Hans-Thoma-Kunstmuseum

About the museum

Bernau is the birthplace of the painter Hans Thoma (1839–1924), who by the end of the 19th century was among the most popular painters in Germany. After the municipality held a first Hans-Thoma-Tag in his honour in 1948, Mayor Ludwig Baur founded the museum in 1949, which has been housed ever since in the town hall in the Innerlehen district. From 1950 the state of Baden-Württemberg awarded the Hans-Thoma-Preis in Bernau; the museum owns one work by each prize winner.

The museum grew in several steps: in 1973 and again in 1991/92 the exhibition space was extended together with the town hall, and from 1974 a full-time museum director ran the museum for the first time. Since 2010 a lift has given barrier-free access to the rooms. The collection grows through long-term loans from the Städel Museum in Frankfurt and from the state, through bequests, donations and purchases, and today comprises around 2,000 objects.

Following antisemitic allegations against Thoma, the prize was renamed in 2023: it has since been called the Landespreis für Bildende Kunst Baden-Württemberg (State Prize for Fine Arts) and continues to be awarded in Bernau. In 2024 the roof, floors and walls were renewed and the permanent Thoma exhibition was redesigned; it opened on 3 October 2024, in the 100th year after the painter's death. A smaller section shows winter landscapes by the Black Forest painter Karl Hauptmann, alongside changing exhibitions.

Highlights

• Newly designed permanent exhibition on Hans Thoma with paintings, graphic art, majolica and documents from his life
• Large-format winter landscapes by the Feldberg painter Karl Hauptmann
• Prize winners' collection with one work by every Hans-Thoma-Preis winner since 1950, including Otto Dix
• Around 2,000 exhibits, some of them long-term loans from the Städel Museum

Permanent exhibitions

• Hans Thoma – Newly furnished main exhibition on the work of the painter born in Bernau, with paintings, graphic works, majolica and documents on his life.
• Karl Hauptmann – Winterlandschaften vom Feldberg-Maler – Small section with large-format Black Forest landscapes by Karl Hauptmann from the years 1911 to 1938, mostly painted outdoors; owing to a redesign, fewer pictures are on view until December 2026.
• Preisträger-Ausstellung – Over 50 works by the recipients of the Hans-Thoma-Preis and the Landespreis für Bildende Kunst since 1950 – a cross-section of 70 years of art in Baden-Württemberg.

Founded

1949

Operated by

Gemeinde Bernau im Schwarzwald

Admission & discounts

Free admission with the Bernau Guest Card (for more than two overnight stays) as well as with the Museums-PASS-Musées or the DreiWelten Card. Appointments outside opening hours on request, then without concessions. Card payment not possible.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Since 2010 the exhibition rooms have been accessible without barriers via a lift.

Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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