Germany is considered one of the safest travel destinations in the world. More than 380 million hotel overnight stays are registered in this country annually, with 70% of them being foreigners. Travelers are attracted by the country's rich and varied history, attractions, festivals and natural beauty. A separate object of cultural tourism is the art galleries in Germany, known throughout the world for their art collections.
Why Germany is interesting for visitors
In addition to the safety of travel and the all-encompassing hospitality with which guests are welcomed here, Germany attracts people from all over the world for its rich cultural heritage.
A colossal number of historical monuments, museums, galleries, exhibition centers - even small cities can offer guests a full-fledged cultural program.
The respect for cultural heritage sites and the desire to instill good taste in each successive generation has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of enhancing artistic values throughout the country.
The best galleries in Berlin
The collections of German art galleries have been built over the centuries. Berlin's galleries have a high status among tourists, as they exhibit many world-famous works of art. Among them, the most popular are such objects.
Old National Gallery
The old national gallery is located on the museum island. For the first ten years, the gallery functioned at the Academy of Fine Arts, and later moved to a modern building, made in the style of an ancient Roman temple.
During the Second World War, the building was seriously damaged by air strikes - the reconstruction lasted for 20 years, and the final restoration was completed only by 2021. You can buy tickets to visit the gallery on the website.
Ticket prices:
- the cost of a single admission ticket is 12 euros, with an audio guide (German / English) - 17 euros;
- shortened tour of the gallery - 6 euros, audio guide for the excursion - 5 euros;
- admission is free for visitors under 18, members of the press and people with disabilities.
The address of the gallery in Berlin is Bodestraße, 1-3.
Buses 100 and 200 go to the gallery, you need to get off at the Lustgarten stop. To reach this attraction by underground, take the U6 line and get off at Friedrichstraße or take the U2 line and get off at Klosterstraße.
New National Gallery
The new national gallery was built in 1968 and is one of the state museums. The area of the museum is just over 4 thousand square meters. In the building made of glass and concrete, exhibits of various artistic trends are exhibited: surrealism, modernism, expressionism, pop art.
The exposition is located on the semi-basement and main floors, sometimes uniting several exhibitions at once. The gallery contains works by Munch, Picasso, Liebermann.
Official site of the gallery.
It is not possible to buy tickets for a visit as of 2021, since the gallery is undergoing a renovation process since 2021.
Address: Potsdamer Straße, 50.
You can get to this attraction by taking the U2 metro line. Get off at Potsdamer Platz station. To the same stop there are buses М29 and М41, as well as city trains S1, S2, S25.
Berlin Picture Gallery
The Berlin Art Gallery opened at the Kulturforum in the center of Berlin in 1830 and is one of the greatest treasures of art museums in the world. The building underwent reconstruction at the end of the 20th century. The museum collection includes artistic masterpieces by Dürer, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Titian, Bosch, Rembrandt and Rubens.
On an area of more than 7 thousand square meters, there are 72 exhibition halls, where more than 3.5 thousand paintings are presented. The exposition covers the period of world painting from the 13th to the 18th century.
Ticket prices:
- adult ticket with audio guide (English / German) - 12 euros;
- children under 16 and members of the press are admitted free of charge.
Gallery address: Matthäikirchplatz.
Buses M29 and M41 (Potsdamer Platz), M48 and M85 (Kulturforum) run to the museum. Electric trains S1, S2, S25 also run to Potsdamer Platz. Nearby is the U2 metro line.
East Side Gallery
Perhaps the most unusual open-air art gallery in the world. It is a preserved fragment of the Berlin Wall with a length of just over 1300 m.
The wall is painted by 118 artists who began their work immediately after the fall of the wall in 1990. The paintings reflect the political events that took place in the country in the 1980s.
In 2009, the wall was awarded the title of artistic value and renovated work damaged by vandals and weather conditions. Admission and inspection of the graffiti is free.
East Side address: Mühlenstraße, section of the road from Berlin-East train station to the Oberbaumbrücke bridge.
The U1 metro line leads to the gallery and you need to get off at Warschauer Straße station. You can also take the S3, S5, S7 trains to the Ostbahnhof station.
Notable galleries in Munich: Pinakothek and Gallery of Beauties
Munich is home to a large number of museums of world significance. Among them, the following galleries are especially famous.
