While it’s impossible to access Germany’s cultural institutions in person during these turbulent times, luckily for us new resources, tours and exhibits are becoming available online every day!
This is the second part to our ‘Sofa Sightseeing’ series. You can view the first here.
The Vienna State Opera. Photo: Leonhard Niederwimmer via Pixabay
Art, Culture, History and more...
Google’s Arts and Culture section is your new best friend. If you type ‘Germany’ into the search bar, it comes up with countless online exhibits and virtual tours including:
Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt: One of the leading natural history museums in Germany, featuring the largest exhibition of big dinosaurs in Europe.
Städel Museum, Frankfurt: One of the most important art museums in Germany. Its collection consists of around 3,100 paintings from the Middle Ages to Modern and Contemporary Art.
Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg: A 110-metre high concert hall with a glass façade, famously reminiscent of waves, located on the banks of the River Elbe in Hamburg’s HafenCity.
Bode Museum, Berlin (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin): Located in Berlin’s Museum Island, the Bode Museum houses an eclectic mix of art exhibits, such as a sculpture collection, Byzantine art and a numismatic collection.
Kunsthalle, Bremen: An eminent German art museum, a part of Bremen’s ‘Culture Mile’, that has gained a high reputation, due to its alternating exhibitions, housing art from the 14th to the 21st century.
Music
Various German artists and music venues are now holding digital performances, including:
Deutsche Grammophon – Hope@Home concerts: Daniel Hope is holding a daily live house concert on Deutsche Grammophon’s YouTube Channel, where “in times of isolation and cultural shutdown” he invites “artists and friends to his living room for spontaneous concerts."
Early Music Day: Every year, Early Music Day is held on 21st March to celebrate the beginning of spring and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Birthday. This year, several concerts are being streamed online, including many by German artists.
Wiener Staatsoper: Vienna’s opera house is holding ‘live at home’ performances, including Götterdämmerung, Roméo et Juliette, Die Frau ohne Schatten and more.
Other
Other notable virtual tours of Germany’s institutions and virtual performances include:
Car Museums: Google Maps features some German car museums such as the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum.
Schloss Neuschwanstein: AirPano features a virtual tour over Germany’s iconic 19th century Schloss Neuschwanstein, located in Hohenschwangau, Bavaria.
Dringeblieben: Dringeblieben von Rausgegangen und ASK Helmut is a Cologne-based live streaming platform for German artists and venues to let their concerts and events take place online.