MUNICH’S PINAKOTHEKS AND THE DEUTSCHES MUSEUM
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Munich’s status as Germany’s “secret capital” is largely due to its world-class museums, many of them clustered around the Kunstareal (Art District). There are very few cities that can boast so much art of the highest quality in such a small area.
Rivaling the Louvre (see p. 114) for high-style display, the Alte Pinakothek (Old Picture Gallery) features Old Masters and early northern European Renaissance masterworks in a collection that ranges from the 14th to the 18th centuries. You can marvel at young Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin and Child or Titian’s Crowning with Thorns, as well as works by Memling, Brueghel, Hals, and Dürer (The Four Apostles, his final work, is a museum highlight). It has one of the world’s largest concentrations (62 works) of the 17th-century Flemish painter Rubens: Van Dyck, his most distinguished student, is also extensively represented.
Across the street, the Neue Pinakothek (New Picture Gallery) picks up in the 18th century where its sister museum leaves off. From Rococo and Classicism to Art Nouveau, the gallery features major works by Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Klimt, among others. Opened in 2002 to house 20th- and 21st-century art, the Pinakothek der Moderne (Modern Picture Gallery) showcases modern and contemporary works as well as sculpture, design, and architecture by such modern masters as Klee, Picasso, Warhol, and Twombly.
Built on an island in the middle of the Isar River, the Deutsches Museum is the world’s oldest and most complete science and technology museum. Throughout 55 different departments—including musical instruments, aeronautics, photography, physics, and textiles—it’s a hands-on extravaganza of do-it-yourself chemistry experiments, gears, and levers that make it as absorbing for kids as for adults. A full day can easily be spent taking in Germany’s first submarine (built in 1906), the laboratory bench at which the atom was first split, dozens of automobiles, including the first Benz of 1886, and an eerily convincing replica of Spain’s Altamira caves (see p. 254). Aeronautics is also a favorite department; its hangar-sized halls house pioneering planes, from the Wright Brothers’ Type-A Standard to military aircraft from the 1940s.
PINAKOTHEKS: www.pinakothek.de. ALTE PINAKOTHEK: Tel 49/89-23805-216. NEUE PINAKOTHEK: Tel 49/89-23805-195. PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE: Tel 49/89-23805-360. DEUTSCHES MUSEUM: Tel 49/89-21791; www.deutsches-museum.de.
Medieval Masterpiece on the Danube
REGENSBURG
Bavaria, Germany
Capital of Bavaria before Munich and one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Germany, Regensburg and much of eastern Bavaria has remained an insider’s secret even for Germans. During the years of Communist control, this area near the Czech border was considered a veritable dead end, leaving the city stuck in the past. Much of the surviving architecture dating to its glory days between the 13th and 16th centuries (which moved Emperor Maximilian to say in 1517 that “Regensburg surpasses every German city with its outstanding and vast buildings”) remains unchanged.
Regensburg’s architecture is all original, unlike many German towns damaged by World War II air raids and reconstructed. Tourism authorities exaggerate little in listing no fewer than 1,300 buildings as being of historical interest. Regensburg is known as “the city of churches” for good reason, and the Dom St. Peter (housing what is likely to be the only extant statue of the Devil’s grandmother) is held by many to be Germany’s crowning example of the Gothic. It is famous for both its 14th-century stained-glass windows and its internationally renowned boys’ choir, the Domspatzen (Cathedral Sparrows).
Situated at the northernmost navigable point of the Danube, the best sunset view of the river is from one of Regensburg’s earliest existing structures, the 12th-century Steinerne Brücke (Old Stone Bridge), built with 16 graceful arches. At Historische Wurstküchl, the town’s oldest restaurant, outdoor tables on the Danube provide communal seating-with-a-view for a simple meal of grilled sausages and locally brewed beer. Seek out the Rosenpalais for a culinary surprise: You can go casual at the bistro or head upstairs for a more sophisticated experience. For understated charm, choose from three Orphée hotels: Grand Hotel Orphée and restaurant, nearby Petit Hotel Orphée, or the Country Manor Orphée just across the stone bridge.
From Regensburg hop a boat on the Danube to Walhalla, the Parthenon-inspired marble temple built by King Ludwig I in 1842. Beethoven, Luther, and Einstein are among nearly 200 busts and tablets here, commemorating Germany’s most illustrious men and women throughout 2,000 years of history.
