Kunstmuseum Basel

The core of the Kunstmuseum Basel's collection is the Amerbach-Kabinett, which the city purchased in 1661, entrusted to the university, and opened to the public. According to the museum, Basel has since held the oldest public art collection in the world. The museum today occupies three buildings. The main building (Hauptbau) on St. Alban-Graben was opened in 1936 to a design by Rudolf Christ and Paul Bonatz, and houses the permanent collection. Directly opposite stands the new building (Neubau) by the architects Christ & Gantenbein, completed in 2016 for temporary exhibitions. The third building, the Gegenwart, housed in a converted paper mill on the Rhine, is dedicated to contemporary art.