Art Hall Museum (Hamburger Kunsthalle)

The Hamburger Kunsthalle is one of the largest and most important museums of art in Germany. Its superb permanent collection takes visitors on a journey through seven centuries of art history, from the medieval altars of Master Bertram through to the stars of the contemporary art scene such as Gerhard Richter and Neo Rauch.

Among the highlights of the collection are Dutch paintings of the 17th century, including works by Rembrandt and Ruisdael, German painting of the Romantic period with extensive groups of works by Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge, as well as important paintings by Adolph Menzel and Max Liebermann. The outstanding collection of classical modernist art features works by Max Beckmann, Edvard Munch and the painters of the “Brücke” group.

In addition to its permanent collection, the Hamburger Kunsthalle has also won international acclaim for the quality of its special exhibitions, which attract thousands of visitors to the city every year.

The Hamburger Kunsthalle consists of three striking buildings: the brick building from 1869 with its ornamental facade, the neoclassical extension building from 1919 made of light-coloured shell limestone, and the white cube of the Galerie der Gegenwart designed by architect Oswald Mathias Ungers and opened in 1997. Centrally located between Hamburg’s main railway station and the Alster lakes, the Kunsthalle is therefore also one of the city’s architectural highlights.

Besides offering wonderful surroundings for the appreciation of art, the Kunsthalle also houses three museum shops with a large selection of international art books, posters, postcards and design objects for sale. Visitors can enjoy one of the finest views of the city from the Bistro in the Galerie der Gegenwart, which offers a relaxing dining experience just like Café Liebermann in the historical section of the museum.