Immenhausen Glassmuseum

The Glass Museum in Immenhausen, established in 1987 in a building of the former glassworks Süßmuth, is one of the few museums specialised on glass products in Germany. Between World War II and its shut down in 1987 the company produced high-quality consumer glassware like vases, bowls, and goblets. Production already started in 1898 when previous owners specialized in glass for medical and pharmaceutical use as well as the manufacture of bottles in various shapes and sizes, including patented droppers allowing an exact medicine dispensing that were produced between 1907 and 1929.

The museum tells the story of glass making in northern Hesse with particular reference to the glassworks in Immenhausen, and traces its importance for the region since the Middle Ages. Historic machines, tools, and instruments illustrate how glass was blowed and processed, and exhibits mirror the diversity of products made here. The collection of consumer glassware, ranging from art nouveau around 1890 until today, shows that glass styles follow trends and contemporary tastes rule the design of glasses.

Apart from the focus on the regional impact the collection is centered on modern glass art, a genre that took shape in the 1960s and internationally became known as “studio glass”. Artists use glass to express their ideas and create objects that are primarily characterized by their artistic potential and artisanal approach to the material instead of their practical value. Both, contemporary glass art and historic glass, are displayed in diverse special exhibitions.