150 Years of the Hamburger Kunsthalle

Not a museum that just stands there and waits — but a place for lively encounters with art for ALL OF US. This claim expressed by our first director Alfred Lichtwark is still valid today. 

150 years ago – in August 1869 – the Hamburger Kunsthalle opened its doors to the general public in its own building. An initiative of Hamburg citizens had achieved its objective: Hamburg with its new art museum had caught up with other major cities in Germany and created a permanent location for the engagement with art. 

Ever since the Hamburger Kunsthalle has time and again set new standards for museum work. The first director Alfred Lichtwark, for instance, opened up the house for radically new visitor groups and developed a wide-ranging artistic and educational programme. After the Second World War, the Kunsthalle became an important place for the revived encounter with modern art. In the 1970s and 1980s the Hamburger Kunsthalle substantially contributed to developing a new form of special exhibitions in which both comprehensive and topical subject matter could be debated through art. Since the 1990s the Kunsthalle has repeatedly designed innovative and pathbreaking educational formats aimed at offering many different audiences a wide variety of approaches to engage with art. The extensive process of digitalizing the Kunsthalle’s holdings, and thus its opening up to the digital world, is likewise driven by the claim of being a museum for everyone. With its extensive modernization in 2016, an inspiring and inviting architectural opening of the museum was accomplished. And, not least, it is the over 18,000 members of the Friends of the Kunsthalle who have enabled it to become one of the largest German art museums, an indication of how soundly the Kunsthalle is anchored in the community. 

The big festival weekend on 31 August and 1 September to mark the 150th anniversary of the Hamburger Kunsthalle exceeded all expectations: 31,000 visitors celebrated the anniversary with us. Thanks to generous support, the Verein der Freunde der Kunsthalle e. V. made free admission possible. In the midst of collection presentations and exhibitions, guided tours, music and discussion events, a cheerful, communal and interested atmosphere prevailed throughout the building. In nice sunny weather, the guests could enjoy the numerous offers on the outdoor area, such as the dining cars, the musical accompaniment and the evening film screening on the facade of the Galerie der Gegenwart, especially on Saturday. The great popularity of the art treasures of the collection from eight centuries comprehensively writes the history of the Hamburger Kunsthalle as a city museum from the visitors' side in the most beautiful way and brings the anniversary motto »for ALL of US» to life.