Medieval
collection
The "Middle Ages" collection area of the Museum für Franken comprises several thousand objects – from the early Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
The current permanent exhibition includes paintings and prints, sculptures, furniture, weapons and armor, Christian and Jewish artefacts, architectural sculptures, objects from the arts and crafts and no less impressive everyday objects. Further pieces are slumbering in the museum's depots, waiting to be impressively presented in special exhibitions and in the museum's new concept.
The artists and masters include many internationally renowned names: Peter Dell the Elder, Lucas Cranach, Tilman Riemenschneider, Christoph Schißler as well as countless masters located in Bamberg, Nuremberg and Würzburg, who are unknown by name.
"Fragments of high-quality sculpture, bronze utensils, textiles and a few testimonies to everyday life make the collection of early medieval art a remarkable section of the museum."
High status and everyday life
"The most outstanding object in the Medieval Collection is certainly the Marienberg Fortress itself."
Teresa Novy, Head of Collection
Early highlights of the collection are the Romanesque architectural sculptures, such as the lavishly decorated capitals of the church of Haug Abbey in Würzburg from the 12th century, a place which no longer exists.
Many of the medieval arts and crafts objects are captivating due to their special symbolism. The museum's collection includes an extraordinary silver censer from the second half of the 15th century by a Nuremberg master. With its many windows and arches, its upper part is reminiscent of buildings and is intended to symbolize the Heavenly Jerusalem.
Silent witnesses to the militant Middle Ages are the Gothic knights' gravestones, which illustrate the high standard of local medieval sculpture. However, the everyday life of the people of Franconia is also represented in the "Middle Ages" collection of the Museum für Franken: this is clearly shown by the rare toy finds from the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Riemenschneider collection is a collection of international standing. The approximately 100 pieces made of wood and stone impressively mark the change from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.
