Art museum of the Ruhr-Universität in the park of Haus Weitmar: contemporary spatial art with free admission and the underground Museum unter Tage.
September 23, 2026 – January 17, 2027
Paintings by three artists who start from closely observed everyday places and ask how image and reality relate to each other – ranging from vividly colored documentary approaches to combinations with geometric abstraction.
Situation Kunst goes back to gallerist Alexander von Berswordt-Wallrabe, who wanted to commemorate the Bochum art historian Max Imdahl, who died in 1988. Between 1988 and 1990, several pavilions designed by Bochum architect Peter Forth were built on the edge of the park of Haus Weitmar, each tailor-made for a specific work: walk-in environments by Maria Nordman, David Rabinowitch and Richard Serra, as well as rooms for Gotthard Graubner, Norbert Kricke, Arnulf Rainer and Jan J. Schoonhoven. The complex became part of the Ruhr-Universität's art collections and is still freely accessible today.
The Stiftung Situation Kunst, founded in 2005, built an extension that opened in September 2006 and almost doubled the exhibition space. It shows works by Lee Ufan, Dan Flavin, François Morellet, Gianni Colombo, Ad Reinhardt and Robert Ryman, among others, as well as historical art from Africa and Asia. In 2010, as part of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010, the Kubus was added – a structure inserted into the ruins of the Haus Weitmar manor house, destroyed in 1943, for temporary exhibitions, events and the café.
The final element, the Museum unter Tage (underground museum), opened in November 2015 – an exhibition hall built beneath the park so as to preserve the landscape. Around two thirds of its space permanently displays the "Weltsichten" collection of landscape depictions from the early modern period to video art, while the rest is used for temporary exhibitions on current topics. The ensemble is operated jointly by the Ruhr-Universität and the foundation; supervision and art education are handled by students of the Institute of Art History.
| Adults | €6 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €4Seniors aged 65 and over, school students, students of other universities, apprentices, people with disabilities (degree of disability 70 or higher), military and civilian service members |
| Children & teens | €4free up to age 12 · Children up to and including age 12 free; school students pay the reduced price. |
| Seniors | €4Reduced from age 65. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €4Reduced with a degree of disability of 70 or higher. |
| Students & apprentices | €4Students and employees of the Ruhr-Universität as well as art and art history students from all universities get free admission. |
| Groups | –Booked guided tours cost a flat rate of €70 (1 hour), €100 (1.5 hours) or €140 (2 hours) plus reduced admission to the Museum unter Tage; school classes pay no admission to the temporary exhibitions. |
| Combination ticket: temporary exhibition MuT + Weltsichten | €10Reduced €7 |
| Combination ticket: temporary exhibitions MuT and Kubus + Weltsichten | €11Reduced €8 |
| Museum card for 5 visits | €20Reduced €12 |
| Public Sunday tour | €3Plus admission for tours in the Museum unter Tage |
The permanent collection of Situation Kunst is free. Prices apply to the Museum unter Tage: temporary exhibition or Weltsichten €6 each (reduced €4). Social welfare recipients get free admission to all exhibitions with proof. Permanently reduced with the artCard, free once with the RuhrKulturCard. Card payment accepted.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 12 |
|---|
On selected public holidays, dialogue-based family tours and an interactive rally across the grounds; holiday workshops "Kinder sprechen über Kunst" (Children Talk About Art). Explorer cards for the Weltsichten collection and question cards for the sculpture park available to borrow. Children's birthday parties with a rally or tour and a creative session by arrangement (register 3–4 weeks in advance).
Schlosspark/Museum unter Tage · 5-min walk
From Bochum Hbf take tram 308 or 318 toward Hattingen or Dahlhausen, or bus lines 344, 346, 353 and 354, to the Schlosspark/Museum unter Tage stop, then about 5 minutes through the park.
Parking available · 5-min walk to the entrance
The museum's own parking lot with around 30 spaces at Schlossstraße 98 (navigation address), from there about a 5-minute walk through the park.
By car from the city center via Hattinger Straße, turning right onto Schlossstraße at the Blankensteiner Straße stop. By bike via the Springorum cycle path, which gives direct access to the park of Haus Weitmar.
Get directionsCafé Baristoteles in the Kubus (same opening hours as the museum). Lockers in the foyer of the Museum unter Tage. Specialist art library and video archive.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (DE) |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Public guided tour on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday of the month at 16:00 (45–60 minutes, meeting point: foyer of the Museum unter Tage; max. 20 people in the MuT, 15 in the permanent collection). Private tours 1 hour, of the entire complex 1.5–2 hours; tours in other languages for a surcharge; registration at info@situation-kunst.de. Bags are not allowed in the exhibition rooms. The sculpture park can be explored with the Artventure app. |
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