Municipal and Cultural History Museum Torgau

Guided Tour in Renaissance Dress in Torgau
_{Photo: Stadt Torgau}

 

In January 2009, the Municipal and Cultural History Museum Torgau acquired a fabulous new exhibit – an altarpiece of St. Nicholas of Bari that has recently returned to Torgau after an absence of 60 years. Originally part of a triptych in the town's Franciscan Church, it was painted around 1515 in the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553).

The priceless panel went missing in the post-war turmoil of 1945, a fate that befell numerous other artworks, before turning up in a Swiss auction house at the end of 2008. It was returned to its rightful home thanks to the rapid and decisive actions of some committed art lovers. Numerous legends tell of the charitable acts and miracles performed by Saint Nicholas, whose reputation for giving gifts is the basis of our modern-day Father Christmas.