Angelika Kauffmann Museum Schwarzenberg

About the museum

Schwarzenberg in the Bregenzerwald was the home of Johann Joseph Kauffmann, father of the painter Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1807). Born in Chur, the artist helped her father decorate the village parish church as a young woman, became a founding member of the Royal Academy in London, and later ran a sought-after studio in Rome. She remained attached to the village throughout her life; in 1802 she donated a high altar painting to the church.

The museum has two roots. Schwarzenberg has had a local history museum since 1913; after several moves it found a home in 1928 in the so-called Kleberhaus, a Bregenzerwald farmhouse more than 450 years old at its core. For the 200th anniversary of the painter’s death, a modern exhibition space was built into the former farm wing in 2007, invisible from the outside; since then the house has been called the Angelika Kauffmann Museum.

In the new museum space, the municipal museum shows a changing thematic exhibition every summer with original works by Kauffmann, including loans from other museums. In the historic part, the porch, kitchen, parlour, parents’ bedroom and a costume room are furnished as they were in the 19th century. On the upper floor, the exhibition on the Swabian Children (Schwabenkinder) tells of the lives of children in a farming community in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Highlights

• Annual summer exhibition with original works by Angelika Kauffmann
• Authentically furnished farmhouse parlour, kitchen and bedroom of the 19th century
• Exhibition “Schwabenkinder – dahoam und foat” (Swabian Children – At Home and Away)
• Bregenzerwald house over 450 years old with a hidden modern exhibition space
• Kauffmann works in the nearby Schwarzenberg parish church

Permanent exhibitions

• Heimatmuseum – bäuerliche Wohnkultur – The porch, kitchen, parlour, parents’ bedroom and costume room show how a Bregenzerwald farming family lived in the 19th century.
• Schwabenkinder – dahoam und foat – The exhibition on the upper floor describes how children lived in a farming community in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Founded

2007

Operated by

Gemeinde Schwarzenberg

Director

Marina Stiehle

Admission & discounts

2026 prices; the ticket is valid for both parts of the exhibition. Free admission for members of the association “Freunde Angelika Kauffmann Museum Schwarzenberg” and of the Vorarlberger Landesmuseumsverein, as well as with the V-Card, a Museumsbund or ICOM card and the Kulturpass. With the Gäste-Card or Saison-Card Bregenzerwald, €1 off the regular admission.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Treasure hunt for children in the old rooms of the local history museum. On the family Sundays of “Reiseziel Museum” in summer there is a dedicated programme for families. A colouring and puzzle book about Angelika Kauffmann for children is available in the museum.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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