Outside view of picture gallery Dachau.

The Dachau Painting Gallery has a representative permanent collection of typical landscape and genre paintings of the 19th and early 20th century. Dachau was the site of one of the most important - in terms of art history - German artists' colonies at that time, which had a large impact on the development of modern art in the twentieth century.
Famous painters, such as Christian Morgenstern, Carl Spitzweg, Eduard Schleich the Elder or Adolf Hölzel, Ludwig Dill and Arthur Langhammer prized the moor landscape of Dachau as an attractive motif. Special exhibitions vary.
 

District Museum Dachau, photo: City of Dachau

The District Museum, which was awarded the Bavarian Museum Award in 1993, reflects the cultural heritage of the town of Dachau and the county surrounding it. 

On three floors numerous impressive exhibits illustrate settlement forms and town history. Guild and market law, crafts and trade, everday life and festive traditions are portrayed as well as religious folklore and much more.  

Frequent special exhibitions highlight various aspects of cultural history.

Neue Galerie Dachau, gallery of contemporary art, photo: Zweckverband Dachauer Galerien und Museen, Jürgen Hartmann

The New Gallery is exclusively dedicated to contemporary art. Located in an idyllic courtyard at Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 20, the gallery hosts at least five exhibitions a year. Young artists display their work in the areas of sculpture, installation, painting, photography, video, and experimental art.

Many of the artists who have presented their work here since 1992 are internationally renowned, including Urs Lüthi, Michael Wesely, Jerry Zenuik, Rudi Tröger, Bodo Buhl, Gerhard Richter and Peter Wüthrich. They have made the New Gallery an acclaimed exhibition site at the gateway to Munich, one that is no longer an insider's tip.

The Artists' Association Dachau (KVD) – one of the last artists' associations in Bavaria – evolved from the artist's colony in Dachau at the beginning of the 20th century. 

The KVD has its own gallery, in which at least 8 exhibitions are held every year, including one with works from members of the association.

Wasserturm (former water Tower in Dachau), photo: City of Dachau @Udo Bernhart

The Dachau Water Tower provided the town with water from 1910 till 1969. It was nearly forgotten and in danger of falling apart until it was extensively restored in 1998. Through the work of the "Dachau Water Tower Promotion Society" (Forderverein Dachauer Wasserturm), it became the site of cultural events, such as exhibitions, author readings and concerts.