Bayerisches Nationalmuseum

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Two Millennia of European Art and Culture

King Maximilian II began mulling over the creation a museum of “German antiquities” as early as 1852, christening the project the “Bayerisches National Museum” in 1855 - the name by which it is still known today. In September 1857, the king compiled a list of “Suggestions for the Bavarian Historical Gallery (Herzog-Max-Burg) National Museum”. Meanwhile several architects made plans to extend the Herzog-Max-Burg.

The goal of the collection was “to wrest the most interesting monuments and other remains of past times which represent the Fatherland from oblivion”. According to contemporary tastes, the Middle Ages were in focus. In the early days everything “which serves to characterise the bygone centuries … in respect of art and craft” seemed worthy of collecting.

Credit: Image of Bayerische Nationalmuseum