Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle (Saale)

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum traces its origins to the Städtisches Museum für Kunst und Kunstgewerbe (municipal museum of art and applied arts), which opened in 1885 with a small painting collection in the old office of weights and measures. In 1904 it moved into the newly built Talamt in the south wing of the Moritzburg, a residence built around 1500 for the Archbishops of Magdeburg that had lain in ruins since the Thirty Years' War. The battlement walk and the domed hall were added in the following years.

Under directors Max Sauerlandt and Alois J. Schardt, the museum became one of Germany's leading museums of contemporary art: Sauerlandt acquired Nolde's “Abendmahl” (Last Supper) in 1913, while Schardt brought in works by Klee, Kandinsky and El Lissitzky and invited Lyonel Feininger, who painted his cycle of Halle paintings in the gate tower. In 1937 the museum lost around 150 works to the “Degenerate Art” campaign.

After 1945 Gerhard Händler rebuilt the collection; in the GDR the museum operated as the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg and continued to collect contemporary art, adding a coin cabinet and photography. In 1996 it became the state art museum, and since 2014 it has been part of the Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt.

In 2008 the award-winning extension by Nieto Sobejano opened, its folded aluminum roof spanning the west and north wings. Since 2017/18 the permanent exhibition has told the story of 20th-century German art from the Empire through the Nazi era to the GDR; the collection comprises around 250,000 objects from antiquity to the present.

Highlights

• Lyonel Feininger's Halle paintings (1929–1931)
• Emil Nolde's “Abendmahl” (1909)
• Franz Marc collection (long-term loan, partly lent out until 2027)
• Art of the Nazi era and the GDR in the permanent exhibition “Wege der Moderne” (Paths of Modernism)
• Extension by Nieto Sobejano (2008) with folded roof
• Historic rooms in the Talamt

Permanent exhibitions

• Wege der Moderne. Kunst in Deutschland im 20. Jahrhundert – The core presentation of the collection, from the art of the German Empire through Expressionism and the Nazi era to art in the GDR.
• Alte Meister – Painting and decorative arts from the 16th to the 19th century in the old part of the Moritzburg.
• Die historischen Zimmer im Talamt – Original interiors of Halle's demolished Talamt, reinstalled in the castle's south wing in 1904.

Founded

1885

Operated by

Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt

Director

Thomas Bauer-Friedrich

Admission & discounts

House ticket for all exhibitions; since September 21, 2026, €13 / reduced €7 (previously €15 / €10). The Halle Card (1 day €19.95, 2 days €24.95) and the “Schlüsselbund Hallesche Museen” scheme (reduced admission after paying full price at one network museum) are accepted; Halle Coupon: €1 off. List of discounts as of September 25, 2026.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description

“Reisen für Alle” certification (12/2025–11/2028): accessible for people with walking disabilities, partly accessible for wheelchair users and visually impaired people. Step-free access, two elevators; the route from the parking lot (approx. 230–280 m) and across the courtyard is partly difficult to navigate by wheelchair. Loaner wheelchair and folding stools at the ticket desk, five tactile models with audio description and Braille, guides in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache), tours in German Sign Language (DGS), tactile tours, tours for people with dementia. No induction loop.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Kids’ birthday parties

Family tours about once a month, an open workshop for everyone on the second Saturday of the month (14:00–17:00, free), holiday workshops and children's art classes. Free activity booklets (castle scavenger hunt in the courtyard, possible without a ticket, and an exploration tour of the exhibition) and a children's audio guide. Children's birthday parties for up to 10 children aged 6 and up. Strollers allowed; when it is very busy, they may need to be left at the cloakroom.

Getting there & parking

Follow the parking guidance signs to “Friedemann-Bach-Platz”; vehicles may only enter the castle grounds with a permit.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

MoritzKunstCafé in the castle (also hot meals); museum shop. Free cloakroom and lockers (€1 coin) on the lower level; bags larger than A4 must be checked.

Events & venue rental

• Weddings / ceremonies: not available

Up to 25 guests.

Civil wedding ceremonies in the Baroque Room of the Talamt (max. 25 seats, €250 rental) only until October 2026 (on the 3rd Saturday of each month, March–October); no weddings from 2027 until probably the end of 2032. No other rental options listed for the Moritzburg.

Plan your visit