Detail page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

The results of the Institute for Museum Research's overall statistical survey for 2021 clearly show the impact of the pandemic in the second year after decades of steadily rising visitor numbers.

38.8 million visits to German museums: two thirds fewer than before corona

The museums participating in the survey reported a total of 38,756,038 visits in 2021. This is two thirds fewer than were recorded in 2019 (-65.3 %). Of the 6,810 museums contacted, 47.9% reported their visit figures to the Institute of Museum Research, while 10% stated that they were not open to visitors in 2021 due to renovation work or the pandemic.

The second year of the pandemic in 2021 began with a nationwide lockdown for the German museum landscape, which lasted until March. After that, opening regulations for museums, memorials and exhibition centres in federal states and municipalities were determined depending on the local infection situation. From August, only people who had been vaccinated, recovered or tested (3G regulation) were allowed to visit museums nationwide. Museums that decided to open were hardly able to fully utilise their visitor capacities in 2021 due to strict hygiene and control requirements.

Compared to 2020, some museum types were able to recover better than others. Palace and castle museums in particular increased again compared to 2020 (+12.5 %), while natural history museums (-14.4 %) and art museums (-10.3 %), for example, had to cope with further declines.

The effects of regionally differentiated opening rules and local variations in the pandemic are reflected in the visitor numbers of the individual federal states and the various forms of organisation. While museums in Schleswig-Holstein, for example, enjoyed an increase of 32.1% compared to the previous year, the number of visitors to museums in Saxony fell by 29.8%. Museums run by local authorities suffered losses of 13% compared to the previous year, while museums run by private individuals recorded growth of 23.6% in the same period.

For the Director of the Institute for Museum Research, Prof Dr Patricia Rahemipour, one thing is certain: "It is still too early to draw a final conclusion about the impact of the pandemic on the museum sector. Even in 2021, many museums were closed for months and their opening depended on local developments and political considerations over which they had no influence. It is therefore important to focus even more on the work of museums "behind the scenes". The museums were anything but inactive in 2021, especially when it came to digitalisation."

David Vuillaume, Managing Director of the German Museums Association, adds: "The data shows that museums have not been discouraged in the second year of the pandemic. They continue to awaken people's desire for cultural experiences. This and many other indicators suggest that museum attendance figures will recover in the medium term and that the public will return. Despite this positive forecast, we also recognise that museums are currently facing major challenges once again. Following the loss of income due to the pandemic, many museums will not be able to cover the additional financial burden caused by the energy crisis from their own budgets and are dependent on support."

1.9 million visits to German exhibition centres in 2021

The separately surveyed visitor numbers in the exhibition centres also fell sharply compared to the figures before coronavirus. Of the 507 institutions contacted, 56.6% reported their visit figures to the Institute for Museum Research. For 2021, this amounted to a total of 1,988,300 visits (-63.4% compared to 2019).