Mannheim Kunsthalle isthe main museum of the city. It owes to the 300th anniversary of the citycelebrated in 1907 for its establishment. A major exhibition of contemporaryart was one of the events within the frames of the anniversary. For theimplementation of the exhibition architect Hermann Billing built a large hall,which was planned to be removed later. But the building caught the fancy of thetownspeople and the exhibition in Mannheim took hold.
Following the goodreputation of the city, Mannheim became the first city in Germany to buy worksby French Impressionists massively. Thus the works of Claude Monet, EdouardManet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Sisley and many others appeared in Kunsthalle. Later,the works of the German post-impressionists of the first half of the twentiethcentury- Otto Dix, Max Beckmann - joined the collection. Now Kunsthalle’s collectionincludes more than two thousand paintings and 800 sculptures. The exposition ofthe museum continues expanding. Now a large contemporary art center is beingestablished here. A new building, called "the Ark" is under construction.