Deutsches Theatermuseum

The German Theater Museum in Munich is a specialized museum devoted to the history of German-language theater. It is housed in the Churfürstliche Galerie, an early Neoclassical building designed by Karl Albert von Lespilliez and built in 1780 and 1781. This narrow structure, about 175 meters (574 feet) long, runs along the north side of the Hofgarten and was originally conceived as a picture gallery. The facade still shows traces of illusionistic architectural paintings, while the interior once held seven gallery halls with adjoining rooms, lit by high windows on both sides. On the Hofgarten side, an arcade runs along the ground floor for the entire length of the building.

The museum's history begins in 1910 with the founding of the Clara Ziegler Foundation by the famous actress Clara Ziegler, who donated her fortune and her collection for this purpose. After several moves, including a stay in the Munich Residenz, the museum relocated in 1953 to its current home in the gallery at the Hofgarten. In 1979 it became a state museum and received its present name. The museum has no permanent exhibition; instead, its rotating special exhibitions present objects such as stage sets, costumes, props, masks, and audiovisual documents. Among the highlights of the collection is the world's largest collection of theater photography, with more than five million analog images ranging from stage productions to portraits.

In addition to its photographic holdings, the museum houses an extensive graphic collection of about 350,000 objects, including hand drawings, prints, and the estates of important theater artists such as the Quaglio family and Gottfried Semper. Theater models, written materials such as autographs and diaries, and a large collection of programs and playbills are also part of the holdings. Visitors and researchers can also use a public specialist library of around 100,000 publications, accessible in a reading room with five workstations. The collection documents the development of theater from antiquity to the present day and offers insights into the artistic and technical aspects of the performing arts.