The Albertinum was built between 1884 and 1887 by extending a former armoury, or arsenal, that had been constructed between 1559 and 1563 at the same location. The new building was designed by the regional master builder Carl Adolf Canzler in the Renaissance Revival style to house the royal Collection of Antique and Modern Sculptures. The building was named after the Saxonian King Albert who reigned at the time. In 1889, the Sculpture Collection was moved in and has since remained there.
Besides the Sculpture Collection, the Albertinum has housed the New Masters Gallery (Galerie Neue Meister) in the upper rooms since 1965. It was also the temporary postwar home of the Numismatic Cabinet (Münzkabinett) and the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe) until the exhibitions were moved to the rebuilt Dresden Castle in 2002 and 2004.
The floods of 2002 necessitated renovating the Albertinum and building a new flood-proof depository. After closing in 2006, the building was finally reopened on June 20, 2010 as a 'house of the modern' with the New Masters Gallery and the Sculpture Collection.
The Albertinum houses the New Masters Gallery (Galerie Neue Meister) and the Sculpture Collection (Skulpturensammlung). The holdings of the two museums, with paintings ranging from Caspar David Friedrich to Ludwig Richterand sculptures from Auguste Rodin to the 21st century, are displayed on three floors in exhibition halls with a modern look.
References:Saint-Émilion is a picturesque medieval village renowned for its well-preserved architecture and vineyards. The town and surrounding vineyards was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, owing to its long, living history of wine-making, Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.
An oppidum was built on the hill overlooking the present-day city in Gaulish times, before the regions was annexed by Augustus in 27 BC. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine.
Because the region was located on the route of the Camino de Santiago, many monasteries and churches were built during the Middle Ages, and in 1199, while under Plantagenet rule, the town was granted full rights.