Today

  • Exhibitions
    11:00 until 18:00
  • Collection / It's all Art?!
    11:00 until 18:00

  • Admission: 16 € / concessions 12 €

  • Children / young people under 18 : free

  • Members of Friends of the Kunstpalast: free

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Spot on

100 Years GeSoLei

8 May 2026 – 21 February 2027

Spot on

Date

8 May 2026 – 21 February 2027

Location

» Kunstpalast

  • Admission: 16 € / concessions 12 €

  • Children / young people under 18: free

  • Members of Friends of the Kunstpalast: free

Johan Thorn Prikker, Mosaic Draft “The Day”, 1925/1926
Johan Thorn Prikker, Mosaic Draft “The Day”, 1925/1926

In 1926, Düsseldorf became the venue for the exhibition on healthcare, social welfare and physical exercise –“GeSoLei“ for short , the largest exposition of the Weimar Republic. In the wake of the First World War, the event promoted the ideal of a “new, capable human being”. Topics such as medicine, sport, social welfare, hygiene, nutrition and physical culture were the focus, complemented by a wide-ranging cultural and entertainment program.  

Ludwig ten Hompel, Exhibition Poster for the Great Exhibition in Düsseldorf for “Health Care, Social Welfare and Physical Exercise” (“GeSoLei”), 1926
Ludwig ten Hompel, Exhibition Poster for the Great Exhibition in Düsseldorf for “Health Care, Social Welfare and Physical Exercise” (“GeSoLei”), 1926

Between 8 May and 15 October 1926, over 7.5 million people visited the 400,000-square-metre site. Architect and academy professor Wilhelm Kreis designed the building ensemble at the Ehrenhof especially for the occasion. Comprising the present-day Tonhalle concert hall, exhibition buildings and the Rheinterrasse, it continues to shape Düsseldorf’s cityscape to this day. Around 20 artists created sculptures, mosaics, murals and glass art, with numerous works still preserved around the Ehrenhof. The exhibition commemorates this important chapter in the city’s history from one hundred years ago.