Since 1985, the Custody of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg has been preserving, documenting and researching twelve collections with around 15,000 objects from the university's 260-year history. With an exhibition at Freudenstein Castle, the Custody shows why these tasks are an essential part of a modern university. Highlights from the collections will be on display, as well as previously unknown objects.
The collections at TU Bergakademie Freiberg have a long tradition: some of them date back to the founding of the Bergakademie and are well over 200 years old. But there are also collections from the past 40 years: Works of art, technical equipment, guest gifts, doctoral hats, mining models or a model of the Berlin Palace of the Republic.
"With the exhibition, we want to give a vivid impression of why scientific collections do more than just preserve, but also make an important contribution to research and teaching," says Andreas Benz, Head of the Custody of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. "We have selected an exciting object that tells a story for each task area and each collection. The spectrum ranges from what at first glance appear to be trivial everyday objects to spectacular historical pieces. Most of the objects have never been on display in public exhibitions before." Interactive stations and a targeted selection of exhibits make the exhibition an experience and encourage visitors to reflect on the significance of three-dimensional objects as historical sources.
Students contribute ideas
Students from the Master's degree programme in Industrial Culture contributed their perspectives to the design. The result is a lively and multi-layered exhibition that highlights historical developments and the future potential of scientific collections for the university of today and tomorrow.
"Each of us students was given an overarching theme, and we then looked at all of the collections in the Kustodie and selected suitable objects ourselves. As we didn't know most of the collections, we were able to approach the matter without any preconceptions and also selected things that would probably not otherwise be taken. The individual objects then had to be incorporated into a common narrative, which was not always easy, but very instructive," says Bernd Spila, the Master's student involved.
Custody preserves and researches the university's treasures
In addition to preserving and researching the collections, the Custody also lends artefacts to museums and exhibitions. In the Industrial Archaeology and Industrial Culture degree programmes, the Kustodie imparts knowledge to students in courses and also opens up the collections to the public at events and guided tours.
24 October 2025 to 11 January 2026 during the opening hours of terra mineralia in Freudenstein Castle:
Mo closed
Thu-Fri, 10 am - 5 pm
Sat, Sun, public holidays 10 am - 6 pm
Visitor address:
Schlossplatz 4
09599 Freiberg
Custody preserves and researches the university's treasures
In addition to preserving and researching the collections, the Custody also lends artefacts to museums and exhibitions. In the Industrial Archaeology and Industrial Culture degree programmes, the Custodian imparts knowledge to students in courses and also opens up the collections to the public at events and guided tours.
