Museum night in Chemnitz and the cultural region attracted around 7,000 guests to the facilities
On Saturday, 14 May 2022, after a two-year break, the time had finally come again: museums and exhibitions opened their doors at 25 locations in Chemnitz and Central Saxony from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. for Museum Night 2022. Around 7,000 visitors took advantage of the offerings in beautiful spring weather.
Under the motto "The Unseen", the museums in Chemnitz and the cultural region offered a wonderful opportunity to see the familiar anew and discover the unknown.
This year's Museum Night had a few special features: For the first time, not only institutions from the city but also from Central Saxony were involved. Collaboration with the cultural region is to be further intensified in the coming years.
This year, refugees and asylum seekers were able to visit the museum night free of charge.
The Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz opened the doors of five of its facilities on Saturday: Guests were able to explore the main building on Theaterplatz, the Gunzenhauser Museum, the Schloßbergmuseum Chemnitz, the Henry van de Velde Museum - Villa Esche and Rabenstein Castle. They provided rare insights behind the scenes and presented their entire portfolio and diversity.
In and in front of the TIETZ, there was a wide range of offers from the cultural department store's facilities such as the Museum of Natural History, the Neue Sächsische Galerie, the music school and the city library. The return of the Museum Night was celebrated in a relaxed atmosphere on the forecourt with various musical acts and a video projection.
At the smac - State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz, visitors were able to make crowns, press buttons and view the permanent and special exhibitions. Later in the evening, they could dance to the music of the band Meniak.
At the Chemnitz Tram Museum, everything revolved around the European Capital of Culture 2025 to match the new Garage Campus: guests were able to explore the intervention areas of the Capital of Culture in historic buses and the shuttle tram stopped right on the site. There was a fire show, breakdancing and plenty of cultural history at the museum.
The dice were rolled at the German Games Museum, where interested visitors could try out historical and contemporary games - fun for young and old. A special exhibition created especially for the Museum Night was dedicated to the hidden animal world around Klaffenbach moated castle.
For the first time, visitors to the Baumgarten-Wölfert memorial exhibition in Grüna were able to trace the almost forgotten history of these aviation pioneers. Technical equipment from the past and historical school subjects and teaching materials could be marvelled at in the Ebersdorfer Schulmuseum e. V., providing a nostalgic glimpse back into the school days of the past.
There was also plenty for participants to see in the cultural region of Central Saxony: One of the highlights was the adventure museum - ZeitWerkStadt in Frankenberg. There, interested visitors were able to experiment with the workshop trolley, try out printing techniques and learn about the creation of the adventure museum. Another premiere was the "Alte Pfarrhäuser" museum in Mittweida. There, the otherwise closed storage rooms of the historical collection were opened to the public for the first time. The third museum from the cultural region that was part of the Museum Night was the Braunsdorf Historical Show Weaving Mill. Previously unseen insights into the sample archive of textile history and the historical machinery were provided in a marvellous setting.