Franciscan Monastery

The Franciscan monastery in Meißen was founded around 1258. The monastery church of St. Peter and Paul was built around 1350-1400. After a fire, the church was vaulted again in 1447-1457. In the course of the Reformation , the convent was dissolved in 1539. The choir was canceled in 1823 after it fell into disrepair. A beamed ceiling was installed in the nave, which was lowered around 1900 in connection with its use as a museum for the Meißner Altertumsverein. A neo-Gothic staircase was set up as access . In 1929, a pedestrian passage was created in the west using the earlier portals. The church was later fitted with steel fixtures and set up for use Meißen City Museum.

Since the conversion into a museum exhibition hall, precious exhibits from the last 1,000 years of the city’s history have been presented, for example, the largest and oldest wine press of Saxony or the last existing Elbe River fishing boat. Different special exhibitions have focused on interesting details of the Meißen history. For example, an additional exhibition shows the development of the city to a German stronghold of porcelain production. Another example is the construction of the Cathedral’s towers 100 years ago.

Address

Heinrichsplatz 3, Meißen, Germany

Details

Founded: c. 1258
Category: Religious sites in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)