Founder's museum in Alkersum on the island of Föhr, with art on the theme of sea and coast from Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.
May 24, 2026 – January 10, 2027
Photographs and installations by Alexandra Hunts, Sjoerd Knibbeler, Sophia Pompéry, and Ulrike Schmitz explore the boundary between art and science, many of them created specifically for the exhibition.
June 21, 2026 – January 10, 2027
Works from the collection and international loans show how modernism broke through on the coasts from the Netherlands to Norway, with works by artists including Max Beckmann, Jacoba van Heemskerck, and Edvard Munch.
September 27, 2026 – September 12, 2027
New acquisitions of contemporary photography and art show the coast as a place of social and ecological change, some created in the artist-in-residence program on Föhr.
The Museum Kunst der Westküste (Museum of West Coast Art) was endowed by entrepreneur Frederik Paulsen, whose family comes from Alkersum on Föhr, and opened in the summer of 2009 as a nonprofit founder's museum. It continues the tradition of the village inn where, in the 19th century, painters from Germany and Denmark met with island residents; the innkeeper Margaretha Dorothea Hansen, known as Grethjen, gave her name to the newly built restaurant Grethjens Gasthof.
The award-winning museum building by architect Gregor Sunder-Plassmann combines white-plastered exhibition cubes with a thatched hall, historic Frisian houses, and a glass connecting corridor. Six galleries provide about 900 square meters of exhibition space with plenty of daylight and views of the museum garden with its old trees and Föhr roses.
The collection comprises about 1,200 works devoted to the overarching theme of sea and coast in the countries bordering the North Sea, with a focus on painting from 1830 to 1930: Norwegian landscape painting, the Skagen artists' colony, Max Liebermann, the Hague School, and North Frisian painters such as Hans Peter Feddersen and Otto H. Engel. There are also numerous contemporary works, mainly photography, some created in the artist-in-residence program. There is no permanent exhibition; the holdings are presented anew each year in changing exhibitions, supplemented by loans from Germany and abroad.
| Adults | €12 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €7Pupils, students, trainees, and FSJ volunteers (ages 19–29), people with disabilities with a disability rating (GdB) of 50 or more |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 18 · Children and young people up to and including age 18 free |
| Seniors | –No senior discount |
| Visitors with disabilities | €7companion free · With a disability rating (GdB) of 50 or more; designated companion admitted free |
| Students & apprentices | €7Students of art, art history, or architecture free |
| Groups (10+ people) | €7 per personGroup tour (60 min., max. 25 people) Tue–Fri €90, Sat/Sun and public holidays €120 plus admission; registration required |
| Families | –Children up to 18 are free anyway; for the family combination ticket with the Friesenmuseum, see additional tickets |
| Combination ticket with the Friesenmuseum (Wyk) | €13.60reduced €8.40 |
| Friesenmuseum family combination ticket (1 adult + up to 5 children) | €15.20 |
| Friesenmuseum family combination ticket (2 adults + up to 5 children) | €28.80 |
| Annual pass | €50reduced €30 |
| Public guided tour | €7plus admission; registration by phone required |
Free admission for, among others, the museum's Friends and Supporters (Freunde und Förderer des MKdW), ICOM members, members of the Schleswig-Holsteinischer Kunstverein, and of Skagens Museums Venner. Discounts for ART Card holders, members of the SHMF association (€8), and guests of the Utersum rehabilitation center (€2).
Main exhibition area with elevator and ramps; some doors do not open automatically, so bringing a companion is recommended. The gallery above Grethjens Gasthof (mostly photography exhibitions) cannot be reached by elevator. Two accessible parking spaces right at the entrance.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 18 |
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Workshops in the art studio for children ages 4 and up and families, holiday programs for island visitors, children's programs for exhibition openings, and children's birthday parties. Activity booklet "Spaßblock" for children ages 7 and up (€3 in the shop) and an MKdW children's book. A children's stroller can be borrowed free of charge in the shop.
By train (via Niebüll) or car to Dagebüll Mole, then take the W.D.R. ferry to Wyk on Föhr every 50 to 90 minutes; from Amrum (Wittdün) with W.D.R. ferries or Adler ships, from Sylt May–October with Adler ships via Amrum. From Wyk continue by island bus or bicycle to Alkersum.
Parking available · 100 m to the entrance
Two parking areas on the same side of the street toward Utersum: Hauptstraße 7 (administration building, about 100 m) and Hauptstraße 11 A (about 150 m). Two accessible parking spaces to the left of the museum entrance. Bicycle parking at the museum and about 50 m further on opposite the bakery.
Restaurant and café Grethjens Gasthof (Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00).
Celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, or confirmations at Grethjens Gasthof by arrangement.
Inquiries & details| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
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| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Public guided tours Wednesdays and Fridays at 11:30 (€7 plus admission; registration at 04681 747400). Group tours in German or English by appointment. Workshops, artist talks, and art education for school classes; audio tour app "MKdW on tour" covering the North Frisian Islands. |
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