(kus) On Monday, 11. September, the builder, architect, and craftsmen, as well as key project funders and supporters, came together to celebrate the traditional topping-out ceremony for the German Romantic Museum. This marks another milestone in the museum expansion project of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift.
"With a little imagination, you can now already make out the building that architect Christoph Mäckler and his team are erecting - it will be a wonderful home for the new museum. We are looking forward to its realization; the new spatial possibilities will inspire our work," said Prof. Dr. Anne Bohnenkamp-Renken, Director of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift.
Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann emphasized the importance of the project: "With the German Romanticism Museum, a museum ensemble is being created on Großer Hirschgraben - in the heart of the city - that is second to none. The Goethe House and the Romanticism Museum will form a unity that will provide visitors with a comprehensive insight into a period of upheaval that has shaped us to this day, and will awaken a comprehensive understanding of the important period between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries in art, literature, culture, and also in the sciences."
"Many will benefit from the German Romanticism Museum: The city of Frankfurt gains a unique museum ensemble around this important key epoch, and Romantic Hesse gains a central hub for its numerous memorials," emphasized Boris Rhein, Hesse's Minister for Science and the Arts. "In addition, the direct proximity to the Goethe House and Goethe Museum creates the opportunity for a unique cultural dialogue between Goethe and Romanticism. That is why we are actively supporting this project. On the occasion of the topping-out ceremony, I wish the project that the work will continue to progress well and that many curious visitors will discover the world of Romanticism here in the future."
The fact that the German Romanticism Museum has found a suitable location in Frankfurt was explained by Head of the Department of Culture Ina Hartwig: "Frankfurt is the right place, because the Romantic movement is, after all, closely linked to Goethe. In addition, the stacks of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift contain Romantic treasures dating back more than a century - manuscripts by Clemens Brentano, Novalis, the Schlegel brothers, Tieck, Eichendorff, but also such well-known paintings as Caspar David Friedrich's Evening Star, paintings by Carus and prints by Philipp Otto Runge. They will all finally be accessible to a broad public."
The architect in charge, Prof. Christoph Mäckler, also emphasized the importance of the museum building that is being constructed: "Identity is created at this location through historical continuity. That is why the new museum responds to the small-scale nature of the Grosser Hirschgraben on the outside, while on the inside it carries the spirit of Romanticism into the future."
The museography was awarded to the consortium of the renowned offices Bach Dolder (Frankfurt) and Katz Kaiser (Cologne/Darmstadt) after the conclusion of the public tender in autumn 2016. The opening of the museum extension is scheduled for spring 2020. The financing of the German Romantic Museum is divided between the federal government and the state, with four million euros each, 1.8 million coming from the city of Frankfurt, which is also providing the land, and over 6 million euros from private donors. Major sponsors include Deutsche Bank AG and the Ernst Max von Grunelius Foundation, as well as the Cologne gallery owner Karsten Greve, the Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft, the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, and the Wüstenrot Foundation. In addition, there are more than 1,200 private donors.
The chairman of the administrative committee of the Freies Deutsches Hochstift, Carl L. von Boehm-Bezing, thanked the federal, state, and city governments and, last but not least, the private donors and foundations for their magnificent support. "It was only with the donations of numerous citizens from Frankfurt and far beyond that we were able to gather the funds that were needed to supplement the support from our institutional donors. The successful interplay between private donors and the public sector made the realization of the German Romantic Museum possible in the first place."
In addition to the German Romantic Museum, the ensemble on Grosser Hirschgraben will also include 28 apartments. The Cantate Hall will be renovated and will be preserved for cultural purposes. The entire ensemble is being built according to the urban planning design of the Michael A. Landes office. Landes is responsible for the residential buildings, the Cantate Hall and the courtyard. The investment sum for the entire project amounts to 27 million euros. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2018.
The developer for the project is ABG Frankfurt Holding. "As a real estate group, we are pleased to implement the construction of this museum, which is important for Frankfurt, on time and on budget, and thus to make a contribution to urban development," said ABG Managing Director Frank Junker
