

Francke developed central reformative goals of Martin Luther's with Halleschen Pietismus. His approach was as clear as it was revolutionary: Every person should find God through their own Bible reading. However, for this to happen, everyone - boys and girls alike - had to learn to read, everyone should be able to afford their own Bible and it should be printed in their own native language. Therefore, Francke established schools for all social classes, printed millions of German-language People's Bibles, and created an international network through which the Bible was translated into many other languages. His educational initiative allowed a broad population to engage with the word. In the 18th-century evangelical parsonages, the authors of the Romantic and Enlightenment periods were highly regarded. A culture of self-reflection spread in Pietism, which was reflected in diaries and personal testimonies, giving us remarkable insights into the spiritual life of people of that time. Symbolically, the power of the word is also evident in the meticulously restored pulpit from the Church of St. Ulrich in Halle, where Francke preached from 1715 and which you can admire in the exhibition.

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Playing, laughing, being loud, romping, doing nothing – and that in an exhibition house! From September 4, 2024, BAUBAU invites exactly that. In the play space for children designed by artist Kerstin Brätsch, more is allowed than forbidden. Colorful wallpapers, structures, objects, and a range of “Loose Parts” form spaces on the ground floor of the Gropius Bau that do not impose fixed guidelines but are determined by the activities of the children. They dictate the direction and form of what happens here. Thus, this place becomes a space of possibilities that can change day by day.

BAUBAU will launch in September 2024 in a prototype version and will continue to develop and grow over the coming years both inside and outside the Gropius Bau – in close exchange with the children and their wishes, as this is their place.

The Play
All children have the urge to play. This is how they learn to understand themselves and the world. Especially open, self-determined play is of great significance for emotional and social development. The educational concept for BAUBAU is therefore based on the principles of free play: Here, there is time, space, and permission for children to follow their own needs and interests. They are accompanied by playworkers – trained staff who create a safe and supportive environment where children can play freely.

 
The Art
BAUBAU playfully questions what a museum or an art institution should be. The comprehensive spatial design developed by Kerstin Brätsch is full of references and inspirations: elements from her previous works, such as marbling, paintings, or stucco marble work, reappear here in altered forms and materialities. The wallpapers, curtains, fabrics, seating furniture, and climbing structures are inhabited by dinosaurs, fantastical beings, termite mounds, and abstract elements. With their strange, funny, and perhaps a bit eerie shapes, they create an open framework for free play.

Kerstin Brätsch's practice is designed to allow and incorporate influences from outside. While she has previously collaborated with artists or artisans, she now does so in a completely different way with children: She invites the children to reshape and further develop the space according to their own ideas and visions, without the influence of the artist in unpredictable ways.

Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri 12:00–18:00
Sat, Sun 11:00–18:00
Tue closed

20 years after the artist, author, and performer Vaginal Davis moved from Los Angeles to Berlin, the Gropius Bau presents the first comprehensive solo exhibition of her work in Germany. In her groundbreaking creation, punk and glamour, queer activism and Black counterculture, as well as resistance and desire, intertwine. Vaginal Davis: Fabelhaftes Produkt unites large-scale installations, paintings, video and film works, zines, texts, music, and performance, offering a comprehensive overview of Davis' multifaceted practice and her artistic collaborations. As part of the exhibition, the art collective CHEAP presents the installation Choose Mutation with photographs by Annette Frick. Fabelhaftes Produkt invites you into the universe of Vaginal Davis, populated by literary heroines, mythical figures, and real icons.
Initiated by the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, in collaboration with the Gropius Bau, Berlin, and MoMA PS1, New York
 
 
 
 

The rose is a fascinating flower. Not only is it an ornament for any garden and wonderfully fragrant – no, it has also influenced wide parts of life with its symbolic power, such as love, politics, art, mythology, religion, and much more. Furthermore, rose oil and rose water are used in the cosmetics and food industries, and 42 percent of all cut flowers sold are roses, with cultivation in non-European countries and trade being problematic.

As particularly beautiful flowering plants and an indispensable part of the ecosystem, roses can also raise awareness of the pressing issues of the present, such as biodiversity and conservation, and thus the climate problem. All of this is at the center of the exhibition on the cultural history of the rose, while of course the plant and its role in garden culture will not be overlooked.
Interesting objects from the fields of fashion, design, art, as well as everyday life, are meant to convey a sense of the allure that the rose has exerted and continues to exert – even with its dark side.

Scent stations promise an experience for the senses, and several interactive stations make the exhibition an experience for the whole family.

