Munich - Old Picture Gallery Alte Pinakothek

Must-see attractions nearby: Cathedral Church of Our Lady New Town Hall Marien Square Bavarian State Opera House Asam Church Hellabrunn Zoo Bavarian National Museum

This "masterpiece of architectural proportion" (Wölfflin) is modeled on the Renaissance palaces of Venice. It was the largest gallery built in the first half of the 19th century and as such became the model for others in Rome and Brussels. It is a massive structure, 127m/417ft long with short side wings (37m/121ft from front to rear). The 24 statues (by Ludwig Schwanthaler) of famous painters on the south front and the frescoes (by Peter Cornelius) in the interior were destroyed in the wartime bombing.

Further restoration work was carried out in the late 1970s.