ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES MUSEUM SCHNÜTGEN

The M.S. in Cologne belongs among the most outstanding places for the study and exhibition of medieval art in Europe and North America. Visitors can discover the art of the middle ages and later periods in the unique ambience of the Romanesque church of St. Cecilia, turned into a museum in 1956, as well as an adjacent building soon to be opened. Alexander Schnütgen, who laid the base for our outstanding collection of Christian art ranging form the 5^th to the 19^th century, donated all his artworks to the city of Cologne in 1906. Up to now people tell stories about his zealous and sometimes crafty collection tactics.

In donating his collection to the public, Schnütgen wanted to rescue and preserve the great art of the middle ages for his own time. To us, this long-ago world seems strange, but the objects themselves are still there to tell us about images people have created to express their fear, their joy, their faith and their longing in order to better understand their world and make it more beautiful.

With this museum the City of Cologne possesses one of the most impressive collections of medieval art worldwide. The permanent collection was last reorganized in 2003 and will expand into new exhibition spaces in 2009. It is enhanced by recent acquisitions and donations and also presents masterpieces that have not been on show for 50 years and more and whose restoration is made possible through a financed by private patrons campaign.