The Beauty Gallery or the Beauty Gallery of Ludwig of Bavaria is open to visit in the southern wing of the Nymphenburg Palace. The exposition consists of 36 portraits of urban beauties of the era of Ludwig I.
Their portraits were commissioned by the King of Bavaria in 1820-1840 by the court painter Stilller. The canvases depict not only royal persons, but also simple townspeople who charmed the king with their beauty.
Price (the price includes a walk through the park and palace complex Nymphenburg):
- April 1-October 15 - 11 euros;
- October 16-March 31 - 8.5 euros;
- audio guide in Russian - 3.5 euros.
The address of the gallery in Munich is Schloss Nymfemburg.
Electric trains S1, S3, S4, S8 go to the palace, you need to get off at the Laim station. The gallery can also be reached by tram 17: take the Karlsplatz stop and then get off at Schloss Nymfemburg.
Another famous Munich gallery is the Alte Pinakothek, founded in the 1820s as the home gallery of King Ludwig I. The austere interior of the rooms does not distract from the contemplation of more than 700 works of art.
In the Old Pinakothek there are no sculptures or interior items - the entire area of the walls from floor to ceiling is occupied by paintings.
The period when the paintings were painted covers the XIII-XVIII centuries. Today, the gallery exhibits paintings by such famous masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Durer.
Official site.
Ticket price:
- adult - 7 euro, on Sundays - 1 euro;
- audio guide - 4.5 euros;
- admission for children under 18 is free, for inpatient students the ticket will cost 5 euros.
The address of the Old Pinakothek is Barer Str., 27.
You can get to the gallery by tram no. 27, bus no. 157, or by metro lines U2, U8. Get off at Konigsplatz station.
The New Pinakothek was founded in 1846, when the Old Pinakothek was completely filled. The new building exhibits the creations of the Munich school artists, the great French masters Gauguin, Manet, Cézanne of the early 19th and late 20th centuries.
The collection includes over 3 thousand paintings and 300 sculptures. The New Pinakothek is the world's first collection of contemporary art, which began with the light hand of Ludwig I, who also founded the Old Pinakothek.
Official site.
Ticket prices:
- for adults - 7 euros on a weekday, 1 euros on Sunday;
- for students and representatives of the press - 5 euros;
- free for children under 18;
- audio guide - 4.5 euros.
The address of the New Pinakothek is Barer Str. 29, next to the Old Pinakothek.
You can get to Pinakothek by buses no. 157 and 53, tram no. 27 or on the U2 and U8 metro lines to the Theresienstrasse station.
Other popular galleries in Germany
In addition to art museums of national importance, there are many other museums and galleries in Germany. Art lovers should definitely include these locations in their cultural program.
Gallery of comic art "Caricature"
The only comic exhibition in all of Germany is located in the building of the Kassel railway station. The Kassel Art Gallery is regularly updated with fresh satirical works, comics, cartoons and sketches. Official website of the museum.
The ticket price is fixed at 5 euros for all visitors.
Gallery address: Bahnhofsplatz, 1.
There is an ICE 995 electric train to Kassel from Berlin, the travel time is about 3 hours. From Kassel's central square, the museum can be easily reached on foot in 10 minutes along Kölnische Str.
Bremen Art Gallery
Founded in the 1820s, this museum is considered one of the most important galleries in Germany. The works on display are gradually changing due to the sale of old copies and the purchase of new ones, so the collection includes works by different masters from the 16th to the 20th century.
The museum's patron community numbers about 9 thousand people, who ensure financial stability and artistic circulation. The building has undergone several extensions and is now privately owned.
Official website of the museum.
You can buy tickets online, their cost is fixed and reaches 9 euros.
The Bremen Art Gallery is located at Am Wall, 207.
There is an ICE 1508 electric train from Berlin to Bremen. From the central square of Bremen, Marktplatz, you can easily walk to the gallery along Ostertorstraße in 7-10 minutes.
Gallery of old masters in Dresden
The exposition of the Dresden Art Gallery includes a high-quality collection of artwork from the 16th-19th centuries, similar to the collection of the Kunstpalast Museum in Düsseldorf. As of 2021, the exhibits are on display in the Zwinger palace complex.
The gallery began to work in the early 1560s at the initiative of the Elector of Saxony August II. His son, August III, continued his father's work and, in addition to paintings, included porcelain, engravings, and scientific instruments in the collection.
