The Pinakothek der Moderne is one of the world's largest museums for modern and contemporary art. Designed by German architect Stephan Braunfels, the Pinakothek der Moderne was inaugurated in September 2002 after seven years of construction.
In contrast to other cities Munich was not much affected by the Nazi regime's banning of modern art as 'degenerate art,' since only a few modern paintings were already collected by the Tschudi Contribution in 1905/1914, like the Still Life with Geraniums of Henri Matisse, the collection's first acquisition. Since 1945, however, the collection, previously exhibited in the Haus der Kunst, has grown quickly by purchase, as well as donations by individuals and several foundations. Various art movements of the 20th century are represented in the collection, including Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, New Objectivity, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art and Minimal Art.
In addition to a focused collection policy to individual priorities, the portfolio was extended in particular through the collections, Theo Wormland (surrealism), 'Sophie and Emanuel Fohn' (who rescued degenerate art), Woty and Theodor Werner (images of Paul Klee and the Cubists) and the collection of Franz, Duke of Bavaria with contemporary German painters such as Jörg Immendorff and Sigmar Polke.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.