The 10 best museums in Germany, from art and design to history and science.
Berlin Museum Island
The Museum Island (Museumsinsel) in the historic heart of Berlin is home to five world-class museums; This unique set of historic museum buildings, all built under different Prussian kings, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and covers everything from the famous bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti to European paintings from the 19th century. Museum Island is home to the Altes Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Bode Museum, the Neues Museum, and the Pergamon Museum, which is one of the most visited museums in Germany thanks to its monumental temples and reconstructed gates to the ancient world.
Palacio Zwinger Dresden
The Zwinger Palace in Dresden, a sprawling complex of pavilions, galleries, royal gardens and inner courtyards, built in the late Baroque period, is worth a visit for its architecture alone. But don’t miss the magnificent museums housed within the palace: there is the Gallery of the Old Masters, which displays Raphael’s famous Sistine Madonna; the Dresden Porcelain Collection, the Armory with its ornamental collection of ancient weapons and the Royal Cabinet of mathematical and physical instruments.
Dresden Green Vault
Another must-see museum in Dresden is the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe), home to one of the best collections of royal treasures in Europe. Located in the Dresden Palace, the treasure chamber was founded by August the Strong in the 18th century and is filled with elaborate works of art in gold, silver, gemstones, enamel, ivory, bronze, and amber. The highlight if the collection is the largest green diamond in the world. Get your tickets well in advance.
Pinakotheken in Munich
Munich is home to a unique ensemble of three museums, each of which highlights a different period in art history: Alte Pinakothek is one of the oldest art galleries in the world and is home to more than 800 European masterpieces from the Middle Ages until the end of the Rococo. ; It is home to one of the largest Rubens collections in the world.
Neue Pinakothek next door is dedicated to art and sculpture from the late 18th to the early 20th century. Highlights include 19th century German art, such as paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, and a wonderful collection of French Impressionists.
Pinakothek der Moderne is Germany’s largest modern art museum and highlights art from the 20th century. The vast gallery complex unites four collections under one roof: The State Graphic Collection; State Museum of Applied Arts; the Museum of Architecture of the Technical University of Munich, the largest specialized collection of its kind in Germany; and the State Gallery of Modern Art that showcases big names like Picasso, Magritte, Kandinsky, Francis Bacon and Warhol.
German museum in munich
The Deutsches Museum (German Museum) prides itself on being one of the oldest and largest science and technology museums in the world. It has a fascinating collection of historical artifacts, from the first electric dynamo and the first automobile, to the laboratory bench where the atom was split. Other museum highlights include exhibits on astronomy, transportation, mining, printing, and photography.
Berlin Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum in Berlin recounts Jewish history and culture in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day. The extensive exhibition is informative and well organized, but it is primarily the spectacular building designed by Daniel Libeskind that leaves a lasting impression on its visitors. The striking architecture is defined by a bold zigzag design, underground tunnels connecting the three wings, irregularly shaped windows and ‘gaps’, empty spaces that extend the full height of the building.
Wallraf-Richartz Museum Cologne
One of Cologne’s oldest museums, the Wallraf-Richartz Museum is home to 700 years of European art, from paintings from the medieval and baroque period, to German romantics and French realism. One of the highlights is the museum’s wonderful collection of Impressionist art, the largest of its kind in Germany.
Bauhaus Archiv – Design Museum Berlin
Berlin’s Bauhaus Archiv is home to the world’s largest Bauhaus collection, offering an in-depth introduction to the German avant-garde school and its impact on design, art, and architecture around the world. The museum is housed in a building designed by Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus school, and displays a fascinating collection created by Bauhaus teachers and students, from ceramics, furniture, and sculpture, to textiles, prints, and bookbinding.
Museo Senckenberg Frankfurt
The Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt is one of the largest museums dedicated to natural history in Germany. The museum displays more than 400,000 exhibits, ranging from fossil amphibians and American mammoths to Egyptian mummies. The highlight of the museum is its display of large dinosaur skeletons (including a Tyrannosaurus Rex), one of the most diverse exhibits in Europe.
Kunsthalle Hamburg
It is home to a trio of architectural gems that house one of the most impressive art collections in northern Germany. Over 700 years of European art history are represented in the Hamburger Kunsthalle, from medieval altars to modern paintings by German artists Gerhard Richter and Neo Rauch. Museum highlights include 17th-century Dutch masterpieces by Rembrandt, art from the Romantic period in Germany by Caspar David Friedrich, as well as an excellent collection by painters from the Bruecke art group.
