The recently renovated Kunsthalle Mannheim Museum is a beacon of art and design in Mannheim “the city of squares” Germany. 

The original building was built in 1907 as a temporary international art exhibition hall in celebration of the city’s 300th anniversary. No, the city isn’t full of lame people with a penchant for 50s terminology, it was given its square nickname because it is one of few cities in Germany to be built on a grid pattern. This is good news for we American tourists who rely on spatial awareness and not our shoddy German to get around. Hermann Billing, a kept man who used his wife’s money to enter design contests, created the red brick building with its beautiful façade. My man Hermann did a good job, the building was so well received that the city decided to transform it into a permanent contemporary art museum in 1909. 

Providing “art for all” in a building intended for temporary use has its issues. By the 2000s it became clear that the main building no longer complied with international museum standards and a huge renovation project and new building were planned. Since its 4-day-long grand reopening last year that saw over 5,000 visitors, the improved Jugendstil-Building has been a huge success. Its state of the art heating, cooling systems, and lighting systems have won energy and design awards in Germany with the new building sure to follow suit. 

If exceptional architecture isn’t your thing then check out their permanent collection. Despite being wiped clean of its fun “degenerate art” during WWII (those damn Nazis) the museum is still home to some of the best examples of German Expressionism and has a wonderful collection of modern European paintings and a huge collection of sculptures. It was here that French Informel painting premiered in 1958 (characterized by abstract colors/blobs v. abstract geometric shapes). It was also here that Francis Bacon had his first European show. Visit the art or awesome architecture on the first Wednesday of every month or any Wednesday from 6-8pm for free admission.