Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
Cologne's oldest museum — home to the world's most extensive collection of medieval painting and Germany's largest Impressionist collection.
The Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud is Cologne's oldest museum and one of Germany's foremost classical picture galleries. Its origins lie in the estate of Cologne canon Ferdinand Franz Wallraf, who bequeathed his collection to the city in 1818.
At a Glance
- Type
- Art museum for painting and works on paper
- Location
- Obenmarspforten 40, Altstadt-Nord (city centre)
- Founded
- 1824 — Cologne's oldest museum
- Focus
- Medieval painting, 16th–19th century art, Impressionism
- Prints & Drawings
- over 75,000 sheets from the Middle Ages to the 20th century
- Director
- Marcus Dekiert (since 2013)
Donor Johann Heinrich Richartz contributed a total of 277,000 thalers to build the museum – and from 1941 director Otto H. Förster sold no fewer than 630 works he deemed 'of little value', using the proceeds to acquire art from Nazi-occupied Eastern territories.
The Collections
The museum holds the world's most extensive collection of medieval painting, with a particular strength in the Cologne School. Alongside works spanning the 16th to 19th centuries, the Fondation Corboud donation gives it the largest collection of Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist art in Germany. A prints and drawings cabinet rounds out the holdings with more than 75,000 works on paper.
Origins
The museum traces its roots to the will of Ferdinand Franz Wallraf (1748–1824), the last rector of the old University of Cologne. He stipulated that his art, minerals, paintings, prints, and books should remain with the city permanently for the benefit of art and learning. Part of the collection opened to the public in 1827 in a building known as the Kölner Hof, under the name Wallrafianum. The museum's collecting history can be traced even further back, to the former Jesuit museum in Cologne, reaching as far as the mid-16th century.
From Benefactor to Name
The museum's second name comes from the merchant Johann Heinrich Richartz (1796–1861), who from 1851 funded the construction of a dedicated museum building. Designed by Josef Felten in an English Neo-Gothic style, it opened in 1861 as the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. In the night of 28–29 June 1943, the building was destroyed in an air raid.
Timeline
- 1818Wallraf bequeaths his collection to the city of Cologne in his will
- 1824Museum founded following the death of Ferdinand Franz Wallraf
- 1827Opening of the Wallrafianum in the Kölner Hof, Trankgasse 7
- 1855Foundation stone laid for new building (Felten-Raschdorff) on 4 October
- 1861Ceremonial opening as Wallraf-Richartz-Museum on 1 July
- 1943Museum building destroyed in an air raid on the night of 28/29 June
- 1957New building (Schwarz-Bernard) opened on 27 May
- 2001Move into the current building
Map
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Public transport
- Heumarkt · 350 m
- Rathaus · 280 m
Address
Obenmarspforten 40
50667 Köln
Hours
Di: 10:00–18:00
Mi: 10:00–18:00
Do: 10:00–18:00
Fr: 10:00–18:00
Sa: 10:00–18:00
So: 10:00–18:00
Admission
13 EUR
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Official Instagram (@wallrafrichartzmuseum)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-06-23)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-23, rev 267647231)
- Official website (retrieved 2026-06-23)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27
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