WHERE: 76 miles/122 km northeast of Munich. VISITOR INFO: www.regensburg.de. HISTORISCHE WURSTKÜCHL: Tel 49/941-466-210; www.wurstkuchl.de. Cost: lunch $10. ROSENPALAIS: Tel 49/941-599-7579; www.rosenpalais.de. Cost: dinner $55. HOTEL ORPHÉE: Tel 49/941-596-020; www.hotel-orphee.de. Cost: from $150. BEST TIMES: May–Sep for weather; late Nov–Dec for Christmas market; Sun for the Domspatzen singing mass in the cathedral (when not touring).
A Historic Road and a Fairy-Tale Castle
THE ROMANTIC ROAD AND NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE
Bavaria, Germany
Stretching nearly 200 miles from Würzburg southeast to Füssen, the Romantic Road (Romantische Strasse) is as enjoyable for the dozens of medieval towns, villages, and castles it links as for the landscape of rivers, lakes, and dense forests in between.
Begin your journey in Würzburg, the hub of Franconia’s wine region. The lovely Baroque city on the Main River is most visited for its 18th-century Residenz, one of Europe’s most sumptuous palaces. Adorning the ceilings over the monumental vaulted staircase (the largest in the country) and in the already elaborate Throne Room are Giovanni Tiepolo’s colorful frescoes, enhancing a space that is airy, opulent, and magical.
Sample local white wines in the Residenz’s cozy cellar-tavern, then continue south to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Red Castle on the Tauber), one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. The crowds that flock here testify to the popularity of this walled town, where flowers spill from the window boxes of half-timbered houses leaning over cobblestone alleyways. The history and charm of Rothenburg are echoed in the world-renowned Hotel Eisenhut, where remnants of a 12th-century chapel can be found in the front lobby.
The next day, head to Dinkelsbiihl, a less touristy version of Rothenburg surrounded by 10th-century walls. Be in Nördlingen in time to hear its town crier from high in the church tower, then continue on to Germany’s best example of Rococo architecture, the gemlike Wieskirche, a petite church, standing in its own alpine meadow.
Begin or end your trip by touring Mad King Ludwig’s two royal castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, which cap the southern end of the Romantic Road. Neuschwanstein is by far his most theatrical, created by the royal court’s set designer rather than an architect. Set on an isolated rock ledge amid heart-stopping scenery, it is the turreted prototype that inspired the castle in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Nearby Hohenschwangau was Ludwig’s boyhood summer home, where he stayed while overseeing the work of Neuschwanstein. At the base of the road to Neuschwanstein, the luxurious Jägerhaus and modest Schlosshotel Lisl offer guest rooms with unobstructed views of the castles. At night, head to the terrace bar to see them spectacularly illuminated.
Soon after Neuschwanstein’s costly completion, Mad King Ludwig was forced to abdicate his throne and mysteriously died.
WHERE: Würzburg is 74 miles/119 km southeast of Frankfurt; Füssen is 82 miles/132 km southwest of Munich. VISITOR INFO: www.romantischestrasse.de. RESIDENZ: Tel 49/9313-551712; www.wuerzburg.de. HOTEL EISENHUT: Tel 49/9861-7050; www.eisenhut.com. Cost: from $150; dinner $60. NEUSCHWANSTEIN: Tel 49/8362-93988; www.neuschwanstein.de. SCHLOSSHOTEL LISL and JÄGERHAUS: Tel 49/8362-887147; www.hohenschwangau.de. Cost: Schlosshotel Lisl from $150; Jägerhaus from $190. BEST TIMES: Apr–May, Sep–Nov to avoid traffic; late Nov–Dec for Christmas markets in most towns.
Wall Falls, Art Thrives
BERLIN’S MUSEUM SCENE
Berlin, Germany
The
turn of the 21st century saw Berlin’s inexhaustibly rich art collections shuffled, reorganized, and regrouped. Today, the city is once again firmly established as one of the world’s premier cultural capitals. Of Berlin’s array of more than 170 museums, the Gemäldegalerie’s (Picture Gallery) unrivaled compilation is in a class all its own for the breadth and depth of its collection of European masterpieces from the 13th to the 18th centuries. No fewer than 20 Rembrandts make up one gallery alone.
Lovers of antiquities could spend days on the Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in the middle of the River Spree, a cache of five museums whose lodestone is the Pergamonmuseum, built exclusively to house the colossal 2nd-century B.C. Pergamon Altar, a 40-foot-high colonnaded Greek temple, discovered in Turkey in 1864 and brought here in 1902. Reopened in 2009 with soaring new spaces and classical frescoes marked with bullets from World War II, the Neues Museum houses the Egyptian collection and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History. Its star attraction is the sublime bust of Nefertiti, created well over 3,000 years ago.
