Grassimuseum

Description:

• This museum is a three-in-one delight in an Art Deco building updated by the celebrated British architect, David Chipperfield. The Ethnological Museum, Musical Instruments Museum, and Arts and Crafts Museum are found under one roof.

  We'd go to the Museum für Völkerkunde for its stunning exhibitions of the antique art of Southeast Asia, if for no other reason. From Oceania to Australia, from Indonesia to Europe and the Americas, the exhibits cover all continents and take in Russian displays as well, even displaying artifacts from the Arctic Ocean. In the Musikinstrumentenmuseum you can see one of the largest collections of musical instruments in the world, including the oldest known clavichord, built in 1543 in Italy. Most of the instruments, including lutes, flutes, and spinets, date from the Renaissance era. Recorded sounds from the instruments can be heard as you look them over. Finally, the Museum für Kunsthandwerk is rich in the treasures of Eastern Germany, not only exquisite porcelain (among the world's finest) but tapestries, handicrafts, and even examples of the famous Bauhaus design.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010