Brücke-Museum Berlin

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The Brücke artists' group was founded in Dresden in 1905: the architecture students Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Fritz Bleyl were searching for a new, direct visual language beyond academic tradition. Max Pechstein and Otto Mueller, among others, joined later. Around 1911 the painters shifted their focus to Berlin; in 1913 the group disbanded – today it is regarded as the nucleus of German Expressionism.

The idea for a museum of its own came from Karl Schmidt-Rottluff in 1964, who donated a large number of his own works for it. Erich Heckel contributed more than 900 works in 1966, and after his death his widow Siddi Heckel added to the holdings. On September 15, 1967, the museum opened in a low pavilion building by the architect Werner Düttmann on the edge of the Grunewald forest in Dahlem.

Today the museum holds the world's most extensive collection on the Brücke, with paintings, watercolors, drawings and prints. The museum is an institution of Berlin's cultural administration. Long-serving founding director Leopold Reidemeister was succeeded in 1988 by Magdalena M. Moeller; since 2017 Lisa Marei Schmidt has headed the museum.

Under her leadership, the museum presents Brücke art in ever-new ways in changing collection exhibitions, often in dialogue with contemporary positions, and also takes a critical look at its own history. Since 2021 the garden with the open wooden structure “Waldraum” (Forest Room) by the collective ConstructLab has served as a venue for outdoor programs.

Highlights

• World's largest collection on the Brücke artists' group
• Works by Kirchner, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, Pechstein and Mueller
• Listed pavilion by Werner Düttmann (1967) at the edge of the forest
• Garden installation “Waldraum” by ConstructLab
• Combination ticket with the neighboring Kunsthaus Dahlem

Founded

1967

Operated by

Land Berlin (nachgeordnete Einrichtung der Senatsverwaltung für Kultur)

Director

Lisa Marei Schmidt

Admission & discounts

Welcome Card: 25% discount (€4.50). Free admission also for recipients of social benefits, press, ICOM, Museumsbund, BBK, and members of several friends' associations (including Brücke-Museum, Berlinische Galerie, Kunsthaus Dahlem).

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Step-free entrance; the exhibition rooms can be reached via a few steps or a ramp. The restrooms in the listed building are not wheelchair-accessible – accessible restrooms are in the neighboring Kunsthaus Dahlem. Medically required assistance dogs allowed. The forest path of the outdoor exhibition is unpaved and not accessible. Bookable tours also in German Sign Language (DGS).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Holiday workshops for children, e.g., for 8- to 12-year-olds; at times also family workshops for ages 5 and up. Drawing with pencil and paper is allowed in the exhibition.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Coat check

No café of its own – café in the neighboring Kunsthaus Dahlem. Free coat check (mandatory for bags larger than A4). Dogs only in the garden and on a leash.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit