The Caspar David Friedrich Society was founded in 1998 in Greifswald, the town in which the famous early Romantic painter was born in 1774. Greifswald is a university town and a member of the Hanseatic League.

The Society is a non-profit-making organization that aims to encourage greater knowledge, appreciation and research into the artist’s life and works. Central to this aim is the Caspar David Friedrich Centre, which was established on the Society’s initiative on the site of the house in which the painter was born.
The Society also seeks to preserve the artist’s memory by means of the Caspar David Friedrich Prize as well as by guided tours and excursions to places associated with the artist and, finally, by lectures and public readings. It plays an important role in the cultural life of Greifswald and of the wider region.

The Society has been researching the history of the Friedrich family, including the family home and business premises, as part of a long-term project and in this way is contributing to the history of the artist’s impact and reception.
The Society runs a research library on German Romanticism to which members of the public are admitted for the purposes of their research. The library, which is constantly being enlarged, is located in the Society’s offices.
In pursuit of its aims, the Society works with academic institutions such as the Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald and the Alfried Krupp Institute for Advanced Studies in the town.

Like many comparable associations, institutions and organizations, the Caspar David Friedrich Society is sustained not only by those who are actively involved in its running on a local basis but also by many who support its aims in word and deed. As with any charitable organization, a stable membership base is essential, and this is also true financially, hence the Society’s wish to enlist the practical and moral support of as many likeminded individuals as possible.
All who feel an affinity for the great Romantic painter and his art and who wish to lend expression to their commitment will receive a warm welcome from the Caspar David Friedrich Society.