Croy Tapestry in Greifswald to Undergo Restoration

One of Germany's most significant textile treasures is set to be restored: the Croy Tapestry, owned by the University of Greifswald and woven around 1554 by Peter Heymans in Stettin, is currently being examined and cleaned at the Pomeranian State Museum. The work, a monumental piece measuring some 31 square metres, was officially set in motion on 27 June 2026.

The tapestry – four metres high and seven metres wide – has been listed as a nationally significant cultural asset of the Federal Republic of Germany since 2014. It depicts the dynasties of Electoral Saxony and the Pomeranian Dukes, united through marriage, alongside three Reformers. The pictorial concept draws on the Cranach workshop, with portrait models attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder and Albrecht Dürer.

The piece has been removed from its display case and is being restored in an open conservation studio, where visitors are welcome to watch the work in progress. Costs of just under 1.3 million euros are being met by the EU and the Sparkasse Vorpommern savings bank. In two years' time, the tapestry is due to go back on public display – timed to mark the 900th anniversary of the Christianisation of Pomerania by Otto of Bamberg.

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