Altenburger Brauereimuseum

The Altenburger Brauereimuseum stands in the old brewery complex in Kauerndorf, a district of Altenburg in eastern Thuringia. The buildings date from the late 19th century and are protected as monuments. Their industrial style mixes historicist brickwork with Jugendstil and neobarock details in the brewhouse. The brewery’s history goes back to 1871, when seven citizens founded an Actienbrauerei on land bought from the local estate owner Hermann Herold. By 1896 it was already producing 130 000 hectolitres a year and had won a gold medal at the Saxon hospitality congress. Today the brewery remains a family business run by the Leikeim siblings and supplies hops from Monstab, ten kilometres away. Visitors walk through the original brewhouse with its five-vessel copper system still in use. The museum explains how Altenburg once had 59 breweries and how the Actienbrauerei grew into one of Europe’s most modern plants. Guided tours show the bottling lines and storage cellars, and the yard hosts concerts and weddings. Seasonal beers like Sommerhell and Winterbier highlight the brewery’s continuing craft.