A calm, inexpensive outing with children doesn’t have to mean the city centre. In Munich’s north-west, at Schloss Blutenburg, the International Youth Library (IJB) is showing “Augen auf! Ali Mitgutsch und das große Gewimmel”. Children and young people up to 18 get in free; adults pay €4.
Ali Mitgutsch (1935–2022) is regarded as the “father of the Wimmelbuch”, the German picture-book genre of huge, teeming scenes. His first, “Rundherum in meiner Stadt”, appeared in 1968, and he went on to create more than 70 picture books. The show brings originals from the early 1950s to the early 21st century, some displayed in public for the first time, in the foyer of the manor house and the Wehrgang gallery.
What does a family visit cost?
According to the library’s press release, its exhibitions and museums share one combined ticket: €4 for adults, €3 reduced, free for anyone up to 18. Two adults with two children therefore pay €8; a mother with children pays €4. The ticket also covers the other houses, such as the Michael Ende Museum (Sat/Sun 2–5 pm) and, until 31 October, the “crazy machines!?” show in the Schatzkammer.
The exhibitions are open Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 2 to 5 pm; closed on public holidays. At weekends that leaves three hours, which is enough for Wimmelbilder, where slow looking is the point. Check the route on the MVG journey planner; the address is Seldweg 15, 81247 Munich.
What else is on at Blutenburg this autumn
The IJB’s half-year programme lists several family dates before the end of the year:
- Wednesday 18 November, 10 am–6 pm: lantern-house crafting in the Walter-Trier-Galerie and Jella-Lepman-Saal. Materials cost €6 per child; no registration. A take-home kit is sold from 1 November for €6 in the children’s library.
- Friday 4 December, 5 pm: lantern festival at the castle pond, free, no registration.
- 12 and 13 December: family concert “Pettersson und Findus” by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, from age 5 (children €10, adults €15). Advance sales opened on 22 September via the BRSO ticket shop; we don’t know how many seats remain.
One planning caveat: the sources disagree on when the exhibition ends. The press release and website say 21 March 2027, the half-year programme says 7 March. If you plan to go in spring, phone ahead on 089 89 12 11-0.
Our assessment: for children who are just learning German, Wimmelbilder are a good entry point. There is hardly any text, but plenty of scenes parents and children can name together, in Ukrainian as much as in German. That this works better than a conventional museum visit is an observation from language-support practice, not a study; the exhibition itself lists no family programme in the materials we reviewed.
Sources: IJB press release, IJB half-year programme 2026, International Youth Library, muenchen.de
