Lord Findlater and the gardens of his time
In 1811, Lord Findlater died at his vineyard in Loschwitz, leaving his secretary, Fischer, a vast fortune. In the ensuing inheritance dispute with the Lord’s Scottish relatives, Fischer was represented before the Court of Session in Edinburgh by none other than the Dresden lawyer Christian Gottlieb Eisenstuck, who at the same time played a decisive role in the Kügelgen murder trial. Findlater’s life and work are presented.
- With Dr Martin Päckert and Frank Klyne (lecture)
- Admission: €10 / concessions €8
- Please book in good time online or by telephone via the visitor service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon–Fri).
Klaus Günzel
Life and work of the Zittau librarian, writer and connoisseur of Romanticism
Klaus Günzel is one of the most renowned literary researchers in the GDR. He was a librarian at the Christian Weise Library in Zittau from 1957 and published numerous works, articles on classical German literature and above all on German Romanticism, which later became the focus of his work. From 1984 he lived as a freelance writer in the GDR and published several bibliographies, including on E. T. A. Hoffmann, Heinrich von Kleist and Ludwig Tieck. Uwe Kahl presents the writer's life and work.
- With Uwe Kahl (lecture)
- Admission: €10 / reduced €8
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (MO - FR).
Open Monuments Day
Free tour of the historic premises
12:00 to 17:00
In the very place where the painter Gerhard von Kügelgen, his family, friends and fellow artists once gathered, visitors can now take a journey through Dresden during the Romantic era.
The Kügelgenhaus forms part of the ensemble of culturally and historically significant town houses in Dresden’s Baroque quarter, which have survived from the time of Augustus the Strong. It was built between 1697 and 1699 as a three-storey building, later raised by one storey and fitted with a turret. Beneath the eaves is the inscription ‘An Gottes Segen ist alles gelegen’ (‘Everything depends on God’s blessing’), which is why the house has also been known simply as ‘Gottessegen’ since around 1730.
The Kügelgenhaus was reconstructed during the redevelopment of the Neustädter Markt and Hauptstraße area. During the building work, richly painted wooden ceilings dating from the late 17th century were discovered in the former Kügelgen residence beneath stucco ceilings that had been fitted at a later date.
Opening: The Kaskels. Art, culture and commerce
Opening of the special exhibition
To mark the Year of Jewish Culture, the Kügelgenhaus - Museum of Dresden Romanticism is showing an exhibition about the von Kaskel family, who had a major influence on Dresden's artistic and cultural life, particularly in the 19th century.
- With Brita Wiederanders (fortepiano)
- In co-operation with the Sächsischer Musikverein e. V.
The von Kaskel family
The year of Jewish culture
The fascinating biographies of the Kaskel family members are presented from the 18th to the 20th century.
- With Dr Matthias Donath (lecture)
- Admission: €10 / reduced €8
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
- In co-operation with the Sächsischer Musikverein e. V.
Compositions of the von Kaskel family
The year of Jewish culture
Several members of the von Kaskel family worked as composers, including Sophie Countess von Baudissin, née Kaskel (1817-1894), Carl Freiherr von Kaskel (1797-1874) and his grandson of the same name Carl von Kaskel (1866-1943). Four operas by the latter were performed at the Saxon State Theatre. Their compositions have been completely forgotten and are being heard again for the first time in more than a hundred years.
- Frank Blümel (tenor) and Marc Kirsten (fortepiano)
- Admission: 15 € / reduced 13 €
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
- In co-operation with the Sächsischer Musikverein e. V.
Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker
Life and work in garden theory
Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker (1753-1813) was one of the most important figures of the German late Enlightenment and one of the most active garden publicists around 1800. He played a key role in advancing the debate on the further development of landscape gardening in Germany. The lecture sheds light on Becker's personality, his garden theory works and approaches, which have largely been forgotten today. It also sheds light on his Dresden network, as he was a member of the "Körner Circle", among others.
- With Dr Anja Gottschalk (lecture)
- Admission: €10 / reduced €8
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (MO - FR).
- In co-operation with the Dresdner Goethe-Gesellschaft e. V.
Jewish composers in Dresden
The year of Jewish culture
Jewish musicians and composers worked in Dresden for centuries. The Ensemble Mediterrain presents some of their works together with Dr Agatha Schindler as moderator.
- With the Ensemble Mediterrain and Dr Agatha Schindler (moderator)
- Admission: 15 € / reduced 13 €
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
- In co-operation with the Sächsischer Musikverein e. V.
Singers from the von Schuch family of artists in Dresden
The name Schuch is not only known to the music world through the Dresden conductor and General Music Director of the Court Opera, Ernst Edler von Schuch. His wife Clementine von Schuch-Proska, his daughters Käthe and Liesel and his granddaughter, also called Clementine, also left their mark on music history as celebrated singers.
In his lecture, Bernhard Hansky, himself a singer at the Semperoper Dresden and elsewhere, sheds light on the lives of these fascinating artists, whose work spans more than a century of music history.
- With Bernhard Hansky (lecture)
- Admission: 10 € / reduced 8 €
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (MO - FR).
On the Trail of Fairy Tales and Shadow Puppets
Holiday workshop
During a visit to the home of the Kügelgen family of painters, as you explore imaginative fairy tales, you can design your own favourite fairy-tale character and bring it to life in the shadow theatre!
- Ages: 7 to 12 years
- Duration: 1.5 hours
- Cost: €4.50 per child
- Book online or via the visitor services department of the City of Dresden Museums on +49 351 488 7272 (Mon–Fri)
Johann Gottlieb Naumann
The Dresden Amadeus?!
The life of the Saxon court composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann (1741-1801) led from Dresden via Italy, Sweden and Denmark back to the Dresden court, where he was engaged for the rest of his life. His fascinating biography and some of his marvellous compositions will be presented and illuminated.
- With Dr Romy Donath (lecture)
- Admission: €10 / reduced €8
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
"The immortal author". An evening on the life and work of the most popular poet of the Enlightenment
Christian Fürchtegott Gellert
"It is not difficult to become famous, one must only write a lot for small minds; but to remain great in the eyes of posterity, it takes a little more than writing, shallow in spirit, in a strict didactic manner" - Gellert wrote in his poem "The Immortal Author". Gellert's works are largely forgotten today. Unjustly so, according to the Leipzig Schiller Society, which is endeavouring to bring Gellert back to mind with staged readings and short plays.
- With members of the Leipziger Schillerverein e. V. (lecture)
- Admission: 10 € / reduced 8 €
- Please book in good time online or by calling the Visitor Service of the Museums of the City of Dresden on 0351 488 7272 (Mon - Fri).
- In co-operation with the Leipziger Schillerverein e. V.