Top sights Meissen
What should you see during your visit to Meissen? We have the TOP sights for you.
Meissen Cathedral
Meissen Cathedral has been a landmark of the town for over 1000 years. Travellers can see the striking church towers even from a distance. Built in the 13th century in the French Gothic style, it is considered by connoisseurs to be one of the most stylistically pure cathedrals in Central Europe. Clear shapes and unique aesthetics fascinate the viewer. Wolfgang von Goethe wrote in a letter to his wife, "Meissen Cathedral is the most slender and beautiful building of that era that I know."
Important master builders, such as the Naumburg masters, and artists such as Cranach and Dürer, left behind magnificent work in the cathedral. The cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Saxony offers architectural, art and church history, as well as organ and cathedral music concerts.
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Castle 'Albrechtsburg' Meissen
TREND-SETTER SINCE 1471 – discover the oldest castle in Germany.
The castle's stunning architecture, fascinating exhibits and interactive media stations tell of the history of Saxony and the castle hill. Since 2020, it has been possible to travel back in time to past centuries using the Histopad!
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The Erlebniswelt MEISSEN® experience
Discover Europe's first porcelain manufactory in the House of Meissen. The Meissen Porcelain Foundation's showroom and museum bring the world-famous Meissen porcelain to life.
Round off your visit with an exclusive shopping experience in the stores and culinary delights in the Café & Restaurant Meissen.
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Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady)
A chapel of "Our good Ladies" was mentioned as far back as 1205, on the present site of the Frauenkirche. It was expanded into a late Gothic hall church during the 15th century.The almost square dimensions of the three-aisle church interior lend it a special atmosphere.The church steeple, with its octagonal baroque dome, is a striking feature of the townscape. Six times a day, the world's oldest orchestral bells made of Meissen porcelain ring out from it. You can enjoy Meissen from above, from the historic steeple of the Frauenkirche.
On the way up, you pass very close to the porcelain orchestral bells and the heavy steel bells. Once you've climbed the 193 steps inside the old walls, you're rewarded with a picturesque view of the Old Town and the Meissen Elbe valley!
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Meissen City Museum
The Meissen City Museum is all about the history and stories of the oldest town in Saxony and the surrounding area. Historical models show you the development of Meissen and large exhibits illustrate viticulture, as well as fishing and shipping on the Elbe.
In the middle of the large hall of the former Franciscan monastery church stands the last Elbe fishing boat and the largest hand-operated wine press.
The city museum also offers changing exhibitions on selected topics.
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Ride on the paddle steamer
With nine historic paddle steamers, the 'Sächsische Dampfschifffahrt' has the oldest and largest fleet of paddle steamers in the world. Take some time out and start with the steamboat trip on the "Saxon Wine Route" in the direction of Diesbar-Seusslitz.
It passes a lovely landscape with small churches and vineyards from which quality Saxon wines originate. From the water, you have a unique view of the town of Meissen, with its towering Albrechtsburg castle and the striking spires of Meissen Cathedral visible from afar.
More information on steamboat trips
Want to linger a little longer in the beautiful wine village of Diesbar-Seusslitz? Then we recommend the return journey with bus line 407.Click here for the timetable.
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Holy Cross Monastery and Hahnemann Centre
similia similibus curentur" – what sounds like an ancient magic spell is the recipe for success of a doctor with Meissen roots. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy, saw the light of day in Meissen in 1755.
He spent his childhood and youth here and attended the princely Sankt Afra school, which was already famous beyond the city limits. The principle he discovered and described scientifically, of healing "like with like", was revolutionary and founded a new discipline of alternative medicine that is still practised today.
The Hahnemann Centre in Meissen commemorates this great son of the city.
Located in the Heilig Kreuz (holy cross) monastery ruins, Hahnemann's legacy is upheld at seminars, exhibitions and lectures. Several times a year, the former monastery complex is transformed into a place of pilgrimage for culture enthusiasts. This is when concerts, theatre performances and the traditional Rose Festival attract visitors inside the old walls.
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