Werner Berg Museum
The city of Bleiburg has dedicated a monographic museum to the painter Werner Berg (1904-1981) since 1968. The representative house at the main square of Bleiburg has since become an attraction for art lovers from all over the world. It showcases the oeuvre of the artist, whose artistic starting point was German Expressionism, in a unique interplay of art and environment in the core area of his origins.
Werner Berg, born in 1904 in Elberfeld (Wuppertal), moved in 1931, after completing his studies in political science and attending the academies in Vienna and Munich, to a remote mountain farm in southeastern Carinthia, where he worked as a farmer and painter until his death in 1981. The central theme of his work is the landscapes and people of his adopted home, Lower Carinthia – observed with the distance of an outsider and the intensity of a lover.
With his work, a unique document has emerged for the country of Carinthia. Of high artistic quality, it simultaneously testifies to life in a pre-industrial culture, to which the artist continuously exposed himself and which is now in the past.
Curator: Harald Scheicher
Museum Management: Arthur Ottowitz
The Werner Berg Museum in the heart of the small town of Bleiburg / Pliberk in southeastern Carinthia showcases the work of Werner Berg in the core area of his origins. It houses the rich collection of paintings from the Werner Berg Foundation and provides a representative overview of the life's work of the artist (1904-1981) born in Elberfeld (Wuppertal), who lived and worked as a farmer and painter on a mountain farm high above the Drava since 1931.
PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE - https://www.suedkaernten.at/mobil
Convenient arrival by train to Kühnsdorf - Klopeiner See station or Bleiburg station - and then continue with the station shuttle, the Südkärnten post bus shuttle, or with the Kärntner Linien.
see under: www.wernerberg.museum/de/besucherinfo.html
The central theme of his artistic work is the landscape and people of his adopted home, Lower Carinthia, observed with the distance of a stranger and the intensity of a loving person. A unique document has been created for the country of Carinthia through his work. The museum is housed in a centuries-old building at the main square of Bleiburg. Annual special exhibitions and a sculpture garden extend the permanent exhibition.
The goal of the Werner Berg Museum is to present those artists who were of significant importance to Werner Berg's development - in particular, these are the artists of German Expressionism, of whom Werner Berg is often seen as a descendant. Oil paintings and woodcuts by Werner Berg, contrasted with the works of Schmidt-Rottluff, showcase his intense artistic dialogue with the work of the Brücke artist, making the exhibition additionally an unforgettable and exciting visual experience.
May 1 – November 9, 2025
Tue-Sun: 10 AM - 6 PM - Open on holidays
Extensive audio guide information via QR code
Guided tours (German/Slovenian/Italian) for groups upon request
www.wernerberg.museum
