Ensemble Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
A new museum for Chemnitz
Saxony has a new art museum, and the Chemnitz Art Collections have gained a sixth building. After many years of initiatives and preliminary planning, the city of Chemnitz decided in February 2023 to renovate Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's former childhood home and open it to the public. Together with the neighbouring Wohnmühle, where Karl Schmidt-Rottluff spent his childhood, the house has become another hotspot of Expressionism in Chemnitz. The two buildings are located at Limbacher Straße 380/382 in Rottluff, Chemnitz. As a "place of new beginnings", the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Haus is one of the intervention areas of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025.
The restoration and reconstruction of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Landhaus in line with its listed status was made possible to a large extent by the City of Chemnitz, the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung together with the Sparkasse Chemnitz and the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Sachsen.
The Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House was officially opened on 6 April 2025.
Chemnitz art collections show an authentic place of life
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976), co-founder of the Brücke group of artists, is one of the most important German artists of the 20th century and is considered a pioneer of German Expressionism. His extensive oeuvre was created over more than seven decades.
At the opening, the new Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House will primarily show original works of art, facsimiles, documents and biographical focal points relating to Chemnitz. Many of the exhibits come from private collections, such as that of Dr Victor and Hedda Peters, as well as from a permanent loan from the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung together with the Sparkasse Chemnitz.
The exhibition is divided into three thematic blocks: the work and biography of the artist, the history of Expressionism in Chemnitz and the history of the city during Schmidt-Rottluff's lifetime. Individual rooms are dedicated to sub-themes, including life in Rottluff, his school days and artistic beginnings, the Brücke period, woodwork and jewellery and life in Chemnitz during the war years. Numerous objects, drawings and documents are on display for the first time.
The house itself sets its own accents with colourfully designed corridors, old staircases, reconstructed doors, historic windows and details on the exterior. The barrier-free outdoor area connects the two buildings of the ensemble and invites visitors to linger and organise small events.
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
The Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz holds a total of around 500 works by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, both as its own collection and in the form of permanent loans. The exhibition includes 47 paintings and two sculptures by the artist.
Schmidt-Rottluff was a co-founder of the Brücke group of artists (1905-1913) and is one of the most important German artists of the 20th century. His pictorial work is stylistically categorised as German Expressionism, of which he was one of the pioneers. His extensive oeuvre was created over the course of more than seven decades. Today, the works of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff form the centrepiece of the Chemnitz Art Collections. The spectrum of the painting collection represents all of the artist's creative periods: from early oil sketches from his grammar school years to exemplary paintings from the Brücke years and the large landscapes of the 1920s and 1930s to the mature late painterly work up to 1963. The graphic collection, which is almost unique in its scope, comprises 134 watercolours and drawings, 234 prints - including 129 woodcuts, 53 lithographs and 39 etchings - and 21 printing blocks.
Schmidt-Rottluff mill under the direction of a development association
The mill and the mill property, where Karl Schmidt-Rottluff grew up as a child, are also part of the Schmidt-Rottluff ensemble. His father earned money for the family as a miller.
The mill has already been largely renovated and is the responsibility of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Chemnitz e.V. association.
Chronology of the refurbishment
April 2025: Grand opening
On Sunday, 6 April 2025, the Karl Schmidt Rottluff House opened its doors for the first time. Hundreds of Chemnitz residents took the opportunity to take a first look at the completely renovated family home of the important expressionist, who was born in 1884 in what is now the Rottluff district of Chemnitz. The sixth house of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz was officially opened with a festive ceremony in the presence of Minister President Michael Kretschmer and Lord Mayor Sven Schulze in the Siegmar Club Cinema.
Impressions from the opening day
December 2024: Finalisation of the restoration
To mark Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's 140th birthday, the City of Chemnitz, the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung together with Sparkasse Chemnitz, the "Foundation in Honour of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff" and the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz invited guests to a press event at the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Haus on 2 December 2024. The event celebrated not only the milestone birthday of the city's famous son, but also the finalisation of the refurbishment phase of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Haus.
The Karl Schmidt-Rottluff ensemble is one of the hotspots of Expressionism in Chemnitz and beyond. On display are numerous originals, oil sketches, prints, craft objects, artefacts from the artist's personal possessions and historical documents. Three themes will be explored: the work and biography of the artist, Expressionism in Chemnitz and the history of the town during the war. At the same time, numerous works by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and the Brücke members will also be on display in a permanent exhibition at the art collections on Theaterplatz in 2025.
Mayor Dagmar Ruscheinsky: "The Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House is an important authentic site of Chemnitz's cultural and art history. Before the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz move into the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Haus, the completion of the refurbishment will provide the first opportunity to view the premises of the house in a renovated state of freshness. The final construction work will be completed in the coming days. The house will open in spring 2025. The Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Ensemble harbours enormous cultural and tourist potential."
In addition to the city's own funds, subsidies from the State Monument Protection Programme and the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung together with Sparkasse Chemnitz were used to restore the building in line with its listed status.
August 2024: Sparkassenstiftung supports reconstruction
Together with Sparkasse Chemnitz, the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung is supporting the reconstruction of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House in Chemnitz. Ludger Weskamp, Chairman of the Board of the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung, and Dr Michael Kreuzkamp, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Chemnitz, presented the funding commitment to Sonja Oehlschläger, Chairwoman of the Board of the Foundation in Honour of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Lord Mayor Sven Schulze at the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House on 26 August 2024. This will allow the restoration work to continue in order to fully refurbish the authentic place where the artist lived as a museum.
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A new artists' centre for Chemnitz
Construction work is in full swing at the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Haus. At the end of the year, it is scheduled to be handed over to the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, which is responsible for the concept and furnishings.
The museum is intended to provide an in-depth insight into the work of the artist Karl Schmidt-Rottluf. Handicrafts, jewellery, tools and objects from his personal possessions will be exhibited.
August 2023: Minister hands over funding decision
On 14 August 2023, Thomas Schmidt, Saxon State Minister for Regional Development, handed over a funding decision in the amount of 350,000 euros to Mayor of Culture Dagmar Ruscheinsky and Mayor of Construction Michael Stötzer at the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House, Limbacher Straße 382. This means that the refurbishment of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House can now begin.
The project is one of the intervention areas of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. Due to its cultural-historical significance, the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House and the outdoor facilities will be renovated in line with the requirements for listed buildings. In February, the city council passed the construction resolution for the project. The project will be realised by Kommunalbau Chemnitz GmbH in 2023 and 2024 and has a volume of around 2.2 million euros. So far, the building has been inspected and the building fixtures and central oil heating system have been dismantled. The shell and timber work is now due to begin.
The Free State of Saxony will support the city of Chemnitz with funding totalling around 350,000 euros, thereby contributing to the success of the project.