The Grand Ducal Museum was opened in 1869 in one of the first German purpose-built museum buildings. The Czech architect Josef Zítek designed the domed central wing in neo-Renaissance style. The side risalits are covered by tented glass roofs. It was a venue for path- blazing exhibitions of contemporary art in the early 1920s.After standing vacant for 50 years, the then so-called Landesmuseum had deteriorated to an almost complete ruin by 1989, due to severe damage during WWII and subsequent neglect. It was refurbished to its original appearance and augmented with modern museum technology for the Cultural City of Europe year in 1999. Whit the Bauhaus Museum Weimar, the Museum Neues Weimar next door focuses on the pioneers of Modernism such as Henry van de Velde, Count Harry Kessler and Friedrich Nietzsche.