One of the world's largest puppet theater collections, showing marionettes, hand puppets and historic stages from three centuries at the Kraftwerk Mitte.
September 5, 2026 – December 17, 2026
Mixed-reality project centered on a historic marionette stage of the Ritscher family: visitors immerse themselves in a 1950s inn hall and can operate virtual marionettes themselves. Free admission.
October 1, 2026 – January 3, 2027
For the 200th birthday of Carlo Collodi, the collection shows how puppet theaters of different generations have brought the story of the wooden figure to the stage. Free admission.
The core of the collection was assembled by Leipzig teacher Otto Link (1888–1959), who gathered figures, stages and documents of puppetry and edited the first German puppetry magazine. After it was nationalized, the collection came to Dresden in 1952, where Link built up the newly founded Puppentheatersammlung as its first director.
From 1960 to 2003 it was housed in the Hohenhaus in Radebeul as part of the Museum für Sächsische Volkskunst (Museum of Saxon Folk Art), and afterward temporarily in the Garnisonkirche. From 2005, selected holdings were shown in exhibitions at the Jägerhof, but for a long time the collection lacked a home of its own.
On September 7, 2024, the collection opened as the "Haus der Charaktere" (House of Characters) in a converted building of the former Kraftwerk Mitte power station, now a cultural venue with theaters. With more than 50,000 objects from the 18th to the 21st century – marionettes, hand puppets, complete stages, sets, designs, playbills and an extensive archive – it ranks among the most important collections of its kind. Particularly rare are the mechanical world theaters (theatrum mundi) of the 19th century.
The Puppentheatersammlung belongs to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) and is managed jointly with the Museum für Sächsische Volkskunst.
| Adults | €7 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5According to the SKD discount rules, including university students and school students aged 20 and over, as well as people with disabilities (disability rating of 50 or more) |
| Children & teens | €2Children free until they start school; school students under 20 pay €2. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount on single tickets; reduced SKD annual pass (€70) with a pension ID. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €5companion free · Reduced price with a disability rating (GdB) of 50 or more; companion (“B” marker) free. |
| Students & apprentices | €5Reduced; school students under 20 €2. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €6 per personGroup rate for 10 or more people. |
| Families | –No family ticket; free admission with the Familienpass Sachsen (Saxony family pass). |
| SKD annual pass (all SKD museums incl. special exhibitions) | €95Seniors with a pension ID €70, university students €25, other concessions €45. |
Ticket valid for the core exhibition; the cabinet exhibitions "Bühne ohne Grenzen" and "Pinocchios Abenteuer auf der Puppenbühne" are free. Free admission on your birthday. Tickets online or at the ticket desk.
Step-free main entrance with automatic door (200 cm); all floors reachable by elevator (floor announcements, tactile buttons). Restrooms in the ticket area with grab bars and emergency call. Three accessible parking spaces on Wettiner Platz, more in the Kraftwerk Mitte parking lot (Könneritzstraße). Lockers with tactile orientation aids.
Only partly suitable for kids
According to the museum, the basic exhibition is aimed at visitors from elementary school age; for school classes there are programs for grade 1 and grade 3 respectively.
Bus and streetcar to Schweriner Straße or Bahnhof Mitte; S-Bahn to Bahnhof Mitte; regional trains to Dresden-Neustadt station.
Parking available
Kraftwerk Mitte parking lot on Könneritzstraße (behind the railroad tracks), with accessible parking spaces there as well; three more accessible parking spaces on Wettiner Platz between the Kraftwerk Mitte entrance and Schweriner Straße.
Lockers in the basement (reachable by elevator).
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Free multimedia guide on your own smartphone. Educational programs for after-school care groups and school classes; booking through the SKD visitor service (+49 351 49142000). |
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