Museum Bassermannhaus

The Museum Bassermannhaus for Music and Art stands in Mannheim, part of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums group. It occupies 1 350 square metres across two floors, displaying objects related to music, art and world cultures. Beneath the site archaeologists found well-preserved remains from the earliest settlement period, uncovered before construction began. The building itself was completed in 2010 at a cost of five million euros. A donation of ten million euros from the Bassermann-Kulturstiftung Mannheim made the project possible and continues to fund running costs and exhibitions. On the ground and first floors the exhibition Sound of Cultures opened in 2010, while the upper floors house further displays. Visitors find the music-history and ethnography exhibition MusicWorlds, which includes European and non-European instruments. A notable highlight is the Freudenberg collection of early American instruments donated by Dieter and Evamaria Freudenberg. The first floor also hosts ZEPHYR – Space for Photography, dedicated to contemporary photographic art.