28 August - 28 November 2021
1521 was a remarkable year: Magellan's round-the-world voyage, the conquest of Mexico by the Spanish led by Hernán Cortés, the Reichstag of Worms with the following banishment of Martin Luther, his stay at Wartburg Castle and the beginning of the translation of the New Testament, as well as the capture of Belgrade by the Ottomans.
In 1521, Jakob Fugger (1459-1525) made three donations to benefit himself, his family and the needy citizens of Augsburg: the burial place situated in the choir of the former Carmelite church of St. Anne, the preaching position in St. Moritz and the Fuggerei, a now world-famous social institution.
The Jubilee Exhibition of the Augsburg Art Collections and Museums focuses on the socio-historical constellations during the foundation year; the exhibition at the Diocesan Museum St. Afra broadens the view to the world-historical context in that memorable foundation year: The great trading families of the Fuggers and Welsers were global players with considerable influence on economic, political, religious and cultural processes.
This exhibition provides insights into various seafaring voyages and their trading goods, into the cultural exchange with the Aztecs and the Ottomans, and into Luther's ideas, that seemingly came to a temporary end when he was banished at the Reichstag in Worms.
The Diocesan Museum St. Afra presents a vibrant picture of one of the most interesting epochs in world history: Navigations instruments and spices, parrots and feather paintings, pamphlets and weapons are some of the artworks that bring these global entanglements to life.
A multi-touch table specially created for this exhibition offers visitors a hands-on experience of Magellan's perilous voyage: You have to load the ships and manage barriers to prevent the fleet from sinking.
supported by: Langner'sche Foundation
7 chapels
26 March - 11 July 2021
An exhibition on seven chapels? Which chapels are they anyway and are they so extraordinary that they should be honoured in a special exhibition of their own?
The seven chapels are an exciting contribution to contemporary architecture in the diocese of Augsburg. They were built between 2018 and 2020 along cycle paths near the Danube. Most of these chapels are therefore located in the district of Dillingen.
The Siegfried and Elfriede Denzel Foundation realised the Seven Chapels Project based on an idea and concept by Dr. Peter Fassl, local historian of the district of Swabia.
mariengeprägt
02 October 2020 - 10 January 2021
There are many different people who collect many different things: very unusual things, but also time-honoured things under a very specific theme.
The Diözesanmuseum St. Afra will now be able to present such a unique private collection from October: Here, coins depicting the Mother of God Mary have been collected comprehensively in terms of time and space.
The exhibition is enriched by numerous hands-on stations for the young and young at heart. There is exciting information on the subject of Mary's coins and money. Of course, visitors can also puzzle and play games.
Everyone was cordially invited to share their visit on social media under the hashtag #mariengepraegt.
Harry Meyer at #MuseumStAfra
12 March - 23 August 2020
"en face" means "seen from the front" or "opposite". In the context of this exhibition project, however, Harry Meyer's works of art are not only "facing" the ecclesiastical art in the Diözesanmuseum St. Afra from seventeen centuries; rather, the artist has fully engaged with sacred art. In his works, which are entirely composed of colour, Harry Meyer focuses in a special way on man and nature, the dualism of becoming and transience. He is concerned with capturing the elemental and the elements, which are reflected motivically in the depiction of specific phenomena of nature, such as mountains, rain, the seasons, the stars in the night sky or light. The naturalistic rendering is subordinate to this goal. There is a spiritual-religious level inherent in man and nature, which is visibly reflected in all of the artist's works and makes the juxtaposition of his colour-intensive artworks with historical sacred art so extremely appealing and fruitful.
The exhibition will feature some of the artist's existing works, which, in their interplay with selected works of art from the Diözesanmuseum, open up new perspectives on familiar Christian themes. In addition, a large number of new works have been created that are the result of Harry Meyer's intensive engagement with Christian themes.
Individual exhibition rooms, such as the glass hall with the Ottonian bronze portal, were transformed into walk-in installations that invite visitors to experience the juxtaposition and coexistence of contemporary and historical art face to face.
The illustrated exhibition catalogue can be purchased in the museum shop.
