The original brick building of the “Kunsthalle” was built in 1869, a new annex between 1914 and 1921. The “Kunsthalle” of Hamburg is one of the great picture galleries, with important European paintings from the Middle Ages to the present day. In 1997, an extension was built, called the “Galerie der Gegenwart” which is dedicated to contemporary art. The white cubic building of chalky sandstone sits on a base faced in red granite.