(c) by Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders. All rights reserved.
Description [EN]
In the regional cultural offerings of Bergisch Gladbach, the Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders plays a defining role. The institution serves as the city museum and focuses on art made from and with paper; in 2014 the name was changed from “Städtische Galerie Villa Zanders” to its current designation.
The villa stands in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia. The building was erected in 1873/74 as the residence of the Zanders family of entrepreneurs. Originally a small park separated the property from the neighbouring paper mill; only remnants of that park remain.
After the founding family lived in the house until the 1930s, it entered public ownership in 1932 and later became the property of the city of Bergisch Gladbach through a land swap. For years authorities used the building as administrative offices. Its condition deteriorated significantly in the 1970s; in 1982 the villa was entered in the list of historical monuments and was comprehensively restored between 1985 and 1992. Since 1992 the house has been open as a municipal exhibition venue and, together with the neighbouring community centre “Bürgerhaus Bergischer Löwe,” forms the cultural centre of the city.
Architecturally, the three-storey brick building with natural stone elements reflects the French Renaissance. Characteristic features include risalits, a vertical articulation and a triumphal-arch motif. The mansard roof has dormers; the original roof cornice and chimney structures have not been preserved. A contemporary wood engraving shows the proximity of the former Schnabelsmühle to the southern side of the house.
The museum uses three floors: the historically furnished ground floor displays late Romantic paintings of the Düsseldorf School, including works by Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, Carl Ludwig Fahrbach and Johann Wilhelm Lindlar. The two upper floors, adapted for temporary exhibitions, are devoted to art from the 19th to the 21st century. At its centre is the museum’s own collection “Kunst aus Papier,” with about 500 works by international artists that recall the city’s four-hundred-year paper tradition. The programme is complemented by a volunteer-run art lending library (Artothek), which has made over a thousand works available for loan since 1993 and includes, among others, works by Joseph Beuys.
Services
Car parking
An der Gohrsmühle 18
Connection public transport
S-Bahn-Linie S11 von Köln Hauptbahnhof bis Bergisch Gladbach (Endstation); von hier aus nur wenige Schritte durch die Fußgängerzone (Hauptstr.) Richtung Markt;oder mit den Stadtbahnlinien 3 und 18 von Köln bis Dellbrück Hauptstraße und von dort mit den Buslinien 435 und 436 weiter nach Bergisch Gladbach.
Accessibility
Access with ramp
Yes
Door width (in cm)
138 cm
Guidance system for visually impaired people, Tactile / acoustic map
No
Entrance soil indicators
No
Marking of step edges
No
Access stairless
Yes
Access with ramp
No
Elevator with tactile font / announcement
Yes
Elevator door width (in cm)
90
Disabled toilet
Yes
Labeling in pictograms
No
Inscription in braille
No
Acoustically accessible exhibition objects
No
Tactile accessible exhibition objects
No
Print medium in braille inscription / large print
No
Tactile / audio tours
No
Guided tours in sign language
No
Tactile flooring system
No
Barrier-free Audioguides
No
Educational programs for visitors with learning difficulties
Yes