Monastery Museum Salem

The Imperial Abbey of Salem, founded in the 12th century, was once one of the most prosperous and important monasteries in southern Germany. The Badisches Landesmuseum has presented an exhibition of masterworks at the Abbey since 2014. A chronological tour from the high Middle Ages through the late Baroque period illuminates the ever-changing art and architectural history of this unique Cistercian abbey.

Elevated by the Pope to the status of “Konsistorialabtei” (a monastery whose abbot is named by the Pope), Salem was independent of the Bishop of Konstanz and had its abbots confirmed directly by the Pope. Since the Middle Ages, the monastery has been an Imperial Abbey under the protection of worldly leaders, making it a significant economic and cultural hub. The monastery became the property of Baden's margraves in 1802 through secularisation. Since that time, it has been called “Salem Palace” and served as a residence for the margrave's family, and the site of the “Salem Palace Boarding School” since 1920.

The exhibition in the former prelature commemorates the extraordinary history of the monastery and Salem Palace. Its treasures include the Salem Marienaltar (Mary's altar) by Bernhard Strigel, which includes a representation of Christ's birth as the first night-time image in German painting, and a sculpture cycle by Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer.

Kloster und Schloss Salem

88682 Salem

T +49 (0)7553 916-5336
www.salem.de

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Monastery Museum Salem

Kloster und Schloss Salem, 88682 Salem

Note winter opening times
  • Adults9 Euro
  • Reduced4,50 Euro

The following opening hours apply up to and including March 22, 2024:
Mon–Fri closed
Sat–Sun, holidays 11 a.m.–4.30 p.m.
(Christmas Eve Dec 24 and New Year's Eve Dec 31, closed); information about Salem Palace)

Picture gallery

Insight into the exhibition at the Salem Monastery Museum
two sculptures by the sculptor Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer
Model of the crossing tower according to the design by Bagnato
Architectural model
Two statues of the Feuchtmayer Group
Insight into the exhibition at the Salem Monastery Museum

The locations of the Badisches Landesmuseum