15 German museums that everyone should visit

Germany can be proud of its many top museums. We have selected our 15 favorites from all museums in Germany. Ideal for days when the weather is not so nice or when you want to go out! Another fun activity to do during bad weather is, for example, Paint by Numbers or x-tinymce/html Diamond Painting!

1. Pergamon Museum, Berlin

The Pergamon Museum is considered one of the most important museums in the cultural history of humanity. Since 1930, the museum has been enthroned on Berlin's Museum Island and houses sculptures and artefacts from the East and the Near East spanning 6,000 years of history. The Pergamon Museum gained worldwide fame, especially for the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, the Pergamon Altar and the Market Gate of Miletus. The structures were excavated in Asia and the East from the end of the 19th century, removed and brought to Berlin. The Pergamon Museum has been renovated in parts since 2013. Both the Altar Hall with the legendary Pergamon Altar and theHellenistic Hall are affected by the construction work and will remain closed to the public until at least 2023.

2. House of History, Bonn

In the Haus der Geschichte, visitors take a journey through Germany. They start in the post-war period and end in the present. Interactive media stations explain the complex backgrounds and contexts of German history, film and sound documents and numerous exhibits make everyday life in the period from 1945 tangible. For example, the museum's popular permanent exhibition includes Konrad Adenauer's official Mercedes, benchesfrom Bonn's old plenary hall and an original cinema from the 1950s.

3. Pinakotheken, Munich

Munich's Maxvorstadt is the top address for art lovers in the Bavarian capital - and has been since 1836, when the Pinakothek opened its doors on behalf of King Ludwig I. Masterpieces of European painting from the Renaissance to the Rococo are on display here, including important works by Peter Paul Rubens and Albrecht Dürer. Thematically, the Neue Pinakothek begins where the Alte Pinakothek ends: it displays approximately 400 paintings and sculptures from the 19th century. But beware: if you want to visit the museum, you have to hurry. The Neue Pinakothek has been closed since the end of 2018 due to major renovations. A selection of masterpieces can be seen inthe Alte Pinakothek and in the Schack Collection. If that's not enough, during the closing period it's best to take a look at the Pinakothek der Moderne, which exhibits some of the most important German artists of the 20th century, including Joseph Beuys, Paul Klee, Georg Baselitz and Max Ernst.

Are you also curious about the most famous paintings in the world? Then read our blog article: ''26 Famous paintings and images from all art eras''.

4. Gallery of Old Masters, Dresden

A visit to the Semper building in the Zwingerin Dresden is a must for art lovers: it houses the Gallery of Old Masters, one of the most famous painting collections in the world. The collections of pastels by Rosalba Carriera and paintings by Lucas Cranach are also unique in the world. Renovations are also underway here. Until January 2020, the 1st and 2nd floors will be closed for renovation work, but the lower floor will be used for the special exhibition "Highlights of the Old Masters Picture Gallery" with 55 paintings.

5. German Emigration Center, Bremerhaven

The German Emigration House in Bremerhaven is located right where nearly 7.2 million people left for the New World to start a new life in the US by 1890. In the adventure museum, visitors take a journey through 300 years of German migration history based on 33 real family stories. Walking through the large museum, the visitor follows the story of a German emigrant through all stages - from the waiting area in the emigrant port Bremerhaven via the stay on board the ocean liner to the arrival at Ellis Island in New York. In 2021, the museum will be expanded with a new building.

6. Mercedes-Benz Museum,Stuttgart

With its glass facade and elevators reminiscent of Star Trek, the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart looks futuristic both inside and out. Yet the exhibition in the Mercedes-Benz World looks back on 130 years of automotive history - from Carl Benz to e-mobility. Anyone who has ever wanted to see Pope John Paul II's legendary "Popemobile" or marvel at Lewis Hamilton's Silver Arrow will enjoy this automotive museum.

7. German Museum, Munich

The bad news is that if you see all the exhibits in the Deutsches MuseumIf you want to see it up close, you will have to spend days on Munich's Museum Island. The good news is that a visit to the Deutsches Museum is always worthwhile. Our tip for a first visit: plan in advance which highlights from the history of technology and science you definitely don't want to miss. Are you more interested in the Wright brothers' first powered airplane or Konrad Zuse's Z3? Or would you rather surrender to the lightning show at the high-voltage installation? There is something for everyone at the Deutsches Museum.

