Weserburg

The Weserburg in Bremen is a museum of modern art housed in four former warehouse buildings on the Teerhof. The historic core of the complex, the fortified head building, was built in the late 19th century in the Neo-Gothic style as the office building of a cigar factory. One of the few structures on the peninsula to survive World War II, it was initially used for commercial purposes after the war. The idea for a museum emerged in the early 1980s from an exhibition at the Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst. The founding director at the time, Thomas Deecke, succeeded in persuading several important art collectors to show their holdings here. By 1991, architects had converted the warehouses, and a handful of openings cut through the ceilings, together with the use of the attic space, created a dynamic layout with a large amount of exhibition space.

The museum opened in 1991 and has since presented works of international art movements from the 1940s onward. The Weserburg's concept is unique in Europe: it is a collectors' museum run on the principle of a public-private partnership between the City of Bremen and private collectors. The individual focus of each collection is preserved in the presentation, combining the owners' personal passion for art with the art-historical perspective of the museum. In addition to the permanent collections, the Weserburg organizes several exhibitions each year that place the holdings in the context of current developments and often go on tour. Another special focus is the Study Center for Artists' Publications, which houses one of the largest international collections of artists' books, multiples, and posters in Europe.

Thanks to its location on the Weser River and its access via a bridge, the Weserburg is a striking part of Bremen's cityscape. On the nearby Bürgermeister-Smidt-Brücke you'll also find the sculpture Three Triangles by Sol LeWitt, which refers formally to the museum. The museum sees itself as a place with a lively atmosphere where you can experience the art of the immediate present and the recent past. It is funded by a fixed annual sum from the city as well as private funds, and the museum is gradually dissolving its own collection in order to preserve the concept of a pure collectors' museum and to guarantee its long-term security.