History
Geschichte
September 29, 2001: A historic day for the local museum landscape, the cultural city of Krems, the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wachau and, above all, for the Karikaturmuseum Krems itself. On this very day, Austria’s only museum for satirical art officially opened its doors.
Why the Karikaturmuseum Krems became known as the Deix Museum
"Is this the Deix Museum?" our staff at the museum ticket counter have been asked time and again. There’s a reason why the Karikaturmuseum Krems is associated with the caricaturist Manfred Deix beyond the Lower Austrian region. We let one of the persons responsible for this explain it in their own words, as well as the history behind the founding of the Karikaturmuseum Krems:
I read around the year 2000 that the Styrian population was interested in presenting the work of Manfred Deix in a more comprehensive way. I said to myself: It can’t be true that a Lower Austrian would be relocated to Styria. There must be a way to tie him more closely to us. In the back of my mind even then I thought that a caricature museum would be a good fit for us, similar to the Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hanover. In particular because we have several world-renowned caricaturists. Manfred and his wife Marietta immediately jumped at the idea. Manfred had only one wish, specifically that Gustav Peichl should be the architect to design such a venue. This first meeting not only gave rise to the Karikaturmuseum Krems, but also blossomed into a genuine friendship. He was as straightforward in his personal dealings as he was in his caricatures.
The Karikaturmuseum Krems, with its friendly and welcoming facade and exhibitions that are no less humorous, has maintained its unique position in the local museum landscape since 2001. Every year, the visitor magnet located at the gateway to the Wachau attracts around 50,000 guests from home and abroad to the Kunstmeile Krems. Find out what is hidden inside the exhibition building in our objectives.
For inquisitive and curious minds here are the important milestones in the history of the Karikaturmuseum Krems
- After a year of construction, the Karikaturmuseum Krems opened on September 29, 2001 with the exhibition "Alles Karikatur. Das gezeichnete 20. Jahrhundert".
- The Karikaturmuseum Krems has been a gathering place for well-known personalities since its inception. Guests have included Robert Crumb (2001), Thomas Gottschalk (2003), Otto Waalkes (2004, 2023), and Hella von Sinnen (2012).
- The who’s who of the scene comes to Krems for their exhibitions: Janosch (2012), “Lucky Luke” illustrator Achdé (2013), Mordillo (2015), and EAV mastermind Thomas Spitzer (2018).
- The in-house Deix archive opened in 2017. In annually changing presentations, over fifty annotated and curated Deix cartoons provide biting insights into the cosmos of Manfred Deix. Find out what you can expect from the Deix archive here.
- In 2018, the Karikaturmuseum Krems, in partnership with the state of Lower Austria and patron Annemarie Sokol, widow and executor of Erich Sokol’s estate, awarded for the first time the Erich-Sokol-Prize for digital caricature, critical drawing and satire. Since then, local and international artists have been honored with the award every five years. Curious to learn more about the Erich-Sokol-Prize? Here you can find more information.
- To mark the ninetieth birthday of Gustav Peichl aka IRONIMUS (March 18, 1928–November 17, 2019), the Karikaturmuseum Krems presented new, previously unreleased cartoons by the artist from his “unretirement” in 2018. Gustav Peichl is the architect of Austria’s lone museum for satirical art. Learn more about the funny facade of the Karikaturumuseum Krems here.
- On February 22, 2024, Manfred Deix (February 22, 1949 – June 25, 2016) would have celebrated his seventh-fifth birthday. To mark this occasion, the Karikaturmuseum Krems dedicated to this outstanding artist a commemorative exhibition, "I Love Deix". The Deix archive acquired a new look.