Visiting Meissen – Catching Only a Glimpse of the Porcelain
Last Updated: October 15th 2025.
The German city of Meissen is world-famous for it’s porcelain of exceptional quality, easily recognisable by the Crossed Swords mark. When visiting Meissen, my wife and I only caught a glimpse of the porcelain though.
The Torhaus
After visiting Albrechtsburg castle, where the first European porcelain was produced in 1710, and enjoying a spectacular view over the city from the tower of the Frauenkirche, we entered the small, historic gatehouse (Torhaus).
In the Middle Ages, the Torhaus was an important building in Meissen, being the only accesspoint to Albrechtsburg castle. Throughout the centuries, the Torhaus has been the home of many famous German artists, including master sculptor Christian H. Kaendler and Romantic painter Ludwig Richter.
From 1997 to 2012, the Torhaus was part of the Stadtmuseum. Inside was a small, but catching exhibition about life in the nineteenth century – told fully through diaries. Most of the visitors only spent 10 to 15 minutes in the Torhaus, briefly looking at the objects on display and hardly reading any of the texts. But as historians – we were intrigued. The diaries gave a personal insight to the nineteenth century, as seen from a prosperous man who’s ultimate dream was to travel all of Europe – which was the world back then. After having saved enough money, already making plans for the tour, fate struck. His wife got very ill and he had to spend all his savings to buy medicine to save her life. A moving story about true love.
Making a Local Connection
The suppost of the Torhaus came to water the indoor plants in the windowsills, surprised to see us still there after more than an hour. Turned our he was a historian as well, very interested in meeting like-minded and proud to elaborate about construction of the exhibition. For years, he had been an enthousiastic coin collector. So we decided to give him a limited edition Guilder coin from the Netherlands. The coin pictured a lion, handdrawn by schoolboy Tim van Melis in 2001, just before the Euro was introduced. In exchange, we got a German 1 Pfennig coin. According to German tradition, as long as a 1 Pfennig coin is in your wallet, you’ll never be poor. We still treasure this Pfennig to this day.
By then, we had completely forgotten about the time; the Meissen Porzellan Manufactur & Museum, workshop and museum dedicated to the white gold, was about to close. Luckily, we were still admitted, allowing us a limited peak of the massive collection.
My application for the World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship 2020.
Have you already visited the German city of Frankfurt am Main? Discover Frankfurt am Main here. Close to Frankfurt is another excellent museum, namely the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim. Another landmark in Germany worth your time is Hohenschwangau Castle in Fussen. Meissen is a perfect stop on road trips in Germany or Eastern Europe.
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15 Comments
Taylor
I love these small German villages! So cool that it’s near Frankfurt too. I was there in 2019.
Cosette
There’s some 5 hours of driving time between Franfurt and Meissen, but you could easily do that in a road trip. German villages are indeed the best.
Krista
I didn’t know that the first European porcelain was produced here. The castle sounds very interesting to visit for a few hours.
Carrie Ann
I collect 19th-century porcelain, so a visit to Meissen is in my wheelhouse 🙂 I’d love to see the Stadtmuseum, especially as its story is told through diaries! I love learning about history through the lens of the average person, so this is totally my thing. Thanks so much for sharing!
Denise
I need to see more German villages! Looks so quaint!
Cristina
I had never heard of this place! It looks so pretty and quaint. I am adding it to my list.
Alaina Thomas
It is truly fascinating how certain things can bring people together – such as coins! Coins can interest people from all around the world, and they also have unique characteristics placed on their place of origin.
Alex
I love learning new and cool history about cities! Glad you got to make a connection with a local!
Agnes
What a beautiful and personal story about your visit to Meissen. I was so moved by the story you discovered in the Torhaus diaries and the wonderful connection you made with the local historian over the coin exchange. It’s those unexpected, personal encounters that truly make travel so meaningful.
Casey
What a compelling vignette of Meissen! You’ve captured so well the tension between wanting to linger in a museum and feeling pressured by closing times.
I especially loved your story about the Torhaus and the diary exhibit. That exchange with the historian and the coin trade. Those are the moments that turn a pass-through visit into something memorable.
Thank you for showing Meissen through your eyes. After reading this, I’m tempted to plan Meissen into my next trip to Germany!
Anna
Loved this — Meissen sounds so full of history and heart. The story about the coin is just beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
Caleigh
Would love to do a Germany roadtrip one day and this looks like a great stop!
Sonia
We haven’t made it to Meissen yet, but would love to visit to learn more about the making of the beautiful Meissen pieces.
Terri
I love shopping in these old European towns and finding unique products.
Anja
I really recommend that you revisit immediately! Meissen is lovely, and I love to visit there. The Porcelain Museum is indeed a massive place, one you need to dedicate half a day to. Whereas many traditional porcelain manufacturers floundered, I think Meissen is doing quite well, and they even teach future porcelain makers and painters.