The Lenbachhaus is a Munich art museum with an unusually personal setting: the former villa of portrait painter Franz von Lenbach, near Königsplatz. Its ochre facade and Italian-inspired garden sit alongside a modern extension designed by Foster + Partners, reopened in 2013. Together, the buildings make an appealing contrast between the city’s 19th-century artistic life and its modern cultural ambitions.
The main draw is the exceptional collection of works by Der Blaue Reiter, the early modernist group formed in Munich in 1911. Paintings by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc and Gabriele Münter show the movement’s experiments with colour and form. Münter’s gift of works to the city in 1957 helped make the Lenbachhaus a vital place to understand this chapter of art history. The museum also presents contemporary art and changing exhibitions, giving visitors reasons to return.
Allow at least a couple of hours for the collection and a look around the villa and garden. The U2 stops at Königsplatz, a short walk away, making the Lenbachhaus easy to combine with other museums in Munich’s Kunstareal. It is generally closed on Mondays; check the museum’s website for current hours, exhibitions and ticket prices before visiting.