Future plan for Altenburg: departure to Sleeping Beauty Castle!

Future plan for Altenburg: departure to Sleeping Beauty Castle!

On June 4, 2025, the new master plan “Princes in the Sleeping Beauty Castle” for the Altenburg museums and the Schlossberg was presented. Uwe Melzer, André Neumann and Dr. Roland Krischke presented the comprehensive document, which runs to over 100 pages and represents a vision for the future of the cultural institutions in Altenburg. [MDR] reports that this plan addresses the challenges and the desired future of the Altenburg museums, which are characterized by a tight financial constraint and the questionable condition of many buildings.

A central element of the plan is merging the five museum teams into a single team. This is intended to improve collaboration between museums and increase efficiency. A new shared depot is also planned, as the current storage of the collections, some in the castle, is considered precarious. In addition, there are plans to move the Playing Card Museum to the Prinzenpalais, which will also include a revision of the collection.

Focus on education and inclusion

The master plan is a continuation of the 2017 plan and aims to develop a museum-like educational landscape. Particular emphasis is placed on the inspiration of Bernhard August von Lindenau, under whose ideals the planned Lindenau campus is to be built. This campus is intended to provide educational opportunities for all age groups and create digital access to the collections. Accessibility, inclusion and sustainability are also important topics addressed in the plan.

The founding of the Altenburg Museums Municipal Working Group in 2020 helped to create synergies and enable joint sponsorship. The new plan not only serves as a basis for discussion on the further development of the Schlossberg, but also to obtain funding to finance the projects. [ABG] emphasizes that the Altenburg museums have a particularly large number of socio-political challenges to overcome due to their rich cultural heritage and important playing card tradition.

Outlook for the future

An estimated renovation backlog of 500 million euros at the castle illustrates the scale of the challenges. Despite these hurdles, some significant highlights are planned for Altenburg in the coming years. This includes the reopening of the theater in 2027 and the creation of the new games world by the end of 2027/2028. The presentation of the collections in the Lindenau Museum is planned for 2028/2029 and the State Garden Show will take place in 2030. [MDR] shows that the planned measures represent an important step towards overcoming economic and demographic challenges and have the aim of establishing Altenburg as an adventure and educational location.