mre: 60,000 visitors in the first 100 days Art enthusiasts from more than 20 countries have flocked to the Reinhard Ernst Museum (mre) since its opening / mre to present Helen Frankenthaler exhibition in 2025 with masterpieces from the Reinhard Ernst collection
Wiesbaden, 2 October 2024 – At a press conference marking the first 100 days since opening, Director Dr Oliver Kornhoff and founder Reinhard Ernst unveiled impressive numbers: 60,000 art and architecture enthusiasts from more than 20 countries visited the mre between 23 June and 30 September 2024. During this period, some 17,000 visitors participated in nearly 700 group tours.

From Germany, across Europe, and beyond: visitors arrived from every corner of the globe. European guests primarily came from France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, according to Oliver Kornhoff. Overseas visitors travelled from Asia, South America, New Zealand and the USA. The mre reserves its mornings—until noon—exclusively for school classes and educational institutions. Between 23 June and 30 September 2024, the museum offered 100 educational group tours attended by 1,531 participants. In the weeks leading up to summer holidays, numerous groups took advantage of this offering: ranging from kindergartens and primary school students to vocational schools and secondary students. Interest has remained strong even after the summer break. Morning slots are already fully booked through December: the new school year will see an average of three to four groups experiencing the museum each morning.

"The museum has rapidly established itself as a major destination in Wiesbaden," said art collector and museum founder Reinhard Ernst. "My wife and I are especially delighted that so many young people are visiting. Engaging with art unlocks creative potential and cultivates connected thinking—a skill that cannot be developed early enough. It's invaluable later on, helping professionals understand complex relationships and develop innovative solutions. What's resonated with our visitors is the combination of world-class architecture, a remarkable collection of international abstract art never before exhibited, innovative educational programming, and exceptional dining," he explains. Founding Director Dr Oliver Kornhoff adds: "These first three months have flown past. We're thrilled by the overwhelming support from museum colleagues worldwide. For my team and me, this period has been instrumental in learning from our visitors and understanding what they value most. We've used this time to refine our operations, particularly on high-traffic days. For everyone on our team, it's been incredibly rewarding."

Special exhibitions 2025: Celebrating Helen Frankenthaler
The Reinhard Ernst Museum dedicates 2025 to Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011). Over the years, Reinhard Ernst has assembled the world's largest private collection of her paintings—nearly fifty masterpieces spanning her most productive decades, 1950–1990. Beginning in March 2025, the museum presents a major retrospective of this American artist. Her expansive canvases will occupy four exhibition galleries. Most of these works have never been displayed in Germany. This marks the first comprehensive solo exhibition in Germany featuring Frankenthaler's large-scale paintings in nearly 25 years. Alongside the special exhibition, Helen Frankenthaler's work will continue to anchor the collection displays. The exhibition interweaves different creative periods to fully convey the innovative force and richness of her artistic vision. The result is a compelling portrait of Frankenthaler's profound investigation of color and form—innovations that fundamentally shaped abstract painting throughout the latter half of the twentieth century.

Through 9 February 2025, the museum's inaugural special exhibition—Fumihiko Maki: Maki and Associates: Architecture for Humanity—pays tribute to the legendary Japanese architect (born 1928), who passed away shortly before the mre's opening. On display are models of the Pritzker Prize laureate's most significant projects, including Tower 4 of the World Trade Center in New York. The inaugural collection presentation, titled Color is Everything!, traces pivotal moments in abstraction after 1950 across the USA, Japan, and Europe. Sixty masterworks drawn from the Reinhard Ernst Collection of roughly 1,000 pieces showcase the revolutionary shifts in painting. Visitors will encounter works by Friedel Dzubas, K.O. Götz, Toshimitsu Imai, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell, Judit Reigl, Tökö Shinoda, Pierre Soulages, Frank Stella and Fred Thieler, among others. Collection presentations rotate every two years.

About the Reinhard and Sonja Ernst Foundation The Reinhard Ernst Museum (mre) was constructed entirely through funding from the Reinhard & Sonja Ernst Foundation, with construction costs exceeding 80 million euros. The foundation continues to fund all operational and maintenance expenses. The property at Wilhelmstraße 1 was granted to the museum by the City of Wiesbaden on a 99-year lease. The Reinhard & Sonja Ernst Foundation advances values aligned with its founders' vision—expressed through art, culture, and spaces for community and learning. The founders are committed to channeling their resources, expertise, and networks for maximum social impact, realizing this mission through independently initiated projects. The "House of Hope" in Natori, Japan, which became a refuge for children and elderly residents following the 2011 tsunami, and the music school facility in Eppstein, exemplify this approach. Among its historic properties, the Walderdorffer Hof in Limburg an der Lahn similarly embodies the founders' values.

Visitor Information
Hours
Tuesday to Sunday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Closed Mondays

Morning hours are reserved exclusively for school group visits.

Admission
Adults €14
Concessions €12
Children and youth under 18 are admitted free of charge
On the last Tuesday of each month, admission is free from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are available for pre-order online. The museum foyer is accessible to all visitors free of charge during regular hours.

Hours for Restaurant rue 1 by gollner's
Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight
Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays

www.museum-re.de