Art and Architecture

Germany is nothing if not culture rich. A country the size of Texas has over 500 galleries and 6,000 museums. Now the country is building on its wealth of cultural choices with new museums and art collections. Dresden's historic Green Vault just opened its doors as well as Stuttgart's Weissenhof Settlement. Next year the documenta will be held in Kassel once again. Since 1955, Kassel has every five years provided the setting for the world's most important exhibition of contemporary art.

In terms of architecture there is a lot going on too: the new Mercedes Benz Museum with its futuristic structure based on a double helix just opened up and the famous London based architect Zaha Hadid built the Pheano Science Center in Wolfsburg and the new BMW Plant in Leipzig. And of course 2,000 years of European cultural history have certainly left their mark on Germany too: Nowhere else will you find as many unique sites of natural and cultural interest:  32 of them have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites of "extraordinary universal interest" and have been placed under the protection of international conventions.