Deutsches Glasmalerei-Museum

About the museum

Linnich, between Aachen and Mönchengladbach, is home to the oldest stained glass workshop in Germany. After the town bought the disused grain mill in the town center in 1983, Linnich residents proposed from 1986 on setting up a museum for glass painting there and founded a friends' association. The mill goes back to an electoral oil mill founded in 1608, later became the grain mill of the Weitz family, and was shut down in 1966.

After an architectural competition in 1989, the building was converted starting in 1994; the silo tower and facade were preserved, and a panoramic elevator and a glass wall were added. On November 29, 1997, the Deutsches Glasmalerei-Museum opened, run by a private-law foundation. In 2000 the conversion was honored as an exemplary building in North Rhine-Westphalia.

On seven levels with about 1,400 square meters of exhibition space, the museum presents the history and technique of glass painting. 19th-century copies show the development since the Middle Ages, but the focus is on stained glass of the 20th and 21st centuries, for example by Johan Thorn Prikker, Heinrich Campendonk, Georg Meistermann, Ludwig Schaffrath, or Johannes Schreiter. Important holdings come from the Oidtmann workshop and from the estates of Maria Katzgrau and Erich Feld. Special exhibitions that change several times a year and a workshop of its own for classes round out the offering.

Highlights

• Modern glass painting from Thorn Prikker to Schreiter
• Converted historic mill with silo tower and panoramic elevator
• Around 100 glass paintings from the Linnich Oidtmann workshop
• Copies of historic stained glass from the Fritz Geiges estate
• Museum workshop with glass painting classes
• Eight-meter-high "Stele of Tolerance" in front of the museum

Permanent exhibitions

• Dauerausstellung & Sammlung – Overview of the history of glass painting from the 16th century to today, with a focus on the modern era of the 20th and 21st centuries, spread across three levels.

Founded

1997

Operated by

Stiftung Deutsches Glasmalerei-Museum Linnich

Admission & discounts

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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

All levels reachable by elevator or stair lift; accessible restroom on level 5. Two loan wheelchairs and folding stools free of charge at the ticket desk. The stair lift to the cafeteria and level 2 is currently out of service; the elevator to all other levels is usable.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Kids’ birthday parties

Glass workshops for children (mostly ages 6 or 8 and up) and family courses such as "Kreativer Freitag für Klein & Groß" (Creative Friday for Young and Old) in the museum workshop, by registration. Children's birthday parties for ages 6 and up with a tour and a lantern or glass collage workshop.

Getting there & parking

The Heinrich-Weitz-Brücke is open to cars only in the outbound direction; the museum is reachable via Löffelstraße. Via the A 44, exits Titz, Aldenhoven, or Jülich-West.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Cafeteria in the building. Museum shop with catalogs, books, glass jewelry, and glass objects. E-bike charging station in front of the museum.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Rooms for birthdays, company parties, and weddings, with a tour and catering on request; costs and dates on request.

Plan your visit