Where are the best Art locations in Germany?
 

We are planning a trip to Germnany in Sept. 2007 and would like some help in choosing places to find great art both old and contemporary?

Surely the Alte Pinakothek is a good place to start (Munich).

Best wishes,

Rex

Two of my all time favourites are both in Cologne: the outstanding Museum Ludwig (contemporary) and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum. When I was there they were in the same building but I've heard since that the Wallraf has been moved to it's own building now.

What part of Germany are you going to?

We love both the Ludwig in Cologne and the Pinokotheks in Munich. We also enjoyed the Franz Marc in Kochel am See, a small museum with mainly the work of Marc.
There are so many to choose from you might want to start at
www.artencyclopedia.com

I should mention that we started planning to go back to Germany and this time we will include the Statsgaleria (?) in Stugartt and another art museum in Basel.

I have visited most of the museums mentioned abve, all have great master pieces, the museum quarter in Frankfurt shalln't be missed either. But, if time is limited, I think Berlin is The place to visit, not only best museums and art galleries, but the fascinating comtemporary architecture.

I agree with Rex, The Alte Pinakotek in Munich is very good, as it the Neues Pinakotek just down the street.

Dresden and Berlin.

You can start with
www.skd-dresden.de

Beside the world famous Old Masters in Dresden and the Green Vault Treasure museum there are also a lot of contemporary works to see (which most visitors miss unfortunately). There is a vibrant scene due to the College of Fine Arts (with exhibits all the time) and there are plenty of private galleries, which sell contemporary art (you can watch only, of course).

Almost every bigger town in Germany has a great collection of art. The best (sorted by quality) are:

- Cologne (Wallraff-Richartz-Museum for medieval art and Museum Ludwig for modern art)
- Munich (Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek, Pinakothek der Moderne)
- Berlin
- Düsseldorf (for contemporary art #1)
- Stuttgart
- Dresden (for medieval art)
- Frankfurt
- Essen (for art between 1800 and 1970)

All mentioned cities have internationally acclaimed museums (way beyond provincial ones).

We were surprised at the high quality of the contemporary collection in the new Frieder Burda museum in Baden-Baden (not a place you'd normally associate with contemporary art).
http://www.baden-baden.de/en/tourism...ml&nav=302

But for contemporary art, I would side with traveller1959 for Dusseldorf as first choice. Not only does it have excellent collections, the arts school there has exhibits where you can see up and coming artists. Plus it's a great city to visit, very lively and sophisticated (put it this way: sushi bars vie with sausage in popularity).

If you have a specific interest in Albrecht Durer, the Duerer Haus in Nuremberg is well worth a visit. Interactive exhibits. However, most of the works shown there are copies, his originals are in Dresden, Vienna, Munich etc.

http://museen.nuernberg.de/english/e..._duerer_e.html

We spent 5 days in Berlin last year, were mainly interested in art (particularly contemporary) & didn't get to see everything we hoped to. As well as the main public galleries it is a very happening place for young artists (and there is quite a bit of interchange between Scotland & Berlin). Lots of exciting modern architecture too.

The absolute highlight of our trip was the Sammlung Hoffmann, for which you have to book a tour - http://www.sophie-gips.de/sh_e_frameset.htm.

Traveler 1959 & BTilke,
The noise you just heard was me, whining into cyberspace.
The K21 was closed when we visited Dusseldorf. While planning our trip I had considered the Von der Hevdt Museum in Wuppertal and the Museum Folkwang in Essen.
We are planning to go back (and back) to Germany. Perhaps we need to plan some time to return to K21, are the Von de Hevdt and the Folkwang worth traveling side trips?

And that was supposed to be Staatsgalerie in my earlier post. Some days the letters just won't flow.

Wow, thank you all for the energy in your responses.

It's a pity that K21 was closed. It will be open in September. In Museum Kunst Palast in Düsseldorf, there will be a Caravaggio exhibition, starting on Sept. 9th. For details, see www.duesseldorf.de.

Museum Folkwang is worth a visit, as well as the city of Essen. See also Zeche Zollverein, an art deco coal mine which is now a cultural center, and the Margarethenhöhe, a architectural masterpiece (with a very nice hotel, BTW). For details, see www.essen.de

Strangely, I have never been to Von der Heydt Museum. It is certainly not in the same league as Folkwang and K20/K21.

I see that you are really in modern art. In Bottrop, just north of Essen, there is a museum, completely devoted to the work of Josef Albers, called "Quadrat". See http://www.quadrat-bottrop.de/start.html

Are you interested in Josef Beuys? Then Schloss Moyland, close to Düsseldorf will be worth a visit:
http://www.moyland.de/pages/home/

I forgot to include a hotel recommendation for Düsseldorf:
http://www.hotel-orangerie-mcs.de/
It is a very nice boutique hotel in the very best location of town, right in the baroque Karlstadt (where the art galleries are located), close to the bar district (Altstadt), but quiet, and 100 yards from the beautiful riverfront.

Thanks Traveller1959. Sometimes I think now that I've discovered the joy of Germany I may never get anywhere else.

Are there any museums in Germany where it recommended to buy tickets ahead?

If you want to go to the Sammlung Hoffmann in Berlin, which I mentioned above, you need to book ahead for a guided tour. Open Saturdays only.

Sorry, that wasn't very clear. What I'm trying to say is that you can *only* visit the Sammlung Hoffmann if you've booked a tour. Highly recommended - one of the most exciting contemporary art spaces I've visited.

The Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin is also an excellent and quite extensive contemporary art gallery - don't miss the basements !

If you are at all interested in archaic and classical Greek sculpture as well as vases and objects in glass, consider the Glyptothek in Munich (it contains the sculptures from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina) and the Antikensammlungen (for the vases and other objects). Both are on Koenigsplatz; the museums are small and well designed; they are never crowded; and if I remember correctly, one of them has a very nice cafe.