Ecclesiastical art and cultural history in the Diocesan Museum

The Diocesan Museum on Freising Cathedral Hill aims to inspire its visitors with exhibitions on the history of art and culture at the intersection of faith, art and society.

The Diocesan Museum’s collection comprises around 50,000 objects from all areas of ecclesiastical art and culture. It ranks amongst the world’s largest museums of religious history. The collection focuses on late medieval ecclesiastical art from Old Bavaria, Swabia and the Alpine region, as well as works of art-historical significance from the South German Baroque and Rococo periods, alongside artefacts relating to liturgy, popular piety, pilgrimage and monastic culture. Another section of the collection comprises around 2,900 objects of early Christian and Byzantine art and culture, which are used to illustrate the origins of Christian art and liturgy in a dedicated exhibition area.

The permanent collection presents Christian art spanning two millennia, from early Christian works right through to contemporary pieces of the 21st century. Alongside artists of the 15th-century Bavarian Late Gothic period, such as Erasmus Grasser, Jan Polack and Gabriel Angler, the great Lucas Cranach and many masters of the Baroque and Rococo periods, such as Ignaz Günther, Johann Baptist Straub and the Asam brothers, are also represented.

Contemporary Art

Contemporary artists also have a permanent place in the Diocesan Museum, ensuring an open-minded approach in all directions.

The American installation artist James Turrell has created a light space in the former house chapel: ‘A CHAPEL FOR LUKE and his scribe Lucius the Cyrene’, a multi-room light installation in the form of a Ganzfeld. In this work, all architectural elements – light, colour and space – merge into a single entity, creating the phenomenon of a complete loss of depth perception. The installation is open daily from 10.00 to 11.30 and from 14.30 to 16.00 – please allow for longer waiting times if necessary due to high visitor numbers. Please note: Due to an event, the light installation will not be accessible on 13 September 2026 (in the afternoon).
#TURRELLANDYOU  - Book the light room for 30 minutes for 50euros, either on your own or as a group. For enquiries and bookings, please contact kunstvermittlung@dimu-freising.de .

The Belgian sculptor Berlinde de Bruyckere created the larger-than-life bronze sculpture ARCANGELO for the DIMU’s atrium. The photographer Michael Wesely, known for his long-exposure photographs, depicts the museum’s transformation in his two works, in which he merged the museum team into a single face shortly after the closure and shortly before the reopening.

The American artist Kiki Smith has designed a small sacred space in the museum’s outdoor area. The chapel, which she designed in collaboration with Brückner & Brückner on the west terrace of the museum, is entitled ‘Mary’s Mantle’ (more information and photos further down the page).

Anselm Kiefer, another leading figure in contemporary art, is represented on the Domberg with his female figures ‘Sappho’ (on the lawn opposite the Kanzlerbogen, right next to the Benedikt lime tree) and ‘Ave Maria Turris Eburnea’ (at the end of Südweg, on the left-hand side as you step out of the Dombergbahn). The third sculpture, “Maria Mater Dolorosa”, is expected to be unveiled in mid-September 2026.

Headless, armless: and yet they stand there full of strength, the two female figures that can now be seen on the Domberg in Freising. Created by Anselm Kiefer – another leading figure in contemporary art, following in the footsteps of James Turrell, Berlinde de Bruyckere and Kiki Smith. ‘Sappho’ (2020–2024) and ‘Ave Maria Turris Eburnea’ (2018) are already on display on the Domberg. ‘Maria Mater Dolorosa’ (2019) is expected to follow in mid-September 2026.

‘Sappho’, Anselm Kiefer’s interpretation of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, situated on the hillock right next to the Benedictine lime tree, opposite the Kanzlerbogen, serves as a mouthpiece for the often-overlooked female voices of the past. The artist has placed one of his famous stacks of lead books upon her. The material is, quite literally, leaden, yet the individual sheets possess a visual delicacy – here we see the duality that Kiefer brings to the fore in all his figures: between strength and vulnerability, immense power and constant threat.
‘Ave Maria Turris Eburnea’, the second woman, combines the Catholic ‘Ave Maria’ with the invocation of Mary in the Litany of Loreto as ‘Turris Eburnea’ (Latin for ‘Tower of Ivory’) and stands more as a symbol of Mary’s purity, beauty and integrity than of Mary herself. An ideal state: fragile, unattainable – ultimately a utopian ideal.