Kunst­areal

What is the Kunstareal?

The term is younger than the thing itself. Since 2009 the museums, universities, galleries and cultural institutions of the Maxvorstadt have cooperated under the brand “Kunstareal München”; the Free State and the city sealed their partnership by agreement in 2018, and since 2020 there has been a dedicated office (Brienner Straße 21). The whole is also carried by the Förderkreis Kunstareal, founded in 2010 by the Stiftung Pinakothek der Moderne as an alliance of 13 friends’ associations — its patron is Duke Franz of Bavaria.

How big the quarter is depends on whom you ask. kunstareal.de advertises “500 × 500 metres” between Königsplatz and Museum Brandhorst; the city counts around 66 hectares between Heßstraße, Türkenstraße, Karlstraße and Richard-Wagner-Straße. According to the office, they contain 18 museums and exhibition venues, over 20 galleries and six universities — more than 50 institutions. The house formula: art × culture × knowledge = experience³.

Attendance is growing: in 2025 the Alte Pinakothek recorded a record 498,000 visitors, the Pinakothek der Moderne 307,500, the Brandhorst around 159,000 and the Lenbachhaus about 290,000. Since 2016 the 21 black-and-white steles by designer Nitzan Cohen have shown the way from house to house.

Festival, anniversary, future

Kunstareal-Fest

Every two years since 2013, most recently on 27–29 June 2025 under the motto “Freiheit” (freedom): over 30 institutions, more than 40 venues, free admission to all museums and a programme of tours, concerts and workshops. The info point is Pavillon 333 between the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Türkentor. The next festival is announced for 2–4 July 2027.

200 years

On 7 April 1826, Raphael’s birthday, Ludwig I laid the foundation stone of the Alte Pinakothek — the event from which the Kunstareal counts its two hundred years in 2026. The Free State celebrated with a state reception in the Alte Pinakothek, the museum with anniversary exhibitions from Altdorfer to Rubens, the quarter with a new chronicle and a poster competition (deadline 21 September 2026). The public pre-selected from some 70 designs online until 22 October, a jury picks the winner; it will be printed in a limited edition on GMUND paper and is due to be available free of charge from late November.

Open Kunstareal

The biggest building site is the space between the buildings. In the “Open Kunstareal” ideas competition the jury unanimously recommended the “Kunstgarten” design by Paris-based Atelier Roberta in 2024 — connected green open spaces, more trees, year-round seating, less asphalt; over 13,000 citizens had voted online. For the state of planning see What happens next? below. In parallel the Neue Pinakothek has been under full renovation since 2019 (Hild und K / Caruso St John); reopening is expected at the end of 2029 at the earliest, and Theresienstraße stays restricted until about 2027/28.

Practical

Get there by U2 to Königsplatz or Theresienstraße, tram 27/28 or bus 100 (stop Pinakotheken); there is no parking. On Sundays admission to the state museums is one euro — Alte Pinakothek, Pinakothek der Moderne, Brandhorst, Glyptothek, Antikensammlungen, Egyptian Museum — and under-18s always enter free. Free of charge at all times: the NS Documentation Centre, the Museum of Casts, the Palaeontological and Geological Museums and all galleries. Most museums close on Mondays; the Alte Pinakothek stays open until 8 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Glyptothek on Thursdays.

What happens next?

The Kunstareal is never finished, as its own office puts it. Four topics currently drive the debate: the open space between the buildings, traffic, a shared public face and how visitors find their way around.

Open space: the Kunstgarten

Since June 2025 Atelier Roberta has been developing the “Kunstgarten” design on behalf of the Kunstareal office, including an implementation strategy, a cost estimate and design guidelines. The feasibility phase has been running since January 2026. A proposal to the city council was announced for the first half of 2026; it does not yet appear in the public council records. Politically the project is anchored all the same: on 14 January 2026 the planning committee adopted the “Leitlinie Freiraum” (open-space guideline), and “more quality of stay for the Kunstareal” is one of its nine flagship projects. The Free State and the city are to share the cost equally, under a council decision of 28 June 2023.

Traffic

The core is the “modified Alternative 5”, a concept going back to a council decision of 1980. It would lift the one-way rules on Gabelsberger-, Theresien- and Türkenstraße and is to be adapted to the requirements of the cycling referendum (Radentscheid). The feasibility study has been available since 2023; no decision has been taken yet. At the end of 2024 the Maxvorstadt district committee asked for the planning status to be presented. Already in place are the cycle lanes on Gabelsberger- and Theresienstraße and the coach stops on Barer Straße. Still open are the “Kunstboulevard” on Arcisstraße (it has to be coordinated with the cycle highway to Dachau; Barer Straße is being examined as an alternative), the redesign between Königsplatz, Brienner Straße and Karolinenplatz, and better crossings at Oskar-von-Miller-Ring towards the old town. Next door, Augustenstraße is being rebuilt until the end of 2027: between Gabelsberger- and Theresienstraße it becomes a traffic-calmed shopping zone with a 20 km/h limit, 17 new trees and wider pavements. What the quarter might look like without one-way streets is shown in our sketch below.

A shared public face

The black-and-white umbrella brand dates from 2011 (Büro Thomas Mayfried), the wayfinding system by Nitzan Cohen from 2016: 21 steles with a plan of the whole quarter and 71 T-shaped markers. The biggest step so far towards a joint offer is the Kunstareal ticket: 39 euros for 15 museum visits within one year, each museum once; the year starts with the first visit. On sale from 28 November 2026 as a print-at-home or wallet ticket in the kunstareal.de online shop and at the ticket desks of all participating museums, where it comes in a gift envelope.

One map for all the museums?

So far a joint plan of all museums exists only as the official folding map (2019 edition) and on the 2016 steles. No new edition, interactive overall map or new wayfinding system has been announced. Yet the 2014 citizens’ report already called for clearer orientation, and a council motion of May 2025 asks whether the routes through the quarter are intuitive and barrier-free for visitors. Until then, our plan above helps.

• OngoingKunstgartenFeasibility phase since January 2026 · council proposal announced
• AdoptedLeitlinie Freiraum14 Jan 2026 · Kunstareal is one of nine flagship projects
• Under reviewTraffic concept “Alternative 5”Feasibility study 2023 · decision pending
• Under constructionAugustenstraße20 km/h between Gabelsberger- and Theresienstraße · done end of 2027
• From 28 Nov 2026Kunstareal ticket15 museums, one year from first visit, 39 euros
• OpenOverall map and wayfindingFolding map 2019, steles 2016 · nothing new announced

Sources: Kunstgarten · kunstareal.de · Leitlinie Freiraum · stadt.muenchen.de · Sitzungsvorlage V 09475 (2023) · RIS · Mobilitätsreferat an BA 3 (2025) · RIS · Antrag Fußverkehr Kunstareal (2025) · Umbau Augustenstraße · Rathaus Umschau · Begleitsystem 2016 · Die Neue Sammlung