Welcome to the rem-Stiftungsmuseen

The Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen include two foundation museums: the Muesum Bassermannhaus für Musik und Kunst and the Museum Peter & Traudl Engelhornhaus. These are two buildings that are connected to one another. They are accessible via a shared main entrance from Toulonplatz.  

The impressive facade of the entrance area consists of glass elements that extend across the lower two floors. The gently curved shape of the elements creates unique light and mirror effects. Visitors to both museums can look forward to a diverse exhibition program.

Museum Bassermannhaus für Musik und Kunst 

The Museum Bassermannhaus für Musik und Kunst was opened in 2011. The exhibition “MusikWelten” is devoted to a theme of human civilization about which the Bassermann family of benefactors is especially passionate. The Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen’s significant collection of over 1.600 European and non-European musical instruments is the basis of the exhibition. Among other things, it includes the largest collection of pre-Columbian musical instruments outside the American continent. It was donated by Dieter and Evamaria Freudenberg. The exhibition impressively documents music’s importance to human cultures all over the world with altogether 230 exceptional objects, from unusual Aztec whistling vessels to courtly orchestral instruments from Europe, India, Africa and Japan. The Bassermann-Kulturstiftung Mannheim fully funded the construction of the building and now covers the program with its endowment.

Museum Peter & Traudl Engelhornhaus

Since 2023, we have been presenting the Museum Peter & Traudl Engelhornhaus, the second foundation museum under the umbrella brand of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen. Fully funded by the Brombeeren Stiftung, it focuses on exhibitions of glass art and photography. The cornerstone was laid in 2019 in the presence of the late founder, Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto. The building is named after her and her husband, Peter Engelhorn. Together with the Museum Bassermannhaus , it encompasses 2,500 square meters of exhibition space. With its distinctive architectural feature—the tall, spacious rooms in the atrium—it offers new presentation possibilities and thus serves as a meaningful complement to the existing rem exhibition venues.

Good to know: The Museum Peter & Traudl Engelhornhaus was designed within an existing residential building. The building’s previous use was preserved starting on the second floor. It is owned by the Brombeeren Foundation, which continues to ensure socially responsible housing in Mannheim.