The Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne's old town is a true Mecca for art fans and the oldest museum in Cologne. The lower floor is home to the masters of Impressionism : Paul Signac, Claude Monet and van Gogh. Here, art lovers will find the largest collection of Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist art in Germany! One of Claude Monet's beautiful water lily paintings is also included!
Monet's famous water lilies include an incredible 250 paintings! These were created in Monet's own flower garden in Giverny , about 80 kilometers northwest of Paris. The flower garden still exists, by the way. Most of the water lily paintings were created in the last 30 years of Monet's life, when he increasingly suffered from the effects of cataracts and gradually lost his eyesight. Monet painted many of his beautiful paintings almost blind, so he was basically the Beethoven of art!
Journey through the time of painting
The Wallraf-Richartz Museum continues with the art of the Middle Ages. The museum has the largest collection of medieval paintings in the world. But be careful: it gets dark! Many of the paintings are in dark colors and show spooky motifs. This naturally also affects the atmosphere in the museum rooms.
Christian symbols are often found in medieval art. In the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, the 15 panel paintings from the Ursula cycle are particularly worth mentioning. This is about Saint Ursula , one of Cologne's city saints. Of course, you will also hear the story of Ursula ("Uschi") and her friends on our tours !
The tour continues into the Baroque period . On the second floor you will come across paintings by Rembrandt and Peter Paul Rubens. Did you know that Rubens spent his childhood in Cologne? The upper floor of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum has space for changing special exhibitions . The Wallraf-Richartz Museum is sure to leave a lasting impression on art fans. Promised!
Museum with typical Cologne history
The art museum was opened in 1861, but its history began in 1824 with the death of its namesake , Ferdinand Franz Wallraf . He was the last rector of the old University of Cologne and left his art collection to the city of Cologne in his will. The history of the collection can even be traced back to the 16th century!
But the museum is not only named after Wallraf, but also after Richartz. Who was the second person to give it its name? In 1851, the merchant Johann Heinrich Richartz agreed to donate 100,000 thalers to build a new building for the museum. And so his name ended up on the plaque!
The museum is to become bigger
During the Second World War, the building was completely destroyed in an air raid, but was rebuilt on the old site in 1957. But - as is not uncommon in Cologne - there were discussions shortly afterwards about the room layout and the insufficient capacity. And the story continues to this day! The museum is constantly being built, but an extension has not yet worked out. In the meantime, there have been arguments, threats from donors, and hollow spaces were found during investigations at the construction site. But just look at how beautiful the museum used to look! Oh, and if you can't get enough of views like this, then we of course recommend the TimeRide at Alter Markt. There will be another article about that, of course!
You can also find out what can be found in Cologne during excavations and construction work on our brewery tours, for example in the very special cellar of the Gilden im Zims. We are also thinking of the tomb of Poblicius, which was found by chance in the cellar of a house on Chlodwigplatz. Two brothers carried out the excavation alone after the city initially showed no interest. After the brothers opened a small private museum that made international headlines, the city had to intervene. That is another Cologne anecdote, but one that is certainly one of the valuable stories of our city.
In any case, the time will finally come in 2028 and the extension of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum will be opened. We'll wait and see, there will still be a lot of water flowing down the Rhine by then. Unfortunately, we're not so lucky with construction in Cologne. Until then, you can admire many beautiful paintings from the Middle Ages to the 19th century in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum.
And whether you're an art enthusiast or not , our brewery tours will take you into an interesting world with lots to hear, see and taste! With just a few clicks you can find the tour you want and complete the booking. We look forward to seeing you!
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