300 years of the Meissen State Porcelain Manufactory is being celebrated in the town with a packed programme of exhibitions and events.
The main attraction is the year-round exhibition entitled All Nations are Welcome. Its display of exquisite Meissen pieces offers a masterly reflection on how cultures and changing trends have influenced three centuries of porcelain production.
Other exhibitions on the Meissen premises in 2010 include the Meissen Porcelain Zoo with animal sculptures from 300 years of porcelain design, and the Meissen Jewellery Collection 2010, which showcases limited-edition jewellery for the tricentennial year.
The local history museum has an exhibition of its own, exploring the role of the porcelain makers as citizens of Meissen (20 March to 7 November 2010). The exhibition at Albrechtsburg Castle, perched high above the town, offers an insight into the first 150 years of porcelain production within the castle walls (8 May to 31 October 2010). The formative decades of the world-famous Meissen Manufactory are also the focus of the Triumph of the Blue Swords exhibition in Dresden’s Japanese Palace, just 20 kilometres from Meissen.
Open-days at the Meissen Manufactory (24 April & 23 October 2010) and the Night of Art, Culture and Architecture (19 June 2010) are among the porcelain-themed highlights for visitors to look forward to. On 26 September 2010, during the Meissen Wine Festival, there will be a grand festival parade with a real-life Procession of Dukes (the name of a famous frieze of Meissen tiles). Nearly 100 people, 45 of them on horseback, are set to appear in historical costume.
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Meissen is a small city approx. 20 mi (30 km) northwest of Dresden, Saxony.
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More information: Porcelain in Germany
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