A first class waiting room turned Gesamtkunstwerk {Intérieur No. 253}

Walking into Intérieur No. 253 makes for a striking first impression - from the museum elevator you step into a narrow hallway, opening on both ends to grand dining halls with tall arched windows, soaring ceilings, herringbone parquet and glamorous crystal chandeliers dangling from the raw stucco ceilings.

It turns out Interieur No. 253 is not only a stunning museum bistro, but also a walkable and usable "Gesamtkunstwerk", or total work of art. It is a comprehensive artwork by the Berlin artist Anton Henning who was commissioned to envision the interior of the bistro at the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, converting the historic banquet hall and first class waiting room of this former train station into striking visual interiors complimenting the culinary experience at Intérieur No. 253.

In addition to the Henning designed interiors, the restaurant houses permanent art installations by Werner Klotz, among them a custom window installation offering periscopic views over the surrounding landscape and the River Rhine below.
Additional artworks by Werner Klotz are integrated into the ballroom and the staircase - including the striking "Reisebar des Dionysos" (Travel Bar of Dionysos), consisting of a mirrored bar cart on wheels, holding 59 silver plated bottles and engraved with fictitious mythological maps.

On a balmy summer evening, a long view terrace invites with views of the museum's sculpture garden and the River Rhine below.