It became clear as long ago as 1999 that parts of the Münchner Stadtmuseum needed to be renovated. In 2005, the Cultural Affairs Committee passed a resolution on the “reimagining of the Münchner Stadtmuseum”, which included its major refurbishment.

The museum’s existing buildings span several centuries, and the entire ensemble is protected. The complete refurbishment is being carried out in close coordination with the historic preservation authority. Any additions will gently complement the historic complex, combining the need for preservation with the requirements of a modern museum.

For about seven years. The museum is scheduled to reopen in summer 2031. The refurbishment itself is expected to take no more than five years. Added to this is the time required for the move into a new temporary home and back again once the works have been completed, to test and calibrate the new building and climate control systems, and to mount the new permanent and special exhibitions.

The works have been approved by Munich’s City Council and will cost approximately 270 million euros.

The Filmmuseum’s movie theater will remain open until April 2027.

The servus.heimat museum shop has closed at the museum but will remain open in the Ruffinihaus at Sendlinger Straße 1. The Stadtcafé has reopened as Nash and has had a new tenant since mid-May 2025.

The Ignaz Günther House will continue to be used by the Münchner Stadtmuseum.

The museum places a premium on accessibility. It has been committed to provide threshold-free entrances and transitions, extra lifts, accessible washrooms, and extensive facilities for people with visual and hearing impairments. When the Münchner Stadtmuseum reopens in 2031, it will be a meeting place truly open to everyone. The new main entrance on Rindermarkt will now become the museum’s primary address.

An exhibition cube will be built in the second interior courtyard, and the courtyard will be covered, creating an enhanced lounge area in the space under the new glass roof.

The new main entrance on Rindermarkt will lead directly into the interior courtyard on the north side of the museum, which will be completely covered and upgraded by a glass roof to create a new museum lobby. An eye-catching new cube structure will be placed in the inner courtyard, connected by gangways to the museum’s existing exhibition spaces. Important as these meticulously designed additions and gentle alterations may be, the project primarily seeks to preserve and refurbish a set of buildings that has developed organically over the centuries.

The refurbishment and addition of a new cube in the atrium will make it easier for visitors to find their way around, creating new connecting walkways and routes around the exhibitions. The covered atrium will be at the heart of the new museum, offering direct, barrier-free access to the events hall, the expanded educational workshops, the museum shop and the Espressobar, right through to the museum lobby.

While the museum is closed, all its staff will be busy developing new permanent and special exhibitions, planning and delivering an interim program and carrying out a multitude of other tasks that go far beyond traditional exhibition and museum work.

The Münchner Stadtmuseum will still maintain a presence through, for instance, exhibitions held in collaboration with different partners. From May 2025 to summer 2027, the ground floor of the former armory on St.-Jakobs-Platz hosts a free, accessible interim exhibition entitled "What the City. Perspectives of Munich".