Kunstpavillon

Kunstpavillon stands in Munich’s Old Botanical Garden, within the Kunstareal district of museums and galleries. Oswald Bieber designed the building between 1935 and 1937, creating a compact architectural setting for art. Its original studio belonged to sculptor Josef Thorak, while the surrounding garden provides a leafy urban backdrop. Wheelchair access makes the space available to visitors with limited mobility.

A fire destroyed Munich’s Glass Palace in 1931, and this pavilion replaced it four years later. After the Second World War, ruins and black-market traders filled the site before artists began rebuilding it. From 1948 to 1950, Hannes König led the restoration, funded through lotteries and donations. The Schutzverband, an association of visual artists, then received exclusive use under a lease that continues today.

The restored rooms became a centre for Munich’s art community and later welcomed artists from beyond the city. The SPUR group held an important exhibition here in 1960 and 1961. Since the late 1980s, local and international artists have shaped its contemporary exhibition programme. Its history remains visible in the transformation from a Nazi-era exhibition temple into an artist-run art space.