Museum Ludwig

Peter and Irene Ludwig made their money in chocolate and spent it on art; in 1976 they gave Cologne three hundred and fifty modern works on condition a new museum was built, and further gifts followed, including around nine hundred Picassos, which makes this one of the three largest Picasso collections in the world alongside Paris and Barcelona. The museum also holds a major Russian avant-garde collection and one of Europe's strongest pop art holdings, with Warhol, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg. The photography department grew from the Agfa collection. The building of 1986 sits between the cathedral and the Rhine under a zinc sawtooth roof.

History

The museum was created in 1976 as an independent institution split from the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, when the chocolate magnate Peter Ludwig agreed to give 350 modern works and the city of Cologne undertook to build a museum for art made after 1900. The building by Peter Busmann and Godfrid Haberer opened in 1986 near the cathedral, at first shared with the Wallraf-Richartz Museum until the two were separated after 1994, and it also houses the Kölner Philharmonie beneath the Heinrich-Böll-Platz by Dani Karavan (Wikipedia, Museum Ludwig).

What to look for

• The Picasso holding - around nine hundred works, among the largest anywhere.
• The pop art - Warhol, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg in depth.
• The Russian avant-garde - a substantial early twentieth-century collection.
• The photography - a department built on the Agfa historical collection.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes Mondays and opens late on the first Thursday of the month. It is next to the station, which makes it easy on a short stop.

What to expect

It closes Mondays. Works rotate, so specific pieces may not be on show. The collection is large and tiring in one visit.

Nearby

Cologne cathedral is next door; the Rhine runs behind.

Key facts