Sponsored by the MWK and the Lüneburg Landscape Association, the VR Foundation of the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken in Northern Germany, Volksbank Celle, branch of the Hannoversche Volksbank, and the Museumsverein Celle e.V.

Tue - Sun 11 AM - 5 PM

Explore the dark side of Osnabrück with us and learn all about executioners, gravediggers, and other creatures of the night. During this city tour, you will journey through the dark past of Osnabrück's city history and discover historical cases that truly took place in the city of Hase. Join the gravedigger on the oldest cemetery in the city and uncover the sites of some dark crimes. From crooks and scoundrels to murderers and serious criminals...

The tour lasts 2 hours and ends at the Vitischanze (Vitihof 15A, 49074 Osnabrück).

Our tours take place in any weather conditions. Sturdy footwear and carrying a flashlight are highly recommended, as the tour goes through uneven terrain and some dark passages!

We all access the internet daily through web browsers. The question of how browsers determine what we experience online has fascinated artists early on. Based on a research project by the KIT Institute for Art and Architectural History on browser art, the exhibition »Choose Your Filter!« provides insights into 30 years of browser development. Here, you can discover and try out browser visions through interactive installations. 

Wed to Fri from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Sat and Sun 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Written by Mark St. Germain - Translated by John Birke
Directed by Karsten Engelhardt

Ever Montgomery has to learn to dance for an award ceremony. It's actually not too difficult a task, if he didn't despise physical contact. Ever is autistic; in conversations, he usually takes everything literally, he has to painstakingly decipher the facial expressions of his fellow human beings, and he has organized his everyday life according to strict rules. This structured life is now being turned upside down, as he has chosen his neighbor Senga Quinn as his dance teacher – a recommendation from the janitor. However, Senga has her own problems: after an accident, it is questionable whether her broken leg will ever heal enough for her to work again as a dancer. The mood is quite tense when Ever asks his neighbor for lessons, especially since empathy is foreign to him in light of her bleak career prospects, and Senga initially misunderstands the absurdly high fee as an immoral offer. Over the course of a few weeks, the mismatched dance partners grow closer – perhaps even closer than is good for either of them.

Mark St. Germain has written a touching and funny play about an unequal pair that can only awkwardly keep the same beat, but learns much more important things about each other and themselves during their dance lessons.

Doors open 30 minutes before performance begins.

With the exhibition of Peter Buggenhout, the Waldfrieden Sculpture Park in Wuppertal is launching its new exhibition season on March 8, 2025: The Belgian sculptor presents a total of seven spatially expansive objects from different groups of works in two of the exhibition halls and in the outdoor area of the park. Buggenhout is internationally known for his sculptures, which he forms from discarded materials and which take on shape in space as sprawling bodily forms. The artist refers to his sculptures as "abject things" – as objects that evade familiar cognitive connections and demand more than just a perspective of observation.

The sculptures of Peter Buggenhout, born in 1963 in Dendermonde, Belgium, and living and working in Ghent, consist of things that have been deprived of the use of their original functionality: Waste and artifacts equally form the materials that the artist uses as his working material and from which he composes his objects. Used plastic films, tarpaulins, textile fabrics, newspapers, scrap metal, wood fragments, or organic substances like cow stomachs, horse hair, and dust become components of his works. Buggenhout creates massive forms from these abandoned remnants, which embody the emergence and decay in the immediate presence of the material and its rugged shapes.

Peter Buggenhout, who turned away from painting around 1990 to transition to sculptural designs, has been working for several years in groups of works with different material focuses and overarching themes. The pre-existing, the cyclical, and the temporality of things are fundamental themes that he formulates as diverse sculptural inventories in his groups of works.

His sculptures possess no single view direction; the multi-facetedness of his works is as essential as the significance of the equivalence and simultaneity of their elements. The discarded is always an important part of the foundation of his creation.

Peter Buggenhout about his work:
“The materials I use all have one thing in common: I did not choose them because I liked their shape or appearance. All objects that I find have in common that they do not really refer to a meaning in terms of their formal identity. For example, instead of an old chair, I might use a piece from the chair in such a way that it’s not noticeable what kind of object it was before. This is the quality of waste, so to speak. Dust also possesses this quality. All my working materials are 'abject,' that is, discarded or disgusting… taken from their original state, have lost their form and meaning.”

11 AM - 6 PM, open on all holidays

The representation of the seasons is a centuries-old image for continuity and change. The changes in nature and weather, as well as in customs in the recurring yearly cycle, have always been interpreted as symbols for the fate of humanity and its time. Meanwhile, the seasons themselves are undergoing a change. With climatic changes, many of the traditional motifs are losing their coherence. However, as cultural-historical testimonies, they are becoming increasingly relevant.

Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM - 5 PM

Again and again, there have been countermodels to the prevailing canon and the crisis-ridden state of affairs in the history of art. Even today, artists call for breaking rigid thought patterns and expanding consciousness in order to create future visions that lie beyond the limitations of the present.
In the dream state, different realities interact with each other. Compared to what one allows in the conscious waking state, a freer form of perception and knowledge production takes place. There are time jumps, connections between different places – through the power of the subconscious and imagination, alternative realities and utopian future spaces emerge. Engaging with our dreams reveals our joys, fears, and hopes.
In the exhibition What is the dream that makes you dream? dreaming is examined as a path to deeper levels of consciousness. Amid multiple global crises and disturbing news that we receive every day, What is the dream that makes you dream? consciously focuses on optimistic counterpoints that suggest hope, resilience, and healing.

Objects AUS EINER ANDEREN WELT populate the first exhibition in 2025: Mysterious root beings by Anne Carnein, life-sized wolves by Irmela Maier, creatures from water and air by Angelika Brackrock, and bizarre fairy tale animals by Ingrid Butschek transport you to unknown spheres. Special guest is the Ukrainian artist Aljoscha. 

Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Ten Years of Meissen Porcelain Foundation
Exhibition at the Museum of the Meissen Porcelain Foundation, March 21, 2025 to February 22, 2026

Collecting fascinates. The Meissen Porcelain Foundation was founded at the end of 2014, and it began its work in 2015. It preserves the cultural heritage of Meissen porcelain. One of the foundation's tasks is the care of the historical collection of the Meissen porcelain manufactory.

Manufacturer founder Augustus the Strong referred to his passion for porcelain as “Maladie.” This literally means “disease,” but stands for his boundless longing for the precious white gold. This fascination is shared to this day by generations of collectors – and artists. Their porcelains showcase the invention, production, and collection of the white treasures. Porcelain craftsmen provide insight into their art. Happy collectors cherish their treasures. Artists play with the term porcelain and transform centuries-old tools into contemporary porcelain art.

The exhibition provides insight into the work of the foundation and showcases Meissen porcelains around the theme of collecting.

„Fly with me! Fly with me!“, calls Albi, the Alpine swift, who nests under the roof of the Linden Museum during the summer months. On your flight through the permanent exhibitions, you will encounter the transparent kangaroo, hear about an extinct bird, and can listen to the conversation with Seraa, the elephant. Whether in pictures or clothing, made from wood, ceramics, and stone – the animals and their representations tell of the coexistence of humans and animals. This relationship is not always straightforward. On one hand, many animals are admired, revered, and appreciated as companions or domestic and farm animals, while on the other hand, their habitats are also destroyed and they are hunted or displaced.

In the exhibition, illustrator Promina Shrestha brings the animals on the objects to life through her images. During the listening and stamping rally, you will discover together with Albi what the animals have to say, solve puzzles, and collect stamps.

€ 4/3 including permanent exhibitions
Children up to 18 years free

Tue to Sat 10 AM - 5 PM / Sun and holidays 10 AM - 6 PM / Closed on Dec 24, 25, and 31

Welcome to the realm of knowledge in the Baroque era: Stepping onto creaking floorboards into the quiet grandeur of our historical library hall, one is immediately enveloped by the collective knowledge of the Early Modern period. Like stage sets in a Baroque theater, the original bookshelves jut into the space, housing around 50,000 books from all fields of knowledge. Behind unassuming book spines lie remarkable treasures, such as the first German Bible printed in America.

At the end of the 17th century, the orphanage's library was established as one of the first public libraries in Germany. Primarily through donations, book exchanges, and their own publications, the library grew so rapidly that within a few years, it was comparable to significant German university libraries. In 1728, it received its own building, which is considered the oldest surviving secular library structure in Germany. Not only in recent times has the library been visited by guests and researchers from around the world: Albrecht von Haller, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe all admired its bibliophilic treasures. We present a selection of them for you in rotating cabinet exhibitions in the former reading room of the library.

10 am - 5 pm

With works by Bach and Mendelssohn

The Moscow-born pianist was educated at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the University of Music and Theatre Hanover, where she also completed her concert exam. She gained great attention with numerous prizes and awards at international competitions. Virtuosic and with full sound, she performs both dynamically nuanced and emotionally moving, even in the chamber music realm. Her international career has taken the in-demand soloist Olga Andryushchenko to the most significant music festivals in Europe; in addition, she has already collaborated worldwide with renowned conductors and orchestras. Olga Andryushchenko lives in Germany.

Doors open: 5:30 PM