Germany is one of Europe's traditional cultural hubs. Though a number of collections and buildings were damaged during World War II, a number of the country's museums have been rebuilt and restored since then. After the war, the Kulturforum, a block of museums, concert halls and libraries, was built in West Germany to reinvigorate the country's cultural life.
Alte Pinakothek
Alte Pinakothek is located in the Kunstareal, an area of central Munich where several prestigious museums are concentrated. This museum was built in the early 1800s, primarily to store Rubens's masterwork, "The Last Judgment," but its incredibly ornate interior was severely damaged during World War II. Today, it strongly represents the 19th and 20th centuries, especially the Old Masters. Albrecht Dürer's "The Four Apostles," El Greco's "The Disrobing of Christ," and Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin and Child" are included in its holdings.
Alte Pinakothek
Barer Straße 27, 80333
München, Germany
089-2380-5216
pinakothek.de
Alte Nationalgalerie
Berlin's Alte Nationalgalerie, which translates as the "Old National Gallery," was originally built in the 1860s and 1870s, with the goal of collecting and displaying early Prussian art. This museum is located on Berlin's "Museum Island," which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its collection ranges from classical to early modernist, with works that include Caspar David Friedrich's "Mönch am Meer" and Johann Gottfried Schadow's "Prinzessinnengruppe." Other artists represented include Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Karl Blechen, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas and Paul Cézanne.
Alte Nationalgalerie
Bodestraße 1-3, 10178
Berlin, Germany
030 2090-5801
smb.museum
Neue Nationalgalerie
Also located in Berlin, the Neue Nationalgalerie is perhaps Germany's most celebrated modern museum. Some of the artists represented in the collection are Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Max Beckmann, Salvador Dali and Oskar Kokoschka. Known as the "Temple of Glass," the interior design also reflects the experimentalism of the period, highlighted by the ceiling's black-plated steel beams and the light distributed from around and beneath the audience, instead of above.
Neue Nationalgalerie
Potsdamer Straße 50, 10785
Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland
030 266424510
smb.museum
