Museum
History
Alfons Hannes (1931-2010), glass engraver, trade union secretary and mayor of Frauenau from 1966 to 1996, knew and loved the glass workers' milieu. With the artist Erwin Eisch and the master glassmaker Helmut Schneck, he had two like-minded people at his side. In their opinion, the traditional glass industry should be given a museum centre.
This is how a collapsed sawmill - combined with a new building - became the Frauenau Glass Museum, which opened in 1975. Special exhibitions, the "Bayerwald Glass Awards" and the International Frauenau Glass Symposia made the museum a centre of the national and international glass world.
After around a quarter of a century of existence, it was decided to completely rebuild the museum in order to meet the requirements of a modern exhibition centre. Based on the concept of Prof Dr Katharina Eisch-Angus and Dr Jörg Haller, a pioneering museum was built and opened in 2005. Particular emphasis was placed on the museum architecture. Even from the outside, the round building bears witness to an innovative museum building. The exhibition area was designed in close collaboration with artists, which makes the museum itself a total work of art.
In 2014, the Frauenau Glass Museum was transferred to the care of the Free State of Bavaria and has since been known as the "State Museum of the History of Glass Culture".
