A new home for the state office for non-governmental museums in Bavaria: the authority is to move to an old monastery in Weißenburg in central Franconia. Art Minister Markus Blume (CSU) has reached a corresponding agreement with Weißenburg’s Lord Mayor Jürgen Schröppel (SPD). This was announced by Blume’s ministry on Thursday in Munich. A feasibility study is now to clarify whether a wing of the building owned by the city is suitable for this purpose. After a positive result, this will be renovated with the support of the Free State and then rented for the long term, it said.
The State Office for Non-State Museums is a branch of the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments. She advises the more than 1200 non-governmental museums in the Free State. The Bavarian Council of Ministers decided in 2016 in connection with the “home strategy” to move the position from Munich to Weißenburg. Some employees are already working there in rented offices. By 2025, the entire authority is to move. According to the ministry, it is currently not possible to say whether the renovation of the monastery can be completed by then and what financial investment can be expected.
The old Weißenburg monastery and church is part of the important medieval building stock of the old town there. Created in the 14th century, the listed complex is considered an outstanding historical testimony of national artistic importance. The building was not only used for sacred purposes, but also as a boys’ school, children’s home and infirmary.