Hamburger Kunsthalle

The Hamburger Kunsthalle is a citizens’ museum: The citizens of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg were the ones to finance the magnificent building of their art museum, opened in 1869 and located in the heart of the city. They endowed the museum with their private art treasures that formed the basis for the collection. The founding director Alfred Lichtwark had already formulated a claim, valid until today, to open the museum to all people and to promote the lively communication of art. Owing to the civic engagement of many patrons and donors up to the present day, the Kunsthalle has succeeded in establishing an internationally renowned collection: Art from eight centuries under one roof.