Germany: A Country of Museums
From art museums to science centres – the German museum scene is diverse and attractive.
Every year, around 18 million tickets are sold to Germany’s more than 6,000 museums. The German Museum in Munich alone boasts ticket sales of 1.44 million – not even football stadiums can compete.
The precursors of modern collections – the cabinets of curiosities of the late Renaissance period and the princely collections of the Baroque era – exhibited objects of all kinds of different origins. Today’s Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, which has been exhibiting art since 1754, was one of Europe’s first public museums. The oldest building in Europe to be specifically designed as a museum is the Fridericianum, which opened in Kassel in 1779. In the nineteenth century, new museums were established by the bourgeoisie in many cities; Frankfurt’s Städelmuseum, for example, was the result of a civic foundation. In the second half of the twentieth century, it was above all museums of technology and institutions dedicated to preserving memories that were opened. In addition, new forms of museum were created such as archaeological parks and science centres.
Recommendations for the 2014/2015 winter season
More than half of all German museums are small institutions which attract fewer than 5,000 visitors per year. Museums dedicated solely to art account for only around ten percent of museums. Nonetheless, when people talk about museums, they tend to mean the leading art collections. At these temples of culture, it is in turn the major exhibitions which attract most attention. In the autumn and winter of 2014/2015, a whole host of museums with familiar names are staging interesting exhibitions. A number of recommendations:
Works by Georg Baselitz are on show at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. www.hausderkunst.de
The Alte Pinakothek in Munich is devoting an exhibition to the city painter Canaletto. www.pinakothek.de
Immerse yourself in Renaissance artist Albrecht Altdorfer’s “Realms of Imagination” at the Städelmuseum in Frankfurt. www.staedelmuseum.de
The Museum Folkwang in Essen shows how Monet, Gauguin and van Gogh were inspired by Japan. www.museum-folkwang.de
Max Beckmann is presented with a wide-ranging exhibition of still lifes at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de
