The Viennese architectural firm Schenker Salvi Weber ZT has won the international design competition for the planned expansion of Museum Wiesbaden. The jury, chaired by Prof. Dr. Gesine Weinmiller, selected the winning design from among 19 final submissions after an initial pool of over 120 applications from domestic and international architectural firms.
The winning design impressed the jury through its architectural quality, functional organization, and sensitive approach to the monument-protected existing structure. The planned expansion building will be constructed on the museum's south courtyard and will provide approximately 3,000 square meters of additional usable space for special and permanent exhibitions, storage rooms, offices, and technical facilities.
The project will now enter a detailed planning phase to determine cost and time frameworks, construction implementation, and coordination with monument preservation and urban planning requirements. The State of Hessen serves as the building owner, represented by the Hessian Ministry of Finance. Decisions regarding timing and scope of realization will be made following completion of these planning stages.
Meanwhile, Museum Wiesbaden is currently presenting the exhibition "The Poetry of Searching," featuring large sculptures by Louise Nevelson, an artist born in the Russian Empire in 1899. The cubism-influenced collages and assemblages provide an engaging overview of this significant American artist's work. The exhibition runs through March 25, 2026, showcasing pieces that play with forms and associations, particularly large wooden works where viewers can recognize what the wood might once have been.
The Hessian cultural landscape remains vibrant with numerous ongoing events and exhibitions. In Kassel, a memorial reading took place where 2,659 names of Jewish Nazi victims who were deported 87 years ago were read aloud throughout an entire day. The commemoration, held at the former Gestapo headquarters at Königstor, began at 8 AM and continued until late evening, with psalms and prayers concluding the ceremony at 10 PM.
Also in Kassel, the "Chinese Man" sculpture has returned to Bergpark after a long journey. The 18th-century sculpture had been removed when the electors redesigned the park and subsequently passed through various private ownership before a Kassel couple returned it to Hessen Kassel Heritage. The sculpture, now complete with its restored head and foot tips, stands in a small woodland area in the lower part of Mulangstraße.
The cultural calendar includes significant educational programming as well. For the eighth time, Pastoral Referent Dr. Marc Fachinger is organizing the "Limburg Witness Week" on behalf of the Diocese of Limburg, bringing Holocaust survivors to meet with school classes. More than 1,300 students from Frankfurt, Biedenkopf, Limburg, Montabaur, and the Taunus region have registered for these sessions.
Several public events are scheduled for the first week of December, some featuring Holocaust survivors and others with former Auschwitz prosecutor Gerhard Wiese. These include sessions at the Limburg Seminary on December 2 at 7:30 PM and December 4 at 3 PM, as well as events at the Fritz Bauer Institute Frankfurt on December 3 at 6:15 PM and at Goethe University Frankfurt on December 4 at 6 PM.
In the entertainment sector, there was disappointment for fans of composer Hans Zimmer, as no replacement dates will be scheduled for his canceled concerts "Hans Zimmer Live - The Next Level" at Frankfurt's Festhalle and Mannheim's SAP Arena. The tight international tour schedule and limited venue availability made it impossible to find suitable alternative dates. Tickets can be refunded through Eventim or original purchase points.
A more positive music story emerged involving singer Reinhard Mey, who thanked rapper Haftbefehl for his unexpected chart success. The Netflix documentary "Babo - The Haftbefehl Story" featured a scene where Haftbefehl plays and sings along to Mey's 1970 song "In My Garden," propelling it to number 15 on the German charts - Mey's highest-charting hit to date.
The Roma and Sinti Philharmonic performed at the Hessian Broadcasting Senate Hall in Frankfurt, presenting "80 Years Echo of Memory: A Requiem for Auschwitz." Founded in 2002 by conductor Riccardo M Sahiti, the ensemble of 70 professional musicians from across Europe performed the requiem by Dutch Sinto composer Roger Moreno-Rathgeb, which combines Latin liturgy with expressive tonal language and stylistic elements from Roma and Sinti tradition.
Additional cultural highlights include the 26th Animation Festival in Wiesbaden, showcasing handmade productions that continue to impress despite the influence of artificial intelligence on the industry. The festival features everything from paper cutout figures dancing through colorful western towns to stories painted in sand and classical computer animations, running through November 9.
The Discovery Art Fair opened at Frankfurt's Messe, presenting 110 exhibitors from 20 countries with works ranging from established artists like Markus Lüpertz, Georg Baselitz, and Tony Cragg to emerging urban art and digital format creators. The fair offers painting, sculpture, photography, and object art for various tastes and budgets, running until November 9.
