freiheyt 1525. 500 years of the Peasants' War

Thuringian State Exhibition 2025 in Mühlhausen and Bad Frankenhausen

In 2025, numerous museums in Europe are commemorating the Peasants' War, which 500 years ago led to numerous feuds not only in Germany, but also in other countries such as Austria and Switzerland, and left its mark on history. There were also riots and incendiary speeches in Thuringia and the neighbouring state of Saxony-Anhalt. The rural areas in the north of Thuringia in particular were the scene of the warlike conflicts.

The centre of the action was the former imperial city of Mühlhausen and the town of Bad Frankenhausen at the foot of the Kyffhäuser Mountains. Here, rebels raised "word and arms" against the clergy and nobility, fighting for more rights - for "freedom and justice". There were repeated uprisings; castles and churches were stormed and monasteries razed. Under the symbol of the rainbow and the flag of the radical reformer Thomas Müntzer, a decisive military conflict took place on the so-called Schlachtberg (today the site of the Panorama Museum Bad Frankenhausen).

In the former imperial city of Mühlhausen, the state exhibition will commemorate this period from 26 April to 10 October 2025 in four different museums with central exhibitions and outstanding exhibits: Museum St. Marien | Müntzergedenkstätte (Society in Transition - Living Environment, Models of Order, Distortions), Kornmarktkirche | Gedenkstätte Bauernkrieg (The Peasants' War - Radicalisation, Crisis Management, Consequences), Kunsthistorisches Museum (Interpretation and Reception - Memory, Instrumentalisation, Interpretation) and Museum Allerheiligenkirche (History Lab - History Laboratory and Cultural Space).

The Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen with its oversized Peasants' War panorama - a barrel painting by the painter Tübke - is another central part of the state exhibition, which will be presented from 10 May to 17 August 2025 with a special exhibition (a tour of the era with historical models by Werner Tübke).

Numerous other Thuringian cities and the surrounding regions with their castles, monasteries, museums and other sights are planning extensive guided tours, events and activities. Thematic lectures and seminars complete the varied supporting programme. A decentralised state exhibition in the neighbouring state of Saxony-Anhalt will open in autumn 2024.
 

A Gothic stage for medieval prominence
St. Mary’s Museum and Müntzer Memorial
The radical Reformer Thomas Müntzer, one of the best known protagonists of the German Peasant’s War of 1525, preached in Mühlhausen’s historic St. Mary’s Church, now a museum and a memorial to Müntzer, in the early modern era. The city’s aldermen ...
The eventful life of a church
Peasants’ War Museum in the Corn Market Church
The skyline of the medieval Imperial City of Mühlhausen is defined by the innumerable towers of its historic buildings – too many for a visitor to count easily. Amidst all these attractions stands the secularised Corn Market Church. Its name ...
A fantastically cunning monumental painting
Global art in Bad Frankenhausen
Holidaymakers in Thuringia who are interested in art and culture can hardly miss it – literally or metaphorically: in the centre of the Kyffhäuser Nature Park, the striking building of the Panorama Museum sits enthroned on a solitary, though ...
Treasures of history, archaeology and art
Museum of Cultural History
In the southern section of Mühlhausen’s historic city wall, a striking building in a Neo-Renaissance style rises up out of the old town, which is dominated largely by half-timbered buildings. This is the Museum of Cultural History – a wonderful ...
Freiheyt and Gerechtigkeyt 1525 – 500 Years Peasants' War in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt
Event Highlights 2024/2025
In memory of the Peasants' War of 1525 and Thomas Müntzer, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt offer numerous events at authentic locations, on streets, squares, stages and in nature. Experience history at first hand and be inspired by the fight for ...
The world out of joint - Mühlhausen
The unloved brother and the Peasants' War
Mühlhausen was a flourishing imperial and Hanseatic town. The medieval town centre and the numerous historic buildings are still evidence of this flourishing economy today. During the Reformation, Mühlhausen was of particular importance as a free ...

Exhibitions and events