Wallraf–Richartz Museum

The Wallraf-Richartz Museum & Fondation Corboud is Cologne's oldest museum and one of Germany's great classical picture galleries. Its 2001 building holds the world's most comprehensive collection of medieval painting, especially the Cologne School.

At a glance

• Founded: 1824, the city's oldest museum
• Collection: Middle Ages to the 19th century
• Highlight: with the Fondation Corboud, Germany's largest Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist collection
• Location: Obenmarspforten, near the city hall and old town

From Wallraf to Corboud

The collection began with the estate of the Cologne canon Ferdinand Franz Wallraf, who bequeathed it to the city in 1824. The merchant Johann Heinrich Richartz funded the first dedicated museum building, opened in 1861. Today the holdings range from Gothic panel paintings through Rubens, Rembrandt and Munch to Monet, Renoir and van Gogh.

Prints and drawings

The museum also holds an important graphic collection of more than 75,000 sheets, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.