Germany’s art museums have long been on the road to accessibility. Elevators and ramps for wheelchair users, guided tours with sign language interpreters for the deaf and museum cafés run by people with disabilities are all part of the offer. Four cities in the Leichter Reisen working group – Emden, Rostock, Magdeburg and Erfurt – are presenting accessible art museums and their special exhibitions in winter 2021 […].
Germany’s art museums have long been on the road to accessibility. Elevators and ramps for wheelchair users, guided tours with sign language interpreters for the deaf and museum cafés run by people with disabilities are all part of the offer. Four cities in the Leichter Reisen working group – Emden, Rostock, Magdeburg and Erfurt – present accessible art museums and their special exhibitions in winter 2021 – RESTAURO on inclusion in museums
“I have only ever collected what aroused desire in me – or what pained me to the core – what made me happy, but also made me angry,” said Henri Nannen, founder of the magazine “Stern”, describing his passion for art. In 1986, together with his future wife Eske, he founded the Kunsthalle Emden in his native town and donated his collection of classical modern art. Today, the “Travel for All” certified museum is one of the most important museums in northern Germany. Its collection comprises 1500 works from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. Until January 30, 2022, four exhibitions will be on display in parallel, mainly presenting works from the museum’s own collection, including paintings by Josef Scharl and Hanns Ludwig Katz as well as Franz Marc, August Macke and Lyonel Feininger. Wheelchair users can move around the museum largely unhindered. The visitor service has a wheelchair and rollator on loan, as well as mobile seating. Guided tours are also offered in sign language.
In Rostock’s city center, the city’s Museum of Cultural History is hidden behind the thick walls of the former Convent of the Holy Cross, which dates back to 1270. The collection of Dutch art from the 16th to 19th centuries is outstanding, with paintings by Jan Brueghel the Younger and Willem Kalf as well as prints by Rembrandt and van Dyck. Medieval art from Rostock’s monasteries is on display in the historic refectory. There is also a collection of works that were confiscated as degenerate art during the Nazi era and transferred to the museum in 2009. The special exhibition “Made in Rostock – Rostock companies and their products from 200 years” from November 19, 2021 to February 27, 2022 is dedicated to legendary products from the Hanseatic city, such as playing cards from the Tiedemann lithography, liqueurs from Kranstöver or jeans from VEB Jugendmoden Shanty. All levels of the museum are accessible for wheelchair users via elevators. The guided tours are also wheelchair accessible.
Founded in the 11th century, the former Monastery of Our Lady in Magdeburg is the oldest surviving building in the city, an impressive Romanesque ensemble with a three-aisled basilica and a picturesque cloister – and the most important exhibition venue for contemporary art and sculpture in Saxony-Anhalt. The contrast of eras is what makes this museum so appealing. Excerpts from its extensive collection are displayed on five floors. The museum is easily accessible for wheelchair users via ramps and elevators. An audio guide with audio clips and videos is available via app and can be borrowed on site as a multimedia guide. The special exhibitions “Dieter Goltzsche, Landschaft mit Litfaßsäule” until February 20, 2022 and “Hans-Wulf Kunze, Fischfabrik” until January 6, 2022 focus on two East German artists and precise observers of their time.
Inclusion: exhibits can be touched at the Angermuseum Erfurt
The art gallery in Erfurt, which is certified for all travelers, is dedicated exclusively to contemporary art. The magnificent patrician house from 1562 in the old town, which was converted in the Renaissance style, presents works from the modern era to the present day in 750 square meters of temporary exhibitions. Wheelchair users can access all floors of the museum via an elevator. One focus is on artistic photography. The special exhibitions on display until January 23 also deal with this form of representation: in “Continent – In Search of Europe”, photographers from the renowned Berlin agency Ostkreuz and the Akademie der Künste explore the theme of togetherness in Europe. “Documentary Photography Awards 12” shows the work of the four winners of the Wüstenrot Foundation’s Documentary Photography Award. The Angermuseum, located just 500 meters away, is housed in a baroque city palace from the early 18th century. The state capital’s art museum houses what is probably the most important collection of Erfurt and Thuringian art from the Middle Ages as well as a collection of German paintings from the 18th century to the present day, an extensive collection of prints and drawings from five centuries and a collection of arts and crafts. The highlight is the Erich Heckel room with the murals created by the artist in the 1920s. They are among the most important surviving murals of German Expressionism. The museum is steplessly accessible for wheelchair users. Guided tours for people with visual and hearing impairments and for people with cognitive impairments are available by prior arrangement. Exhibits can be touched. Sign language interpreters provide deaf people with interesting facts about the exhibition.
There are more barrier-free cultural offers on the website of the Leichter Reisen working group www.leichter-reisen.info. Ten German vacation regions and cities have joined forces since 2008 to form the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Barrierefreie Reiseziele in Deutschland (since 2018: Leichter Reisen). Together, they are pioneers in the development of travel offers for people with limited mobility, hearing, visual and learning disabilities, for the deaf and blind, as well as for families and senior citizens. Members include the regions of Eifel, East Frisia, Saxon Switzerland, Southern Wine Route, Franconia, Lusatia and Ruppin Lake District, as well as the cities of Erfurt, Magdeburg and Rostock.
Reading tip: You can find the guide to inclusive museums from the German Museums Association here.
To make paintings more accessible to blind and visually impaired people, the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum in Bremen offers a 3D model of a nude of the artist herself. Find out more here.
