With the beginning of the 1990s new possibilities opened up: The municipality of Zwickau could take advantage of various funding programs by the federal government and federal state of Saxony as well as by the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz (German Foundation for Monument Protection) in order to renovate the historical buildings extensively and in line with historic preservation principles. Given that the ensemble would become a museum of local history and culture any museum requirements could be included into the planning process from the very beginning.
A supplementary building in modern style was supposed to include all technical equipment and serve as extension of the exhibition area as well. Furthermore the new wing houses a restaurant with its own brewery, providing a cosy atmosphere which adopts the character of the historic buildings and the museum.
The extremely complex reconstruction work took almost ten years and its perfect final took place on May 9, 2003 with a symbolic handing over of the keys to the former mayor of the city of Zwickau, Dietmar Vettermann.
Since then the museum offers its visitors interesting insights into the social and cultural history from the end of the Middle Ages until the early modern era. The exhibition vividly presents the settlement in this region, the historic structure of the town, the Reformation, education, craftsmanship, everyday living and many other aspects of these days. Of course the buildings themselves and their history — from an architectural point of view as well as regarding its inhabitants — play an important role, too. Various objects to be found in the modern wing of the museum give witness of Zwickau’s history; additionally the museum offers changing temporary exhibitions in this area.
