Top 10 Art Galleries to Visit in Germany
From klein aber fein (small but beautiful), to literal art palaces that take days to explore, Germany has art galleries nearly everywhere you turn. Since they are state funded, prices are usually reasonable and as Germans rarely do anything without eating cake after, the cafés are often first rate as well. Here’s ten place where you can appreciate some art and enjoy a snack after.
Museum Island
Museum, Archaeological site, Historical Landmark
Wallraf-Richartz Museum - Cologne
Cathedral, Museum
Neues Museum
Museum
MUCA
Museum
MUCA
The Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art is Germany’s first museum of urban art. Founded in 2016 by collector Christian Utz, MUCA focuses on artists like Shepard Fairey, Herakut, Andy Warhol and Banksy, as well as emerging artists.
Gemäldegalerie
Museum
Gemäldegalerie
The other side of the city from Museum Island, the Gemäldegalerie is a painting paradise. Holbein, Titian, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt and shed loads of others you didn’t even know you loved: they’re all carefully, and, according to the museum, scientifically hung over 72 rooms. The pieces in the Gemäldegalerie are unusual in Europe because the collection was started by the government, not an aristocrat. From its inception in 1815, the collection was meant to reflect the full breadth of European art.
Bucerius Kunst Forum
Museum
Bucerius Kunst Forum
The guiding principle of the Bucerius Kunst Forum is to present art in new contexts. For example a recent exhibition of Frida Kahlo’s work highlighted connections between European and Mexican art. The museum is small – there is only room for 100 exhibits at a time – so it can afford to be very precise in its programming choices. The Kunst Forum frequently borrows from other museums to complete the show, so who knows what will turn up at your next visit.
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
Museum
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
When the Electors Saxony weren’t busy ordering bakers to make 1.8 ton Christmas cakes, they were collecting art. These days, the Elector is no longer but the art lives on in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Well, most of it. During the war, the collection was stored elsewhere and then confiscated by the Russians. 450 paintings are still missing, but the jewel in the Alte Meister crown, Raphael’s Sistine Madonna returned home safely.
art is just a four letter word
art is just a four letter word
Fifty km northeast of Dortmund, in the heart of Germany’s former industrial heartland, the ad agency art is just a four letter word maintains a gallery focused on street art and graffiti that has amassed an international following. Artists like Rookie the Weird, Jan Kalab, Bates and Adele Renault are all featured.
Städel Museum
Museum
Max Ernst Museum - Brühl
Museum
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