History
The museum dates back to the year 1824, when the comprehensive collection of medieval art from Franz Ferdinand Wallraf came to the city of Cologne by inheritance. The first building was donated by Johann Heinrich Richartz.
The collection was regularly expanded by donations, especially the collection Haubrich, containing contemporary art, in 1946. In 1976, on the occasion of the donation of Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig the collection was split. The new Museum Ludwig took over the art exhibiting of the 20th century works.
The current building from 2001, near the Cologne City Hall, was designed by Oswald Mathias Ungers. Also in 2001, Swiss collector Gérard Corboud gave his comprehensive impressionist and postimpressionist collection as a permanent loan to the museum, which added “Fondation Corboud” to its name.
Read more about this topic: Wallraf-Richartz Museum
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