Bremen Art Gallery

The Bremen Art Gallery (German: Kunsthalle Bremen) is one of Germany's most significant art galleries. Thanks to the gradual change of expositions, she earned a very good reputation among other art galleries in Germany. It was founded in 1823 .

The Bremen Art Gallery is located in an old building located on the Bremen Walls, which is part of the fortifications, and is located not far from the so-called “old city” on the “Bremen Art Mile”. The building has been protected by law since 1977.

The owner is the Bremen Art Community, and this means that the Bremen Art Gallery is the only art gallery in Germany with a private collection of art from the 14th to the 21st centuries.

History of the Bremen Art Community

A group of 34 traders, led by Senator Jeronim Klugkist, founded the “Art Community” in Bremen in 1834 with the goal of: “To spread a sense of beauty and form, and where you could be alone with art. In a short time after creation, an agreement was signed on the purchase of paintings and frescoes, from one of the Bremen collectors, for protection and preservation.

Since its inception, the number of community members has been limited to 50 members. But in 1843 the restriction was lifted, and in 3 years the number of members grows to 575.

The first 20 years of the club's activities consisted of the opening of exhibitions, proceeds from the sale of paintings, commercial activities and the purchase of new works of art. Since 1843, exhibitions have been organized, along with other art communities, from the same cities as Hanover, Lübeck, Grafswald and Rostock. The community’s strategy was in close contact with the art communities, so the ring of the “friendly circle”, and more precisely with the art museums of Hanover, Hamburg, Stuttgart and other major cities.

The Bremen Art Community is to this day the only art gallery in Bremen, and currently approximately 9,000 people are its members. Under the direction of Georg Abegg, the gallery building was restored inside and out (opened in 1998), as well as the architectural firm Hufnagel Pütz Rafaelian from Berlin expanded on both sides (construction took place in 2008-2011). After 20 years of community leadership, G. Abegg handed over the board to Bernd Schmielau (as of 2014).

Gallery Construction

Having strong patrons and patrons, in 1847 the first stone was laid, marking the beginning of the construction of the gallery. And already on May 1, 1849, Lüder Rutenberg inaugurated the building of the new gallery, there was NOT a file of the eastern gate to the city of Bremen. During the construction of the building, on its façade, four kamyanas of the figure of Raphael, Michelangelo, Dürer and Rubens, which were made by the German sculptor Adolf Steinheuser, were installed.

At that time, it was the first picture gallery in Germany, the construction of which was carried out at the expense of private funds, and which was open to residents of the city. But while all the collections in the gallery were owned by the owners, the land on which the building was located was owned by the city.

Gallery Extension

In 1898, in connection with the urgent need to expand the gallery, a competition was held among the city's architects. According to its results, a proxy was elected two architects, should together implement the plan for expanding the gallery. Albert Dunkel was selected for restoration and expansion in the middle. Eduard Gildemeister was chosen to work from the outside, famous German architects (such as Georg Roemer and Georg Wrba) decorated the facade and the foundation was laid at the end of 1899, and in 1902 the grand opening was held the new gallery building, but the facade of the building will only be completely finished in 1904.

All work was carried out, both externally and in the middle, were funded from private funds. The largest amount was received from an ancient member of the community, the merchant Karl Schütte donated about 400,000 thalers, as did Joseph Johannes Arnold Hachez and Hermann Melchers donated 100,000 thalers each. .

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