Arts and Crafts

The historical glass collection at the Veste Coburg is one of the most significant of its kind in Europe. Here, you can discover how the art of crafting glass developed through more than 1.000 years of history. Following alteration work to restore the anteroom of the former “congress hall” to ist original state, the exhibits now shine more brightly than before. Visitors can read detailed information about them and how glass is made on the media stations. Many of the glass items tell stories that are brought to life by the inscriptions and images they bear and the historical tradition they represent.

Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844–1900), whose widow donated his precious glass collection to the Art Collections, collected a large proportion of the exhibits. Most of them are works from Venice dating from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century.

These are complemented mainly by Baroque glasses, probably also from the estate of the dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The remainder of the exhibits are important items from the nineteenth century, as well as Art Nouveau and Art Déco glasses.