Haus der Kunst

Few museum buildings in Germany carry their origins as heavily as the Haus der Kunst on Prinzregentenstraße. Hitler had it built from 1933 to 1937 as the "House of German Art", a temple for the art the regime approved of. Today, without a collection of its own, it shows international contemporary art and deals openly with that history. It stands on the southern edge of the Englischer Garten, a few steps from the Eisbach stream, and a good part of it can be seen without a ticket.

History: from Nazi art temple to exhibition house

After Munich's Glass Palace burned down in 1931, the city's artists' associations wanted a new exhibition hall. Hitler scrapped their project in 1933 and personally commissioned Paul Ludwig Troost. The building opened on 18 July 1937 with the first "Great German Art Exhibition". The very next day, the propaganda show "Degenerate Art" opened nearby in the gallery building at the Hofgarten. The "Great German Art Exhibition" ran every year until 1944 and was mainly a sales show, with Hitler himself as the biggest buyer.

The building came through the war almost undamaged. The US Army used it as an officers' club, and according to one story even laid out a basketball court inside. Exhibitions resumed in 1946, and in 1947 French modern art was shown here for the first time on German soil after the war. The biggest crowd-puller in its history was the 1980 Tutankhamun exhibition. Since 1992 the house has been run by a foundation of the Free State of Bavaria.

What to see

• The facade: The building is 175 metres long, and both long sides have a 21-bay portico of massive, plain columns. What looks like solid stone is a steel frame clad in limestone from the Danube valley near Kelheim.
• The central hall: The former "Hall of Honour" with its marble floors is free to enter. It currently holds Tomás Saraceno's "Museo Aero Solar", a flying sculpture made of used plastic bags.
• The Archive Gallery: Films, plans and objects tell the story of the building in the Nazi era and after. Until February 2027 it also shows "Eisbach Treasures", objects the surfer and diver Tao Schirrmacher has recovered from the bed of the Eisbach since 2008.
• The Goldene Bar: In the former artists' party room, murals on gold leaf showing maps and motifs about the origins of drinks and luxury goods were uncovered by 2004. Outside is the north terrace facing the Englischer Garten.
• The temporary exhibitions: The galleries cover around 5,040 m². "Tomás Saraceno in collaboration. Verwobene Welten" runs until 7 February 2027, "Steina: Playback" until 7 December 2026.

Tickets and opening hours (as of October 2026)

• Opening hours: Wednesday to Monday 10:00–20:00, closed on Tuesdays. Exhibitions close 15 minutes earlier.
• House Ticket Large (Saraceno): €15, reduced €11, pupils and students aged 12 and over €5, family ticket €35 for two adults and up to three children.
• House Ticket Small ("Steina: Playback"): €10, reduced €8, pupils and students €5.
• Free: children under 12, plus the central hall, Archive Gallery, Terrace Hall, the "Exhibition of Exhibitions", shop and Goldene Bar.
• Open Haus: on the last Friday of every month admission is free from 16:00 to 22:00, with tours and events.

Tickets are sold online and at the desk. Children up to and including 12 may only visit the exhibitions with an adult. There are lockers for bags, but suitcases cannot be left.

Getting there and parking

The address is Prinzregentenstraße 1. The easiest way is tram 16 to "Nationalmuseum/Haus der Kunst" (change from U4/U5 at Lehel or from the S-Bahn at Isartor) or museum bus 100 to "Königinstraße". Behind the building there is a large paid car park: €4 for two hours, €2.50 for each extra hour, €15 for the day and €5 in the evening from 19:00 to 07:00.

Tripto tip

Allow one and a half to two hours for a major exhibition, or half an hour for the free areas alone. Leave through the north door onto the terrace: from there you are in the Englischer Garten and at the Eisbach within a minute. The building is largely accessible, and you can borrow folding stools free of charge at the desk. The Residenz and the Hofgarten are about a ten-minute walk away.