Abstract
Recent results for the photoproduction of mesons from nuclei with tagged bremsstrahlung beams are summarized. The experiments have been done at the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup and at the Bonn ELSA accelerator with the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector. Two main physics topics are covered. The electromagnetic excitation spectrum of the neutron has been studied with meson photoproduction reactions off quasi-free neutrons from light nuclei. Particularly interesting results have been obtained for η-photoproduction, where the excitation function of the neutron shows a pronounced, narrow structure which is not observed for the proton. The interaction of mesons with nuclear matter and the in-medium properties of hadrons under various aspects have been studied with meson photoproduction from nuclei, covering a large mass range (from the deuteron to lead). Questions like the possible formation of η-mesic nuclei and in-medium modifications of the σ-meson have been addressed.