The exposition includes works by Raphael, Titian, Velazquez, El Greco, Caravaggio. Now in the Dresden Picture Gallery, about 750 paintings are exhibited in the historical version of their hanging. In addition, the frames of the paintings do not change, the gilding of which has darkened greatly over time.
Official website of the gallery.
Ticket price (the price includes an audio guide in Russian):
- adult - 12 euros;
- discount ticket for students, press and culture workers - 9 euros;
- for visitors under 17 years old, admission is free.
The Museum in Dresden is located at Theaterplatz, 1.
You can get to the gallery from the central train station by bus number 333 or 360, tram number 11 or walk along Reitbahnstraße. The walk will take no more than 20 minutes.
Kunstforum Hamburg
The International Exhibition Center was founded in 2002 by the charitable organization ZEIT, owned by the banker and philanthropist Gerd Bucerius. Located near the building of the city administration, the Kunstforum annually organizes 3-4 thematic exhibitions, participates in the Night of Museums.
At the same time, the exposition demonstrates no more than 100 paintings, so that visitors can inspect all the works in a short time. The Kunstforum does not have its own paintings - works are borrowed for the period of the exhibition by other museums and galleries. Paintings from the Louvre, the Prado Museum, the Tate Gallery and the National Gallery in Washington are often on display.
Official website of the Kunstforum.
Tickets can be bought online and at the local ticket office. For all events and exhibitions, ticket prices are fixed:
- adult - 9 euros;
- concessional - 6 euros. The discounted price applies to students under 25, unemployed, volunteers and people with disabilities;
- admission is free for visitors under 18 and art school students.
Forum address: Rathausmarkt, 2.
To get there, take metro lines U2 or U4 (stop Jungfernstieg) or walk along Mönckebergstraße from the main train station in 12-15 minutes.
City Gallery in Lenbach House
Founded in 1891, the gallery is housed in a villa that once belonged to the German portrait painter Franz Lenbach. Now the museum is owned by the state.
The building was rebuilt and restored three times - in the 1920s, 1970s and 2010s. The collection consists of an extensive collection of works by German masters of the 18th-19th centuries.
At the beginning of the 20th century, representatives of the Blue Rider association of German artists collected works of exceptional value for the gallery.
Official site of the gallery.
Tickets for visiting the exposition are purchased at the local ticket office and online. Cost (the price includes an audio guide):
- adult - 10 euros;
- concessional for students and people with disabilities - 5 euros;
- for visitors under 18 years of age, admission is free.
Gallery address: Luisenstraße, 33.
You can get to the Lenbach gallery on the U2 metro line to the Königsplatz station or walk from the central bus station along Luisenstraße for 18-20 minutes.
Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art
The museum was founded in September 2021 at the initiative of the Berliner City Foundation and is located in Berlin in one of the residential buildings. Also known as Urban Nation.
Two full floors of the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art are set aside for an interactive space with installations, canvases and murals.
In addition to the premises of the museum, there are 12 apartments in the house, where artists who come to paint the facade of the museum live. The facade of the house is lined with billboards, which are painted and updated as needed. The collection of the museum is constantly replenished, free spaces are allocated for traveling exhibitions and events.
Official site of the museum.
Admission is free for all visitors.
Berlin address: Bülowstraße 7.
This street belongs to the central district of Schöneberg, which can be reached by metro lines U1, U2, U3 and U4. You need to get off at the Nollendorfplatz station. Buses No. 106, 187 and M19 go to the same stop.
What sights are worth seeing in Germany
Germany is famous for its abundance of picturesque places of historical value, as well as hearty and delicious cuisine. Most often, tourists arriving in this country visit Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.
Berlin is famous for the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Cathedral and the Berlin Wall.
Many foreigners come to Munich for impressions of the ancient German brewery Hofbräuhaus and the BMW Museum, and they visit Hamburg in order to look into the zoo, the port and the Reeperbahn nightlife district.
Each city has its own attraction, for the sake of which it is worth visiting.
Conclusion
Art galleries in Germany are located in all major cities. The galleries with national status offer extensive collections of works by old and modern German masters. World famous museums exhibit canvases not only by German, but also by French, Spanish artists, attracting connoisseurs from different parts of the world.
A carefully planned trip to the galleries in Germany or a visit to at least some of them will give an unforgettable experience and help to significantly diversify your leisure time.
