Old Masters in Schloss Georgium: Cranach, Flemish and Dutch painting, the age of Goethe, and Bauhaus acquisitions in a World Heritage park.
August 29, 2026 – November 30, 2026
The show on the gallery's first director presents Bauhaus furniture from his official residence and works by Klee, Kandinsky, Feininger, and others that Grote acquired; it also opens the 2027 anniversary year.
The Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie was founded in 1927 as the state art museum of the Free State of Anhalt by combining several collections of the Anhalt princely house; its roots go back to a first public art collection from 1793. Its first director was Ludwig Grote, who as state curator of monuments had also promoted the Bauhaus's move to Dessau and who acquired works by the Bauhaus masters for the museum early on – many of them were lost again in the Nazi "Degenerate Art" campaign.
Since 1958/59 the gallery has been housed in Schloss Georgium. Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff designed the Neoclassical country house from 1780 for Prince Johann Georg of Anhalt-Dessau; two side wings were added in 1893. Since 2000 the palace and landscape park have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz (Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz).
The collection comprises around 1,800 paintings and some 18,000 drawings and prints from the late Middle Ages to the present, with a focus on the period between 1500 and 1850. Highlights include works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, among them the Dessau Princes' Altarpiece, Flemish and Dutch painting, 18th-century Frankfurt painters, and artists of the age of Goethe. Around 250 paintings are displayed in more than 20 rooms on the two upper floors; special exhibitions are also held in the Orangerie and the Fremdenhaus. In 2027 the museum celebrates its 100th anniversary.
| Adults | €8.50 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5.50Children and young people aged 8 to 18, apprentices, volunteer service participants, university students up to age 30, holders of the Dessau-Roßlau Sozialpass (social welfare pass), people with severe disabilities |
| Children & teens | €5.50free up to age 7 · Children up to their 7th birthday free; ages 8–18 reduced. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €5.50 |
| Students & apprentices | €5.50University students up to age 30; art history students up to age 30 free. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €6 per personFrom 10 people; school classes and after-school groups €3 per person. |
| Families | €162 adults and at least 1 child aged 8 to 18. |
| Evening ticket (1 hour before closing) | €4 |
| Annual pass (non-transferable) | €30 |
| Public guided tour | €5.50Plus admission; minimum 5 participants. |
Free admission: Free admission for everyone every Wednesday.
Free admission also with the WelterbeCard, for members of the friends' association, the Museumsverband Sachsen-Anhalt, the Deutscher Museumsbund, ICOM, and the Verband für Kunstgeschichte, and for adults accompanying school, after-school, and daycare groups; with the Ehrenamtskarte (volunteer card), free once a year. Group tours (approx. 45 min., max. 15 people) €40, for school classes €25, plus admission in each case.
All three exhibition levels in Schloss Georgium can be reached by elevator from the entrance; for step-free access, use the intercom to the left of the museum entrance.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 7 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | €16 · 2 adults and at least 1 child aged 8 to 18. |
Monthly on Sundays, "Kunst im Park" for children aged 4 and up with an accompanying adult (looking at art and creating your own in the Blumengartenhaus); drawing workshop "Ich zeichne mir ein Tier" for ages 7 and up with the Dessau Zoo; summer holiday programs for after-school care groups.
Dessau Hauptbahnhof · 5-min walk
Dessau Hauptbahnhof (main station; approx. 5-minute walk from the west exit via Seminarplatz and Kleiststraße); bus stop "Puschkinallee/Tierpark" at the edge of the park.
Parking available
Parking on Heinz-Röttger-Straße, at Seminarplatz and at the Dessau Zoo.
Bicycle racks at the palace and the orangery.
Get directionsThere is a restaurant in the park, in the former stable building.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 45 min |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Audio guide to selected major works in the free museum app. Please book group tours 14 days in advance if possible. Monthly creative workshop for adults ("Kunst am Nachmittag"). |
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