The Germanisches National Museum is a museum in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Founded in 1852, it houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. The Germanisches National Museum is Germany's largest museum of cultural history.
Out of its total holding of some 1.3 million objects (including the holdings of the library and the Department of Prints and Drawings), approximately 25,000 are exhibited.
The museum is situated in the south of the historic city center between Kornmarkt and Frauentormauer along the medieval city wall. Its entrance hall is situated on Kartäusergasse which was transformed by the Israeli sculptor
Dani Karavan
Daniel "Dani" Karavan ( he, דני קרוון, 7 December 1930 – 29 May 2021) was an Israeli sculptor best known for site specific memorials and monuments which merge into the environment.
Biography
Daniel (Dani) Karavan was born in Tel A ...
to the
Way of Human Rights (german: Straße der Menschenrechte).
Name, establishment, guiding principles
![GNM-Eigenthum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/GNM-Eigenthum.jpg)
The Germanisches Museum, as it was named initially, was founded by a group of individuals led by the
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
n baron
Hans von und zu Aufsess, whose goal was to assemble a "well-ordered compendium of all available source material for German history, literature and art".
The term ''Germanic'' should be understood in the historical context of the mid nineteenth century. In 1846, German linguists and historians, amongst them the
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...
,
Leopold Ranke and
Jacob Burckhardt, had met in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, and decided to use
"Germanistik" as a comprehensive term embracing all the fields of their academic disciplines related to the culture of German-speaking regions. The
German revolutions of 1848–49
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
had failed to achieve a liberalised and unified Germany. Thus the name of the museum maintained the idea of a close cultural relationship within a region defined by the common German language, and a shared German cultural tradition. In 1852, the museum's intention to document the cultural unity of the German-speaking areas was a progressive concept, free from any exaggerated
Chauvinism
Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...
.
Only in 1871, when the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
was constituted, the museum paid tribute to it by adding ''national'' to its name.
The museum understands itself as an important research and educational institution. As a national museum and a museum of the entire German-speaking region the German National Museum collects and maintains cultural, artistic and historical testimonials from the beginning of history to the present. As a research and educational institution of international standing, the collections, exhibitions and publications present the cultural history of the German-speaking countries in an international and interdisciplinary approach. The work of the institution is guided by the principle of respect for all cultures, so that all human beings can understand what the museum communicates, independent of their upbringing, education, and religious beliefs.
Buildings
![KarthäuserklosterhofNbg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Karth%C3%A4userklosterhofNbg.jpg)
The museum constitutes an architectural monument in itself, as it consists of a variety of buildings erected in different periods. It incorporates the remaining structures of the former
Nuremberg Charterhouse
Nuremberg Charterhouse (''Kartäuserkloster Nürnberg'', also ''Kartause Marienzell'') was a Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, in Nuremberg in Germany. Its surviving premises are now incorporated into the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.
History ...
(german: Kartäuserkloster), dissolved in 1525 and thereafter used for a variety of secular purposes until in 1857 what was left of these premises, by then badly dilapidated, was given to the Museum. The charterhouse was rebuilt and modified to accommodate the collections until the late nineteenth century when
Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
extensions were added on its south side. During and after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the „Alter Eingang“ (''Old Entrance'') and the „Galeriebau“ (''Gallery building'') designed by
German Bestelmeyer
German Bestelmeyer (8 June 1874 – 30 June 1942) was a German architect, university lecturer, and proponent of Nazi architecture. Most of his work was in South Germany.
Life and career
Bestelmeyer was born in Nuremberg, the son of a militar ...
were built to provide an entrance from Kornmarkt and further space.
After the destructions during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
Sep Ruf
Sep Ruf (full name Franz Joseph Ruf; 9 March 1908, in Munich – 29 July 1982, in Munich) was a German architect and designer strongly associated with the Bauhaus group. He was one of the representatives of modern architecture in Germany af ...
designed additional buildings; historical parts of the halls and galleries were adapted to the new architectural concept or torn down after their destruction during the war; only some buildings were restored and rebuilt. The first major building was added 1955–1958, called „Heussbau“ after the first president of West Germany,
Theodor Heuss
Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...
. In 1983, and from 1988–1993, the museum was substantially enlarged. The „Kartäuserbau“ with the new entrance hall situated now on Kartäusergasse was designed by
Jan Störmer
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Numb ...
of architects ME DI UM. In 1999, the 1910 building of the St Lorenz's parish children's home was acquired. It was restored in 2002, and is now the home for the Collection of Children's Toys.
Collection
The collection is displayed in the following sections (denominated here as by the GNM):
In the section ''History of the GNM'', the painting
Germania
Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...
is displayed which was exhibited in
St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main
St Paul's Church (german: Paulskirche) is a former Protestant church in Frankfurt, Germany, used as a national assembly hall. Its important political symbolism dates back to 1848 when the Frankfurt Parliament convened there, the first publicly ...
in 1848.
Some random examples of the collection are shown here:
Gallery
Structure and organization
![GNM Kreuzgang 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/GNM_Kreuzgang_2011.jpg)
The Germanisches Nationalmuseum is a public law foundation supported by the Federal Republic of Germany, the state of Bavaria and the city of Nuremberg. Its Administrative Board is chaired by Prof. Dr. h.c. Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, the head of the General Directorate is Prof. Dr.
G. Ulrich Großmann
Georg Ulrich Großmann (29 November 1953) is a German art historian. He was general director of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg.
Life
Born in Marburg, Großmann studied art history, European ethnology and Christian archaeology at ...
(as per 2016).
''GNM Administrative Board''
/ref>
Associated to the museum are Archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
s, like the , libraries, a special department for restoration and conservation (''Institut für Kunsttechnik und Konservierung'') and an educational center. The museum also administrates the Collection of Children's Toys at St. Lorenz's parish, the Museum of the Emperor's Castle at Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg Castle (german: Nürnberger Burg) is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany.
The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one ...
, as well as the Neunhof Palace, a Manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
located north of Nuremberg with its collection of hunting weapons and tools. The museum is organized as a public foundation since 1921. Since 2 July 1954, companies and individual persons (the ''"Fördererkreis"'') are invited to support the museum's activities.
As a research institute, the GNM conducts scientific and historical research on the material provided in the collections and archives. The research results are made public in scientific journals and exhibitions. Different long-time research projects are ongoing at the museum, including the "Schrifttum zur Deutschen Kunst" (German Art Literature project), and the Hessian
A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse.
Hessian may also refer to:
Named from the toponym
*Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire
**Hessian (boot), a style of boot
**Hessian f ...
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
Stately Homes
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
Online Catalogue.
References
External links
*
Museum website (English)
an
(German)
Germanisches Nationalmuseum
within Google Arts & Culture
*
{{Authority control
Museums established in 1852
National museums of Germany
Art museums and galleries in Germany
Museums in Nuremberg
1852 establishments in Bavaria
1852 establishments in Germany