8. Museum Ludwig, Cologne

Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns: If you want to marvel at the greats of American Pop Art outside the US, the Museum Ludwig is the place to go. The Cologne museum is completely dedicated to the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to Warhol and Co. you will find one of the largest Picasso collections in the world, as well as important works of Abstract Expressionism - from Mark Rothko to Jackson Pollock. The Haubrich collection, donated by the Cologne lawyer Josef Haubrich, shows important works of German Expressionism and the New Objectivity.

9. LWL open-air museum, Detmold

Or itWhether it's dyeing flour, plowing fields, roasting coffee or going to the toilet - Germany's largest open-air museum offers fascinating insights into the rural life of past generations. The museum follows the principle of displaying original historical buildings. This means that the historic houses were dismantled at great expense at their original location and rebuilt on the 90-hectare exhibition site at the foot of the Teutoburg Forest. An exception is the tallest building of the Detmold open-air museum, which has also been thematizing tourism itself since 2017: The "lookout tower on the Königsberg" is areconstruction based on historical models of early tourist observation towers that appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. The open-air museum is only open between April and October and for special winter events.

10. Museum Folkwang, Essen

The Museum Folkwang, located in Essen since 1922, is one of the most renowned art museums in Germany. A special focus of the exhibition is German and French painting of the 19th century. But classical modernism, painting after 1945 and photography, as well as objects from the decorative arts, also enjoy a high status. Admission to the permanent collection is free. You need some time to visit the Folkwang, because the museum's collection now includes around 280 sculptures, around 600 paintings, around 12,000 drawings and prints, more than 60,000 photographs, thousands of craft objects from all over the world.world and almost 350,000 posters. Of course they are not exhibited at the same time.

11. Museum of Natural History, Berlin

The dinosaur world is the attraction of the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. The Giraffatitan, originally classified as Brachiosaurus brancai, is the museum's central exhibit and, at 13.27 meters tall, the largest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world. In addition to the excellent exhibits, the dinosaur show shines with interactive elements. With the so-called Jurascopes, the skeletons can be brought to life. Until the end of January 2020, the only original skeletonof a Tyrannosaurus in Europe can be temporarily seen in the form of the loan of "Tristan Otto" in the Berlin Museum of Natural History.

12. Städel Museum, Frankfurt

Frankfurt is a city where museum visitors will be happy. 15 museums are located on the Museumsufer alone, right next to the Main. Perhaps the best known among them is the Städelsche Kunstinstitut. With more than 3,000 paintings, 660 sculptures, more than 4,600 photographs and more than 100,000 drawings and graphics, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt is one of the most important art museums in Germany. The remarkable collection contains masterpieces of European art from seven centuries. Hieronymus Bosch and Sandro Botticelli are represented in the Städel Museum, as are Francis Bacon and Gerhard Richter.

13. Rally grounds documentation centerNazi Party, Nuremberg

In the south of Nuremberg, extensive remains of buildings on the former site of the Nazi Party still bear witness to the megalomania of the National Socialist regime. According to Hitler's plans, a congress building would be built here that would accommodate 50,000 people. The building remained unfinished and has housed one of Germany's most important historical museums since 2001. The Nazi Party Rally Grounds Documentation Center covers the history of National Socialist tyranny. The permanent exhibition "Fascination and Violence", for example, addresses the causes, contexts and consequences ofHitler's power. The focus is on the history of Nazi party meetings, which were used by Nazi propaganda.

14. International Maritime Museum, Hamburg

On nine exhibition decks, the museum in "Kaispeicher B" presents everything about the maritime history of the past centuries and houses the largest private collection of maritime treasures in the world. The permanent exhibition tells about famous explorers and conquerors, provides information about the history of shipbuilding, merchant shipping and passenger shipping, shows exhibits from the still mysterious deep sea and paintings from seafaring. In addition, the museum exhibits more than 40,000 miniature ship models, as well as miniature replicas of naval battles and harbor landscapes from history.

15.Lake Dwelling Museum, Unteruhldingen

The Pfahlbaumuseum in Unteruhldingen stretches picturesquely along the northeastern shore of Lake Constance. The archaeological open-air museum displays finds and replicas of stilt houses from the Stone and Bronze Ages. It has existed since 1922 and is now one of the largest open-air museums in Europe. In the reconstructed houses you can see what life would have been like in such a settlement, which was typical of the large pre-Alpine lakes at that time.