highlights

An art collection celebrates its birthday! The Rhön-Grabfeld district is in the unique position of owning its own art collection spanning from the Baroque period to the present day. The collection began 50 years ago with the election of Dr Fritz Steigerwald as district administrator in 1976. In 1993, the district's own museum, the Kreisgalerie in Mellrichstadt, was opened. Over 300 works from the painting and sculpture collection were made accessible to the public on three floors.
Thomas Habermann took over as district administrator in 2003. The Kreisgalerie was enhanced with the addition of a café and now also hosts annual temporary exhibitions. He continued his predecessor's collecting activities and, together with the cultural agency, has ensured that the collection has been systematically expanded since 2006. Since 2024, the district's central art depot has also been part of the collection.
The focus and guiding principle of the Rhön-Grabfeld collections was and is the regional connection to the Rhön, the Grabfeld and Lower Franconia. From the outset, the focus of the collection was deliberately regional. It features works by artists who come from the region or who have worked or are working here. However, the collection also includes works by artists from outside the region who were or are enthusiastic about the Rhön and Grabfeld, the landscape and the people, and who have captured this in their works and continue to do so.

Last edited on 09.03.2026