The Kunstmuseum Bayreuth is a museum for

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

, opened in 1999 in

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany. The historic rooms of the baroque former town hall present exhibitions with contemporary art and classical modern art. The offer includes guided tours, educational events and lectures.

History

Entrance Kunstmuseum Bayreuth Margrave's lion above the portal in the Brautgasse The beginnings of the building date to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. After destruction as a result of the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

in the year 1430 and the large fires in 1605 and 1621, the building was transformed into the town hall of Bayreuth in 1721 and served in that function until 1916. Under the auspices of the

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

's architect Johann David Räntz, the building was transformed from 1722 to 1727. From 1797 to 1812 the old town hall was the seat of the municipal court, and the district court convened here from 1816 to 1832. Until 1916 public amenities such as a trade school or the municipal post office found accommodation. With the inauguration of the new town hall on the Luitpoldplatz in 1916, the building lost this function. In the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, the baroque town hall housed the municipal library from 1921 to 1928. After the destruction of the new town hall during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the old town hall was used as town hall again from 1945. With the construction of the modern town hall, opened in 1972, the building served as state police department. After Mayor won the foundation ''Dr. Helmut and Constanze Meyer Kunststiftung'' for Bayreuth, the building was chosen as the seat for the Kunstmuseum Bayreuth, opened in December 1999.Walter Bartl, Bernd Mayer, Reiner Küchler, Jürgen Dohrmann, Norbert Will, Holger Leverentz, Marina von Assel, Dieter Mronz, Hans Angerer: Das Alte Rathaus der Stadt Bayreuth: Geschichte, Umbau und heutige Nutzung. Stadt Bayreuth, 2000, .

References

External links

Kunstmuseum Bayreuth homepage
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Bayreuth Modern art museums in Germany Museums in Bavaria