Museum Hofmühle Dresden

About the museum

For more than 600 years, mills shaped the northern entrance to the Plauenscher Grund. In 1568 the Saxon ruling house bought the estate and operated a court mill there, which remained in the hands of the sovereign for more than 300 years; the electoral coat of arms from 1569 can still be seen on the courtyard façade.

In 1872 the entrepreneur Gottlieb Traugott Bienert acquired the mill and expanded it into a large industrial enterprise, which stayed in the Bienert family until 1945 and strongly influenced the development of Plauen. In 1972 the works were nationalized; in June 1991 milling operations ended.

The present museum building was erected in 1878 as a sales, residential and works building and remained almost unchanged until 1991. To save it, the Stiftung Hofmühle Dresden was founded in 2005; since 2006 it has been accessible as a museum. What survives above all is the mixing house with its transmission systems; the other milling installations were removed after closure.

The exhibitions cover the Bienert family, the dancer Gret Palucca, who joined the family by marriage, works by the architect Peter Albert, and historic crafts. Since 2025 there has also been a hand-weaving workshop.

Highlights

• Gründerzeit building from 1878 with preserved mill technology
• Exhibition on the Bienert entrepreneurial family
• Palucca exhibition
• "Handwerkskunst" series with hand weaving
• Run by volunteers

Permanent exhibitions

• Hofmühle – Bienertmühle & Plauen – The exhibition presents the work of the Bienert entrepreneurial family in Plauen and Dresden and adds further evidence of local history.
• PALUCCA – A permanent loan from the Palucca School commemorates the dancer Gret Palucca, who married into the Bienert family.
• Handwerkskunst mit Handweberei – The series, still being built up, shows crafts such as art embossing (Kunstprägerei), baking and chocolate molds, as well as a museum hand-weaving workshop.

Founded

2006

Operated by

Stiftung Hofmühle Dresden

Admission & discounts

The admission ticket is valid for all exhibitions. For groups of 12 or more, introductory talks are available for a surcharge of €1.50 per person.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• 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

The exhibition rooms are spread over four upper floors with stairs. A lift for people with walking difficulties can be used accompanied by museum staff; it is not a public elevator.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Address: Altplauen 21, 01187 Dresden-Plauen, on the Weißeritz river.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

At the ticket desk there is information material and selected publications.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Rooms are rented out on the grounds of the Hofmühle-Bienertmühle, including the social room "Bienerts Laden" in the museum building.

Plan your visit