Indian Chief Travel Guides

Pinakotheken Viertel

The Pinakotheken Viertel (Art Galleries’ Quarter) is an informal name for the area a few blocks northeast of the Hauptbahnhof that houses several major art galleries. The most impressive are the three Pinakotheken that together present art from the Middle Ages to the present. The individual collections are among the best in Germany, with the Alte Pinakothek one of the best in the world.

The Alte Pinakothek (Old Masters’ Gallery), Barer Straße 27, is one of the world’s greatest art collections of European painters from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. It is housed in a large early 19th-century Neo Renaissance building rebuilt after World War II. The catalogue reads like a Who’s Who of European painters, with excellent works by all the great masters. German, Dutch, and Flemish artists are particularly well represented. The Rubens collection is one of the largest in the world.

Across the road is the Neue Pinakothek (New Art Gallery), Barer Straße 29. The post-modern building was only completed in 1981 to house the mainly 19th-century art collection that has been homeless sinceWorldWar II. The sculptures and paintings cover all periods from Rococo to Art Nouveau. It has works by all the famous Impressionist artists but it is really the German works that come to the fore here.

Adjacent is the Pinakothek der Moderne (Modern Art Gallery), Barer Straße 40, 089-2380-5118, www.pinakothekder-moderne.de, opened in 2002. This glass and steel building houses four collections that together represent the largest modern art gallery in Germany. The exhibition comprises sections on modern art, industrial and graphic design, graphic art, and architecture.