Art & Culture

The Franconian city of Nuremberg has a lively cultural scene. The art gallery (Kunsthalle) has regularly changing temporary exhibitions of German and international contemporary art since 1960. The State Museum for Art and Design draws the crowds with its ultra-modern architecture on the outside and contemporary international art and modern design inside.

New Museum - The State Museum for Art and Design in Nuremberg
The Museum for Art and Design is known for its architecture and for its thematic combination of contemporary art and design. Visitors can admire international modern art and design as well as special exhibitions.

Nuremberg Art Gallery (Kunsthalle)
The Kunsthalle hosts special exhibitions on contemporary German and international art and the so-called Second Modernism of the 1960s.

State Theatre Nuremberg - Staatstheater Nürnberg

The State Theatre Nuremberg is one of the largest ‘three company’ houses (with music theatre, dance and acting) in Germany, employing over 500 people from over 30 different nations. The theatre has three performing spaces (the Opera House, the playhouse and the chamber stage) and in 2002, the “BlueBox” was built in the area outside the playhouse, providing a platform for premieres and new works. Another recently acquired performing venue used by the theatre since the 2004/2005 season is the „neue Probe Bühne“ (the ‘new rehearsal stage’) in the Fürther Straße, where primarily productions by Nuremberg’s International Opera Studio take place. The Opera Studio is essentially a “practice forum” for young opera singers, so that they can get their first taste of performing on stage.

On the 16 th September 2003, the theatre became a State Theatre, replacing its original status of a city theatre. On this date, an agreement between the state of Bavaria and the city of Nuremberg was reached, to the effect that both parties would jointly support and sponsor the theatre in the future. Consequently, on the 1st January 2005, the “State Theatre Foundation” was created, with the principle aim of promoting performing arts. At this time, the theatre officially became a joint venture of the city of Nuremberg and the state of Bavaria, who now equally provide full financial support for the theatre. At a time of general cutbacks in municipal budgets, being a State Theatre provides much needed financial security, with the state and city bearing equal costs for the running of the theatre. The Bavarian premier, Edmund Stoiber, welcomed the change and said that it had “strengthened Nuremberg’s cultural status as the second largest metropolis in Bavaria”. Above all, the added kudos that comes with being a State Theatre makes the house much more appealing to internationally renowned artists. This in turn will have an effect on the artistic quality of the house, which has already seen marked improvement over the past few years. With the taking on of the name of State Theatre, the international reputation of the house has also grown. As a result, the resident artists regularly receive invitations to perform at venues worldwide, as cultural representatives of Germany. Thus, the theatre is simultaneously encouraged and supported, but also challenged by the state, to be continually quality conscious. .