Video about the Neue Sammlung Munich

BMW Museum closes until 2008

On 6th December the popular BMW Museum in Munich closes to reopen in 2008. After renovation the exhibition will grow from 1000m² to 5000m². After the great new Porsche Museum and Mercedes Museum (both in Stuttgart) the BMW institution seemed a little bit old fashioned. In front of the Museum BMW opened the BMW World, a center for visitors and customers.

Neue Sammlung, a historic grown collection

The "Neue Sammlung" (New Collection) was founded as a state museum of Bavaria in 1925 and represented a departure from the historically artificial focus of traditional arts and crafts museums. It has existed as the department of arts and crafts, which was intended as an extension of the Bavarian National Museum until this very day, and has established a reputation far beyond the borders of Bavaria and indeed Germany. The word "new" in the title was a reference to what the museum stood for, and has been of relevance ever since.

During the Third Reich parts of the collection were sold or gifted. After World War II the collection growed again especially with donations of big companies like Siemens or Olivetti. Even if the Neue Sammlung was a leading collection it had no museum to display its permanent collection. The communication was by special exhibitions and books. The books edited by Hans Wichmann are today an important reference and often the only source were some design objects are explained.

The turnover came with the opening of the museum in Nuremberg (1999), the resonace of visitors and media was great. After this success the Bavarian government gave the money for a second museum in Munich (2002), a third specialised in ceramics opened in Weiden.

Photo: Monika Bergmann (link) 

Deutsches Museum, almost a design museum?

The Deutsches Museum (German Museum) is much older than industrial design, and it is not a design museum. It shows mostly technological exhibits but design interested people will find here famous industrial design things which were simply too large for other design museum or not id specific enough (Which design museum would display a locomotive or a ship, even if its design is important). But the love of its curators for large items has also disadvantages. The Museum on the Museuminsel in Munich (not to be confused with the Museumsinsel in Berlin) was one day too small and it opened a dependance on the Theresienhöhe (next to Theresienwiese, where the famous Oktoberfest takes place). So visit both and and enjoy their faible for large exhibits.

Neue Sammlung in the Pinakothek der Moderne

If a museum or collection in Europe could claim to have almost everything in industrial design and graphics it could be the institution "Neue Sammlung" with their museum "Pinakothek der Moderne" in Munich (other dependances with museums are in Nuremberg and Weiden).

Is this a good argument? It isn't! Who wants to see so many things (even if only a selection is displayed) ? But: Where will you have the chance to see original products by Christopher Dresser or rare products by Marianne Brandt? Come here, and ignore Eames chairs and Peter Behrens water kettles, see direct only the rare things!

FACTS (Munich)
Founded: 1925
Last renovation: 2002 (new building)
Objects: 70.000 Objects (all dep.)
Visitors: 1.000.000 p.a. (2003-2004, all dep.)