Kunstsammlung Jena
Municipal art collection on Jena's market square, with changing exhibitions of classical modernism and contemporary art in the tradition of the Jena Kunstverein.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The collection's roots lie in the Jenaer Kunstverein (art association), which existed from 1903 to 1949 and made the university town known through avant-garde exhibitions. Based on an idea of the art historian Botho Graef, the philosopher Eberhard Grisebach began building a "Sammlung moderner Kunst" (collection of modern art) from 1912; in 1913 the first work, a painting by Cuno Amiet, was acquired, and in 1914 the collection opened. Artists such as Hodler, Heckel, Macke and Kirchner contributed works; in 1918 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner donated his early printmaking.
In 1937 the Nazi regime seized the most important pieces as part of its "Entartete Kunst" ("degenerate art") campaign. The city had taken over the holdings as early as the 1930s; after 1945 the head of the city museum supplemented them with works by Otto Dix and Otto Niemeyer-Holstein. From 1964 the collection was kept in temporary quarters; from 1981 to 1998 it was displayed in the Romantikerhaus.
Since the 1990s the art collection has shown its exhibitions in the "Neue Göhre" on the market square, the building next to the Stadtmuseum; since 2000 the collection has also been housed there. Since then the holdings have more than doubled, including through the estate of Erika John, the Opitz-Hoffmann collection and the Forum Konkrete Kunst. There is no permanent display: the collection shows classical modernism as well as current art from Thuringia and the world in changing exhibitions. Like the Stadtmuseum and the Romantikerhaus, it belongs to the Städtische Museen Jena (JenaKultur), but it has its own exhibition spaces and its own admission.
Highlights
- Changing exhibitions on classical modernism and contemporary art
- Printmaking by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner from the Botho-Graef-Stiftung
- Opitz-Hoffmann collection with more than 1,000 works
- Forum Konkrete Kunst with loans from 15 countries
- Operated by
- JenaKultur (Städtische Museen Jena)
- Director
- Erik Stephan (Leiter der Kunstsammlung)
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €5 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €3including visitor groups of 10 or more people, participants in booked tours, Jenabonus holders, unemployed people, trainees and students, severely disabled persons, federal volunteers (Bundesfreiwillige), holders of the Museumskarte of the Deutscher Museumsbund and of the Thüringer Ehrenamtscard |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 18 · Children and young people up to and including age 18, as well as pupils of general schools up to age 20, have free admission. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €3 |
| Students & apprentices | €3With the Studentisches Kulturticket, admission is free. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €3 per personPrivate tours cost €50 (children and young people €30) per started hour, plus admission; for children's and pupils' groups from Jena, the tour fee does not apply. |
| Public tour | €7reduced €5, children and young people €1 |
| Annual pass | €60personal; valid for all exhibitions of the Stadtmuseum, Kunstsammlung and Romantikerhaus |
Free admission: Last Sunday of the month (Städtische Museen Jena)
Different prices may apply for exhibitions of special art-historical value and for events.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: not available
- Easy-to-read materials: not available
- Audio description: no information
According to JenaKultur's accessibility statement, there is currently no information in easy language (Leichte Sprache) or in sign language.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 18 |
|---|
- Family tours & workshops
- Kids’ birthday parties
Children's birthday parties (max. 8 children, 120 minutes, €80) with a discovery tour and creative workshop, also as a linocut workshop from age 8. Changing creative offerings for children in the Museumswerkstatt, and online craft ideas.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Stadtzentrum/Löbdergraben
Stops Stadtzentrum/Löbdergraben, Steinweg and Universität (bus and tram).
By car
Parking available
Parking at Eichplatz and Inselplatz, and in the "Neue Mitte" parking garage.
Directly on the historic market square in the city center, next to the Stadtmuseum.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Tours of the current exhibitions for groups of all ages can be booked via the contact form or the museum education team (bildung-kunstsammlung@jena.de, tel. 03641 49-8259). For daycare centers (Kitas) and schools there are programs such as "Mit dem Kunstkoffer durch das Jahr", city walks on art in public space, and the project "Schule im Museum". |
