Kolumba is the art museum of the archbishoproc of Cologne. It was founded as the diocesan museum in 1853. Since 2004 it has been called ‘Kolumba’ after the former church on whose foundations the building stands. The new building in Cologne city centre, which had been planned for a long time, was opened in 2007.
A threefold harmony of location, collection and architecture. The visitor experiences 2000 years of Western art in one building. In art from late Antiquity to the present day. In architecture in the conjunction of the wartime ruins of the late Gothic church of St. Kolumba, the chapel “Madonna in the Ruins” (1950), the unique archaeological excavations (1973-1976) and the new building after a design by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor.
Kolumba has been aptly termed »a museum of contemplation in which there is an ongoing dialogue between past and present« (Sarah McFadden, Art in America). Kolumba is curated by Stefan Kraus, Ulrike Surmann, Marc Steinmann und Barbara von Flüe.
For further information regarding special exhibitions and events please visit the homepage of the museum.
