The story of Städel Museum

When the Frankfurt banker Johann Friedrich Städel died, he left his house, his art collection and his fortune, asking in his will that an art institute be founded. And so in 1817 the Städel was born, one of the oldest museums in Frankfurt. At first his collection was shown in his former home on the Roßmarkt, and in 1878 a new Neo-Renaissance building rose here on the Schaumainkai.

Dark chapters followed. In 1937 the National Socialists confiscated 77 paintings and 700 prints as “degenerate art”. In 1939 the collection was moved to a castle in Bavaria to protect it from bombing, and there an American officer of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program later found the paintings and library.

Air raids badly damaged the gallery, and it was rebuilt in 1966. In February 2012 an underground wing for contemporary art opened, the largest extension in the museum's history, raising the display area from 4,000 to 7,000 square metres. That same year it drew a record 447,395 visitors.