Let’s celebrate: 100 year anniversary of Museum Ulm
From October 3 to 5, 2025, the Ulm Museum will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Opened on October 4, 1925, as the Museum of the City of Ulm, it emerged from the Arts and Crafts Museum founded in 1882 and the collections of the Association for Art and Antiquities. Today, the Ulm Museum brings together 40,000 years of art, culture, and design history under one roof. Founding director Julius Baum (1882-1959) shaped the museum, which boasts archaeological sensations such as the figure of the so-called Lion Man from the UNESCO World Heritage Site, late Gothic art from Ulm and Upper Swabia, and prominent collections of international graphic art and modern art from the 20th and 21st centuries.
After the Nazi era, during which parts of the collection were confiscated as “degenerate,” a new start was made in 1956 under Herbert Pée (1913-1998) under the name Ulmer Museum. Today, the museum complex on the market square comprises seven buildings, including listed buildings and modern extensions, as well as the archive of the Ulm School of Design (HfG Ulm), which documents the heritage of the design school at its location on the Kuhberg and conveys international design history and the present.
As a lively place for encounters and exchange, the museum invites the public to reflect on social issues and museum responsibility and to join in the discussion. With 60,000 exhibits—from Weickmann’s 17th-century cabinet of curiosities to the Kurt Fried collection of international modern art—it remains a showcase for regional identity and global networking.
On its centenary, the museum stands for a cultural bridge between tradition and innovation – as a place that asks questions instead of just providing answers. During the festive weekend, the museum will open its construction fence during its renovation-related closure and invite all interested parties to rediscover the place with a program of festive evenings featuring sound art and art auctions, parties, future labs, creative markets, and artist talks.
Our flyer (PDF download) provides an overview of the program: Program overview 100 Years of Museum Ulm
