The beginnings of the Ottobeuren Monastery Museum date back to 1881. This makes it the second oldest museum in the Allgäu. The permanent exhibition of the monastery museum is located in the former representative rooms of the abbot, which inspire with their rich baroque furnishings. A branch gallery of the Bavarian State Painting Collections is integrated into the permanent exhibition, in which mainly works from the original possession of the Benedictine Abbey are presented, which became state property with secularization. The museum tour also includes the baroque library with original books, the theater hall, which also dates from the 18th century, and the emperor's hall.
The newly designed permanent exhibition on the second floor extends over approx. 850 square meters. As part of the exhibition redesign, LAB BINÆR was responsible for the media planning of ultimately 13 multimedia-based and inclusive exhibits across all five work phases.
Special exhibit »Monastic State«
Before secularization, the monastery had taken on numerous secular responsibilities and thereby developed diverse relationships with places in the region. Through a tactile model derived from these relationships and the topology around the monastery, the different stories can be discovered.
When you touch the sculpture, a historical map by Ulrich Bachmann, which is located below, is gradually revealed. For sighted visitors, the narrative texts are also illustrated by animated picture collages.
Special exhibit »Room of Silence«
The immersive room installation is inspired by one of the rules of Saint Benedict, who saw no limitation in silence and stillness, but rather the way to himself and to God. It consists of 300 analogue-digital interpretations of candles and invites you to forget the hustle and bustle of everyday life for a moment.
While the goal on a visual level was the most original possible mood of a dreamy view of a sea of candles, the acoustic level was developed in cooperation with visually impaired people with the aim of creating a similarly meditative atmosphere on an acoustic level.
Special exhibit »Baroque Building«
Outside of the museum tour, there are also rooms with exciting room programs and stories. Since these are not open to the public, they can be discovered haptically and experienced acoustically using this tactile model of the monastery complex. For sighted visitors, the narrative texts also come to life through animated picture collages.
Developed in cooperation with Büro für Museumsberatung, Duncan McCauley and Landesstelle für nichtstaatliche Museen in Bayern.
Created for Benediktinerabtei Ottobeuren
