Icons in Museums: Collecting and Exhibiting Orthodox Christian Art in Germany
An event at The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis, held as part of the first exhibition of the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection, featured a lecture by Dr. Konstanze Runge. She explored the history and significance of collecting and exhibiting icons in Germany, as well as the evolution of the Frankfurt Icon Museum, a department of the Museum of Applied Arts. In her talk, she also discussed the challenges and opportunities of showcasing icons in a municipal museum.
We present a summary of Dr. Runge’s lecture Icons in Museums: Collecting and Exhibiting Orthodox Christian Art in Germany.
Foundation of the Icon Museum in Frankfurt am Main
The story of the Icon Museum in Frankfurt am Main starts with a German cardiologist, Dr. Jörgen Schmidt-Voigt, whose fascination with icons began during his first visit to the Soviet Union in 1958. There, he encountered an icon of the Mother of God Healing a Cleric—a moment that ignited his passion for collecting.
Several other German physicians in the late 1950s also developed an interest in icons, forming collections that would later play a crucial role in the establishment of icon museums in Germany. Schmidt, in particular, amassed a collection of over 800 icons, including 600 wooden panels and 200 metal icons, alongside various liturgical objects. He was especially interested in the connection between icons and medicine. Perhaps he saw himself in the early Christian doctors who healed in the name of Jesus. This idea became the focus of his research, leading him to write two books on the subject, Icons and Medicine, published in 1990 and 1994.
In the 1980s, facing a serious illness and a major operation, he is said to have prayed before his icons and vowed that if he recovered, he would donate his collection to the city of Frankfurt. True to his promise, in 1988, he made the donation under the condition that the icons be displayed in a dedicated museum, managed by professional scholars.
The Frankfurt Icon Museum officially opened on March 28, 1990, in the postwar-rebuilt building of the Teutonic Order, located on the banks of the River Main. It was established as a department of the Museum of Applied Arts and became Germany’s second icon museum, following the Recklinghausen Icon Museum.
The museum’s founding came at a time of major historical change—the reunification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In this shifting landscape, it took on a new role as a cultural bridge between East and West. Under the leadership of Polish-born director Richard Zacharuk, Frankfurt built strong ties with Moscow, culminating in a 1991 cultural agreement and close collaboration with the Moscow State Historical Museum. This partnership led to a series of major exhibitions, including a 1993 showcase of treasures from Moscow’s New Maidens’ Monastery. Other exhibitions explored diverse themes, from Novgorod’s religious art and the influence of icons on avant-garde movements to Polish icons from the Carpathians and the tradition of signed and dated icons.
But the museum wasn’t just about exhibitions—it quickly became a hub for Russian cultural life in Frankfurt. In the 1990s, it also served as a gathering place for Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants who had arrived in the city after the Soviet Union’s collapse. Many of them took part in musical evenings and cultural events held in the museum’s grand halls. Over time, it also began to organize contemporary art exhibitions, juxtaposing modern works with its icon collection.
The Evolution of the Frankfurt Icon Museum
Over the past 35 years, the museum has steadily grown, thanks to generous donations, acquisitions, and long-term loans. Today, its collection includes 1,400 icons and liturgical objects from Russia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Ethiopia—spanning seven centuries, from the 15th to the 21st. The museum stays true to Schmidt’s original vision, with Russian icons still making up the majority of the collection. It’s also the only institution in Germany with a permanent exhibition of art from Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.
Since 1999, it has benefited from an important addition: 82 post-Byzantine icons of exceptional quality, on permanent loan from Berlin’s Bode Museum, a leading institution for Byzantine art. The museum recently underwent a major renovation and reopened in the spring of 2021 with a fully redesigned exhibition space. The updates included improved lighting, climate control, color schemes, multilingual content, a multimedia guide, and an enhanced curatorial approach, creating a more interactive and accessible experience for visitors.
The Icon Museum in a Secular Urban Environment
As a secular institution, the museum approaches icons from multiple perspectives—those of believers, collectors, traders, scholars, conservators, and art lovers. But its role goes beyond art and history, it also serves as a cultural bridge for refugees and migrants.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the museum has taken on a new social and political dimension. It created a prayer space in a Frankfurt refugee center and introduced well-attended Ukrainian and Russian language tours led by a displaced icon painter and art historian from Ukraine.
Expanding its outreach, it now offers multilingual guides and creative workshops designed for diverse communities, including Ethiopian and Eritrean guests. In addition, in 2023, the Icon Museum launched Bridge Concerts, a music series exploring themes of war and resilience. However, these efforts haven’t been without challenges, since the program included pieces by Ukrainian as well as Russian composers. Despite these complexities, the museum remains committed to fostering dialogue, cultural exchange, and historical awareness.
Collaborations with Other Institutions
The Frankfurt Icon Museum actively collaborates with other institutions, using icons to engage with contemporary discussions. One example is its recent exhibition, IKONA. Holy Women, which highlighted the influence and role of women in the Eastern Church. Featuring icons from the 15th to the 21st century, the project offered a fresh perspective on the intersection of faith, history, and contemporary relevance. The exhibition was made up of eight thematic chapters, each telling the story of remarkable female saints and their legacies.
This show was the first collaboration between the icon museums of Recklinghausen, Kampen (Netherlands), and Frankfurt, bringing together pieces from their collections alongside contributions from private collectors.
One challenge of the Icon Museum is engaging younger generations in Germany, where Christian themes are sometimes seen as outdated. With that in mind, the exhibition’s curators reframed religious narratives in an accessible way, using the compelling stories of long-overlooked holy women. Also, by presenting the show at the Museum of Applied Arts, a larger central venue, the organizers were able to reach a more diverse audience, many of whom had little prior exposure to icons.
Looking to the Future
The Frankfurt Icon Museum is working to make its collection more accessible to children and school groups through specially designed programs and guided tours. At the same time, it hopes to strengthen ties with a broader network of Orthodox believers and deepen its engagement with Orthodox communities in and around Frankfurt, supporting their cultural integration. After all, icons truly come to life when people gather around them, sharing their thoughts, emotions, and personal experiences.