The Kurpfälzisches Museum (Palatinate Museum) is a museum of art and archaeology in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located in the Palais Morass. It was founded in the late 1870s, when the city of Heidelberg purchased the private collection of the artist and art historian Charles de Graimberg.

Collections

Archaeology Findings from the Lower Neckar Valley, including a facsimile of the lower jaw of ''

Homo heidelbergensis ''Homo heidelbergensis'' is a species of archaic human from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe and Africa, as well as potentially Asia depending on the taxonomic convention used. The species-level classification of ''Homo'' during the Middle Pleis ...

'' discovered in Mauer; Roman artefacts; a life-sized reconstruction of the

mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion (), is a Roman temple, temple erected in classical antiquity by the Mithraism, worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman ...

of Heidelberg; and items dating from Heidelberg's period as the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...

residence. Paintings Works from the 15th to the 20th century, including portraits of historic Heidelberg figures ( Frederick V, Elizabeth Charlotte, Perkeo); religious works by

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden (; 1399 or 140018 June 1464), initially known as Roger de le Pasture (), was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commis ...

and

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...

; 17th century Dutch

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

s; 18th century

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

pictures; 19th century works by Carl Rottmann,

Anselm Feuerbach Anselm Feuerbach (12 September 1829 – 4 January 1880) was a German Painting, painter. He was the leading neoclassicism, neoclassical painter of the German 19th-century school. Biography Early life Feuerbach was born at Speyer, the son of ...

and Wilhelm Trübner; and 20th century works by Alexander Kanoldt, Alexei Jawlensky and

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, drawing, draftsman, printmaker, sculpture, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the m ...

. Graphic arts 7,000 watercolours and drawings, and just under 13,000 printed graphics, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, including works by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, Karl Philipp Fohr,

Georg Schrimpf Georg Schrimpf (13 February 1889 – 19 April 1938) was a German painter and graphic artist. Along with Otto Dix, George Grosz and Christian Schad, Schrimpf is broadly acknowledged as a main representative of the art movement ''Neue Sachlichkei ...

and

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

. Local artists are well represented, especially those from the

Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

and the 20th century. Many of the older works provide historic representations of the city, the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, and the former Palatinate. Works on paper are sensitive to light and cannot be put on permanent display. Applied arts The applied arts collection includes porcelain, coins, medallions, furniture and glassware. Four of the rooms have been furnished to recreate the 18th and 19th centuries, featuring for example Frankenthal porcelain and portraits of the prince-electors. There are also representative costumes of a Heidelberg family from around 1750 to 1930, and a household silver collection that once belonged to Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste (1721–1794). Sculpture Works from the 12th to the 20th century, including medieval gravestones from the former Augustine monastery, early baroque sculptures from houses in Heidelberg's

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

, and sculptures of the Old Bridge, Prince-Elector Charles Theodore and the goddess

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

. Two of the most important pieces are

Tilman Riemenschneider Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German wood carving, woodcarver and sculptor active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Gothic art, Late Gothi ...

's ''Altar of the Apostles'' (1509) and

Wilhelm Lehmbruck Wilhelm Lehmbruck (4 January 188125 March 1919) was a German sculpture, sculptor. One of the most important of his generation, he was influenced by realism (arts), realism and expressionism. Biography Born in Meiderich (part of Duisburg from 190 ...

's stone-cast ''Rückblickende''. Municipal history Historical items, including the oldest stone relics from Heidelberg, a reconstructed kitchen from around 1600, models of the Old Bridge by the 18th century sculptor Linck, and a sequence of pictures by Ferdinand Kobell portraying the destruction of the bridge by floating ice in 1784. There is also a model of the medieval core of the old town. Max Berk Textile Collection Belonging to the museum's applied arts department, but displayed separately in a former evangelical church, this collection includes women's costumes going back to the second half of the 18th century, along with accessories, everyday items and decorative textile objects. There are also artefacts from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and a collection of British and American patchwork quilts from the last 200 years.

External links

Home page in English

Kurpfälzisches Museum: Badische Heimat / Landeskunde online (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurpfalzisches Museum Art museums and galleries established in 1878 Museums in Baden-Württemberg Art museums and galleries in Germany 1878 establishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Heidelberg Tourist attractions in Heidelberg

Collections

Further reading

External links