The Museum im Kulturspeicher Würzburg is a municipal art museum opened in 2002 within a converted river-side warehouse that provides 3,500 m² of exhibit space in 12 rooms. It contains two distinct collections: the municipal art collection, founded in 1941 as the Städtische Gallerie and originally located in Hofstraße; and the Peter C. Ruppert Collection of European concrete art from World War II to the present day.
The municipal collection exhibits regional art, primarily from Franconia and Southern Germany, ranging from Biedermeier-style portraits and landscapes of the first half of the 19th century, through German impressionism and painters of the Berlin Secession, including Robert Breyer, Philipp Franck, Walter Leistikow, Joseph Oppenheimer, and Max Slevogt, as well as members of the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School including Ludwig von Gleichen-Rußwurm and Franz Bunke. It also includes works by Bauhaus painter Hans Reichel and works from the estate of sculptor Emy Roeder, as well as about 30,000 graphics works.
The Ruppert collection includes concrete art from 22 European countries, incorporating a broad spectrum of materials and media, exhibited within six galleries. Artists include Max Bill, John Carter, Andreas Christen, Ralph Eck, Christoph Freimann, Gerhard von Graevenitz, Erwin Heerich, Malcolm Hughes, Norbert Kricke, Richard Paul Lohse, Maurizio Nannucci, Nausika Pastra, Henry Prosi, Bridget Riley, Peter Sedgley, and Anton Stankowski.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.