Sammlung Domnick Nürtingen

About the museum

In 1946 the neurologist and psychiatrist Ottomar Domnick and his wife Greta began collecting postwar abstract painting and sculpture – at a time when this art was still little appreciated in Germany. The couple supported artists, published books, organized lectures and exhibitions, and showed their collection abroad and at the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart.

In 1967 the couple had a house built on the Oberensinger Höhe near Nürtingen to designs by the architect Paul Stohrer, serving as both their home and an exhibition space. The Domnicks lived among their paintings for more than two decades, until Ottomar Domnick’s death in 1989. From 1976 they acquired adjacent land and laid out a garden in which a good 30 abstract metal sculptures were installed up to the mid-1980s.

The State of Baden-Württemberg inherited the ensemble and opened it to the public through the Stiftung Domnick, founded in 1996. Since 2017 it has been managed by Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg (State Palaces and Gardens). On view are works by artists including Willi Baumeister, Hans Hartung, and Fritz Winter, as well as African wooden masks and a Steinway grand piano. Architecture, art, and landscape here form a deliberately designed modernist Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art).

Highlights

• The collectors’ original 1967 villa as exhibition space
• Postwar abstract painting, including Baumeister, Hartung, and Fritz Winter
• Sculpture garden with metal sculptures
• African wooden masks and a Steinway grand piano
• Concerts, readings, and film evenings in the villa

Permanent exhibitions

• Sammlung Domnick – Abstract paintings and sculptures of postwar modernism in the collectors’ original home, complemented by African masks.
• Skulpturengarten – Park-like garden with abstract metal sculptures that the Domnicks had installed from the late 1970s onward.

Founded

1967

Operated by

Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg (Stiftung Domnick)

Director

Vera Romeu

Admission & discounts

Admission to villa and garden; the standard guided tour is included in admission. The price page does not state who qualifies for reduced admission (State Palaces and Gardens rates). Free admission with the AlbCard. Concerts and readings are priced separately.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• 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
• Audio description: no information

Garden accessible; there are four steps up to the collection rooms – checking in advance of your visit is recommended. Information in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache); occasional tours in Easy Language and for people with disabilities.

Kids & families

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

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

Dogs are not allowed in the villa or garden.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Weddings / ceremonies

Civil weddings (Nürtingen registry office) and non-religious ceremonies in the villa; champagne reception, buffet, or picnic in the sculpture garden by arrangement.

Plan your visit