Berliners insist that their dynamic city is no longer all about die Mauer (the Wall), but its fragments reveal just how far the once-divided metropolis has come. Erected in 1961 and torn down in 1989, the Wall once measured 29 miles long and 13 feet high. Some protected sections have been left standing and designated as historic landmarks. Nearly a mile long, the East Side Gallery is the longest remaining stretch of the wall and the world’s largest open-air gallery. Covering the dull concrete slabs are striking reminders of the former regime in more than 100 murals and graffiti, including images of Trabant cars, a symbol of the failed East Germany. The cluttered Mauer Museum (Museum of the Wall), a touristy mock-up of the former Checkpoint Charlie, is still fascinating for its tales of spectacular escapes and tragically failed attempts. Visit the more poignant Berlin Wall Memorial for the Chapel of Reconciliation, which commemorates the men and women shot while trying to escape into West Berlin; climb into the museum’s watchtower to view the former “death strip.” The adventurous can hike or bike the 100-mile-long Berlin Wall Trail, which traces the former East German border.
Ever since the Wall’s dramatic fall, artists have been flocking to Berlin from all over the world and recharging the city’s contemporary art scene. Though pop-up galleries and artistic hot spots shift regularly, the Mitte district (see p. 149) has an established presence. Add the exciting Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art museum, housed in a brilliantly converted 19th-century railway station, and you will have barely scratched the surface of one of the world’s most remarkable surveys of art in this 21st-century showcase city.
GEMÄLDEGALERIE AM KULTURFORUM; PERGAMONMUSEUM and NEUES MUSEUM; HAMBURGER BAHNHOF: Tel 49/30-266-424242; www.smb.spk-berlin.de. EAST SIDE GALLERY: www.eastsidegallery.com. MUSEUM OF THE WALL: Tel 49/30-253-7250; www.mauermuseum.de. BERLIN WALL MEMORIAL: Tel 49/30-467-986666; www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de. BEST TIMES: Jun–early Aug for contemporary art Biennale; late Aug for Museums Night.
A Cityscape Transformed
BERLIN’S (RE)DEFINING ARCHITECTURE
Berlin, Germany
A vibrant, fascinating city more than eight centuries old, Berlin has been famous since the early 1900s for its experimental arts and architecture. World War II and the Cold War took their toll on the city (the capital of Germany since 1991) and reminders of this past persist in several iconic structures. Erected in 1969, the 1,207-foot TV Turm (Tower) on Alexanderplatz is still Berlin’s highest building. The Kulturforum complex includes the Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery) and Mies van der Rohe’s only museum design, the 1968 Neue Nationalgalerie, but it’s perhaps best known for the Philharmonie. Hans Scharoun’s 1963 masterpiece of acoustic design seats 2,440 patrons of the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Sir Simon Rattle, under tentlike golden roofs. Surely one of the most famous monuments to the futility of war is Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church). The remains of the original 1895 tower, damaged in World War II, have been adapted into a memorial chapel to go with the new 1961 church and bell tower.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, an unprecedented period of restoration and unifying design has swept through this storied capital. No other building is a more potent symbol of Germany’s history than the Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament. Redesigned in 1997–99 by Norman Foster, it features light, airy, environmentally efficient spaces that replaced the intimidating, dark interiors of the original 1894 shell. The glass-walled debating chamber allows the public unprecedented access, while battered stone walls covered in Cyrillic graffiti left by Red Army soldiers in 1945 provide a reminder of the past. The new glass-and-steel cupola, 130 feet in diameter, offers spectacular views; to avoid lines, make a reservation and head straight for Restaurant Käfer on the roof’s terrace. The Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum), opened in 1998, is housed in a spectacular zinc-clad structure designed by Daniel Libeskind. Its jagged ground plan represents a brutally torn-apart Star of David, and its windows resemble vicious slashes in the walls.
In keeping with the city’s transformation, architect and star hotelier Rocco Forte revamped a former 1889 bank building into the swanky, 146-room Hotel de Rome. Signature details include high ceilings, generous space, and mosaic marble baths. Highlighting the city’s modern-design trend is chic Lux 11, where 72 apartment-style hotel rooms pair pastel walls with minimalist design in three connected 19th-century buildings. At Luchs, its stylish restaurant, Italian cuisine merges with a touch of South Tyrol in dishes such as ravioli stuffed with venison, plums, and ricotta in a red wine sauce.
