Groninger Museum

The Groninger Museum is a museum in Groningen in the north of The Netherlands.

Perhaps not as famous as the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, it is considered to be one of the best museums in The Netherlands. Opened in 1994 it became a highlight in the world of art, designed by the architects Philippe Starck, Alessandro Mendini and Coop Himmelb(l)au. The museum was built in a canal opposite the railway station and consists of three pavilions, one (the circular) made by Philippe Starck, one (the yellow tower) by Mendini himself and one (the deconstructivist part) by Coop Himmelb(l)au. The bridge connecting the station with the museum is a cycling and walking route to the inner city. The modern, futuristic and colourful style of the building is related to the Italian design style called Memphis. Mendini, originally a designer, was asked in 1987 by museum director Frans Haks to think up a new museum. Haks also insisted on sub-architects to make the pavilions. Haks wanted something extravagant.

First American artist Frank Stella was approached for one of the pavilions but his plan turned out to be too expensive as he wanted to make his part completely out of Teflon. The municipality then invited Coop Himmelb(l)au for the part.

The museum was mainly paid for by the Gasunie. The company celebrated its 25th birthday and wanted to give the city of Groningen a present. Haks, wanting to move out of the old and insufficient museum building, suggested a new museum. Gasunie granted 25 million guilders for the project. The Groninger Museum also was one of the most important projects of alderman Ypke Gietema. It became his personal goal to get the museum at its present location, in spite of all the protests. During the preparations before building, protesters managed, in high court, to halt the building process for a year. They mainly protested against the modern and controversial design of the building. People feared their houses would not sell anymore with the museum nearby. In 1992 the building started. It was finished in 1994. People had to get used to the shapes and colours of the building.

It is the home to various expositions of local, national and international works of art, most of them modern and abstract. Some of them controversial, like a photo exhibition of Andres Serrano, some more classical like the exhibition of the works of "Russian Rembrandt" Ilya Repin.

External links

* [http://www.groningermuseum.nl/?lan=Engels Website of The Groninger Museum]
* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Groningen_%28city%29 Travelguide to Groningen] from [http://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page Wikitravel]