Zentrum Paul Klee
Renzo Piano's wave-form museum east of Bern holding the world's largest Paul Klee collection.
The Zentrum Paul Klee stands on the eastern edge of Bern at Schoengruen, close to the Schosshalde cemetery where the artist is buried. Opened in June 2005, it holds roughly 4,000 works by Paul Klee, about two-fifths of his total output, making it the largest single collection of his paintings, drawings and watercolours anywhere. The institution grew out of donations from the Mueller-Wyss family and Klee's heirs, and works as a research centre and concert venue as well as a gallery.
Renzo Piano's design consists of three steel-and-glass hills that rise out of the farmland and echo the contours of the Aare valley, linked internally by a glazed Museum Street. Because works on paper cannot be exposed to light continuously, the collection display rotates; since 2023 it has been presented under the title Kosmos Klee. The complex also contains the Creaviva children's studio, an auditorium used for concerts and readings, an archive and library, and a sculpture path through the surrounding meadows.
Highlights
- Around 4,000 works by Paul Klee, the largest holding of the artist anywhere
- Three steel-and-glass hills designed by Renzo Piano, opened in 2005
- Kosmos Klee, the rotating collection display, running until October 2027
- Creaviva studio, auditorium concerts and an outdoor sculpture path