Look for picturesque courtyards throughout Berlin, the most popular of which are Hackesche Höfe. The nine interlinked squares, some decorated in Art-Nouveau style, serve as one of Berlin’s most popular hot spots, with trendy boutiques, cafés, and the ingenious Chamäleon Musik Theater Varieté.
Hans Scharouns design replaced the previous Philharmonic Hall, which was destroyed in World War II.
TV TOWER: www.berlinerfernsehturm.de. PHILHARMONIE AM KULTURFORUM: Tel 49/30-254-88999; www.berlin-philharmonic.com. When: Aug-Jun. KAISER-WILHELM-GEDÄCHTNIS-KIRCHE: Tel 49/30-218-5023; www.gedaechtniskirche.com REICHSTAG: Tel 49/30-2273-2152; www.bundestag.de. RESTAURANT KÄFER: Tel 49/30-2262-9900; www.feincost-kaefer.com. Cost: lunch $40. JÜDISCHES MUSEUM: Tel 49/30-2599-3300; www.jmberlin.de. HOTEL DE ROME: Tel 49/30-460-6090; www.hotelderome.com. Cost: from $570. HOTEL LUX 11: Tel 49/30-936-2800; www.lux-eleven.com. Cost: from $235; dinner $65. BEST TIMES: Sep for Musikfest; late Oct for Festival of Lights; early Nov for JazzFest.
A Neighborhood Reunites in Grand Style
MITTE
Berlin, Germany
After 4 decades as the grim no-man’s-land of East Berlin, the Mitte district has reclaimed its place at the heart of the city. With the Berlin Wall now a historic relic, this former 18th-century showpiece of Hohenzollern Berlin has evolved into a stately yet very hip district with newfound polish and round-the-clock energy. The reunified city’s most imposing historical monuments stand proudly among avant-garde galleries and edgy boutiques that showcase emerging talent (Auguststrasse is nicknamed “The Art Mile”), while masterpieces from across the ages grace Museum Island (see p. 146).
A symbolic portal to the Mitte district is the majestic Brandenburg Gate. Conceived in 1791 as a triumphal arch to celebrate a Prussian victory, the “Gate of Peace” was, ironically incorporated into the Berlin Wall in 1961. East of the gate rolls the grand boulevard Unter den Linden (Under the Linden Trees), once the main east-west axis and today the site of many embassies and the revitalized pulse point of the restored capital. Opened in 1844, the templelike Staatsoper is the most famous of Berlin’s three opera houses, and in 2013, after a 3-year renovation, it is scheduled to resume world-class productions under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. Quietly plush and superbly located, the Hotel Adlon was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1997, to reflect its prewar glory. It feels like a scene from the 1932 film class
ic Grand Hotel, whose setting was modeled after the hotel.
Filling an entire block between the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, or Holocaust Memorial, designed by Peter Eisenmann and unveiled in 2005. The undulating field of 2,711 dark-gray concrete slabs, one for each page of the Talmud, serves as a stark reminder of that horrific period in history. Evoking the grace of a gentler era is Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin’s prettiest plaza. At dusk, the glow of street lanterns casts a flattering light upon the Neoclassical Konzerthaus, home to the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, and the 18th-century Deutscher (German) and Französischer (French) cathedrals. Those in the know reserve well in advance for a niche table and likely celebrity spotting at Borchardt, an upscale brasserie serving French-German fare under a spectacular vaulted ceiling in a 1920s setting.
Lights and vendors fill Mitte’s Gendarmenmarkt every year at Christmastime.
STAATSOPER: Tel 49/30-2035-4555; www.staatsoper-berlin.de. When: opera season is Sep–Jul. HOTEL ADLON: Tel 49/30-22610; in the U.S., 800-426-3135; www.hotel-adlon.de. Cost: from $315. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL: Tel 49/30-2639-4336; www.holocaust-mahnmal.de. BORCHARDT: Tel 49/30-8188-6262. Cost: dinner $75. BEST TIMES: early Feb for International Film Festival; late Nov–Dec for Christmas markets and New Year’s Eve.
Carefree and R ococo
SANS SOUCI
Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Just outside his flourishing capital, Berlin, the enlightened Prussian ruler King Friedrich II—aka Frederick the Great—constructed a royal palace in 1745 that would be held as the finest example of Rococo architecture in Europe. There, amid the superb lakeland scenery, he was free to indulge in a flurry of cultural pursuits sans souci—without care (and preferably sans his queen, Elizabeth Christine)—with such visiting guests as the French writer and philosopher Voltaire.
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