Viennese architect Hans Hollein created the first postmodern museum building with Museum Abteiberg.
The history of the “Municipal Museum Abteiberg” can be traced back to the year 1904, when a small collection focussed on local history was installed in the rooms of a former elementary school.
The first works of art were acquired shortly afterwards. In 1922, thanks to the generous bequest of Dr. Walter Kaesbach, a citizen of Mönchengladbach, the museum acquired a collection of major Expressionist works and so established its profile as a museum of contemporary art. In the following decades the museum relocated several times and made numerous acquisitions so that by the 1950s–1960s, with a footprint of only 250 m2, it found itself unable to display more than a fraction of its collection. The town council therefore resolved as early as 1963 to commission a new venue for the museum. The project was completed only fourteen years later however.
In 1972 museum director Prof. Johannes Cladders commissioned Austrian artist and architect Hans Hollein to draw up plans, and the first designs were submitted in 1974.
The construction phase lasted from 1977–1982. In 1985 Hans Hollein was awarded the prestigious international “Pritzker Architecture Prize”.
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