Deutsches Damast- und Frottiermuseum

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum's roots go back to 1905: on January 15, a museum named after the local pattern designer Karl Gotthelf Krumbholz opened in two rooms of a school building in Großschönau. The village had been a center of damask weaving since 1666, and terry weaving was added in 1856 – both trades are still practiced here today.

In 1937 Theodor Haebler gave the municipality the so-called Kupferhaus, the residential and commercial building of damask manufacturer Christian David Waentig, built from 1807 to 1809, on condition that a museum be set up in it. Renovation and the war years delayed the move; it was not until May 1947 that the Damast- und Heimatmuseum (Damask and Local History Museum) opened there.

After German reunification, a friends' association was founded in 1991. Looms were salvaged from closed textile factories, a demonstration workshop was added in 1995, and the museum has borne its current name since 1996. In 2016 the Schatzkammer der Damaste (Damask Treasury) was redesigned, followed in 2022 by the renewal of the first floor with films and hands-on stations.

The collection includes damasks from four centuries, around 6,000 pattern drawings and fabric samples, a damask hand loom with a draw mechanism, probably the last terry hand loom in Germany, and works by the Großschönau-born painter Johann Eleazar Zeißig, known as Schenau. The museum is run by the municipality of Großschönau.

Highlights

• Damask Treasury with fabrics from four centuries
• Damask hand loom with draw mechanism
• Probably the last terry hand loom in Germany
• Demonstration workshop with weaving on historic machines (Tue–Fri mornings)
• Room dedicated to the painter Johann Eleazar Zeißig “Schenau”
• Kupferhaus from 1807–1809 amid Umgebinde (half-timbered upper Lusatian) houses

Permanent exhibitions

• Schatzkammer der Damaste – Room redesigned in 2016 with damask fabrics from four centuries and interactive stations.
• Damast- und Frottierweberei – The first floor, renewed in 2022, uses short films, hands-on stations and working looms to explain how damask and terry cloth are made.
• Johann Eleazar Zeißig, genannt Schenau – A room dedicated to the Großschönau weaver's son who rose to head the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts as a painter.

Founded

1905

Operated by

Gemeinde Großschönau

Director

Evelyn Schweynoch

Admission & discounts

Prices valid since February 1, 2023; special and double discounts are excluded. Guided tours by advance booking (10–20 people) plus admission: during opening hours €50 (1 hour) or €80 (2 hours), outside opening hours €100 or €150. A combined ticket with the Motorrad- und Technikmuseum (motorcycle and technology museum) in the same village is not offered on the official websites.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Accessible parking spaces right next to the museum grounds.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

Museum shop with textiles woven in the demonstration workshop, postcards and literature. No dining of its own; within about 200 m, Konditorei & Café Liebe and the Gaststätte am Heimatmuseum.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit