museum of modern art salzburg
Art in one of the most beautiful places in the world
MUSEUM DER MODERNE SALZBURG
one museum - two houses
the Museum der Moderne Rupertinum, a baroque palais for new artist concepts is located in the center of the old city, the Museum der Moderne on the Mönchsberg presents modern and contemporary art in an outranging frame. With the opening of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg Mönchsberg, 2004, Salzburg has an extraordinary place for presenting contemporary art. With its spectacular location in one of the most beautiful places in the world, the museum on the mönchsberg -- designed by architects Friedrich Hoff Zwink from Munich -- represents a sensitive dovetailing of the natural/urban landscape.
Together with the original Rupertinum building at the centre of the Altstadt, the two Museum der Moderne buildings provide around 3,000 square metres of exhibition space for thematic exhibitions of art of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as for presentations from the collection and the Austrian Gallery of Photography.Large rotating exhibitions of international contemporary art can be appropriately displayed in the spacious exhibitions rooms.
The History on the Museum
Construction of the original building at Rupertinum in the centre of the Altstadt was first alluded to in 1350. Under archbishop Paris Lodron, the "Collegium Rupertinum" palace served as a training location for up-and-coming priests and officials. In 1633 the construction was completed in a clear Early Baroque style. The archdiocese used the Early Baroque Altstadt palace as a seminary for hundreds of years. Rupertinum was run as a student residence until 1974. In 1983 the Rupertinum building was handed over for use as the Salzburg Museum für moderne Kunst for the Salzburg national public collection and, in October 2004, it was transformed into the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, an independent limited liability corporation.
The idea for founding the museum and the collection can be traced back to the initiative of Salzburg art dealer Friedrich Welz, who transferred a large part of his private collection to the province of Salzburg. Through his personal friendship with Oskar Kokoschka, a considerable number of works of great Austrian expressionists found their way in to the Rupertinum collection.
The new development of the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg Perched on top of the steep cliff of the Mönchsberg mountain sixty metres above Anton-Neumayr-Platz, the Café Winkler has characterised the city for decades. After the casino had been moved to the outside part of the Kleßheim Baroque castle, the Café Winkler stood empty for many years and this landmark that served as a counterpoint to the medieval fortress lost its splendour. Now, the Museum der Moderne has come into being on this extraordinary site. The bright, local Untersberg marble of its facade crowns the conglomerate wall of the steep cliff and demonstrates a clear new sign of the cultural commitment of the world famous festival city. The sensitive dovetailing of the natural/urban space outwardly symbolises the architectural concept of architects Friedrich Hoff Zwink to present contemporary art of all types of media.
Under the direction of Swiss chairman Luigi Snozzi, a jury comprised of eleven well-known experts and internationally known architects chose this project out of 145 submissions in May 1998. The sensitive consideration of the design that was given to the water tower from the 19th Century was especially decisive in the selection. With the glass-covered stairways, a view of the historical building is provided which serves to orient visitors who have just gone "through the mountain" as they make their way to the top.
The four levels of the new development are designed to provide the greatest variety possible for the most diverse exhibition formats and other museum activities. The exhibition space has been generously divided and uniformly designed in order to provide visual space for the artworks. The basic structure of the exhibition spaces correspond to an S-shape. Both large stairways, which also simultaneously serve as light shafts, make the shape of a cube, which is only partly visible due to the slightly sloping nature of the location. In addition to the foyer, level 1 also houses the auditorium, the museum shop and the technical spaces.
Level 2 houses the first exhibition level and the offices. While these exhibition spaces are entirely supplied with artificial light, on level 3 a large panorama window opens up northward to the sculpture terrace enabling a dialogue between exhibits in the inner and outer area. Also housed on this floor is the Restaurant - designed by internationally renowned architect Matteo Thun - with seating for 190 and a large terrace (seating for 200) from which a spectacular view of the city of Salzburg can be enjoyed.
The biggest exhibition space is found on level 4 where large overhead lights provide an optimum supply of daylight. Naturally, as is the case everywhere in the museum, a lighting system using the most up-to-date technology is provided that corresponds to the conservative conditions of the respective needs of the displayed exhibits, and that can also be precisely regulated.
