Europe’s museums begin reopening, cautiously, with new rules.

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Visitors to the Berlinische Galerie must wear masks and abide by social distancing rules.Credit...Mustafah Abdulaziz for The New York Times

With confirmed coronavirus infections declining across Europe in recent weeks, several countries have announced plans to reopen museums, and Germany is among the earliest.

Germany’s 16 states have set their own timelines for easing the lockdown measures. Museums in Berlin were allowed to reopen on May 4, but many remain closed.

Some, like the Berlinische Galerie, took an extra week to sort out logistics and bring in safety procedures, reopening on Monday. Major institutions like the Gemäldegalerie and the Altes Museum reopened on Tuesday.

Governments in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Italy have all announced dates in May or June by which they hope to have museums open, with similar safety measures to those in Berlin.

Some museums in the Czech Republic, France, Spain and Switzerland reopened this week or are set to do so in the coming days. In France, some small, local museums were allowed to reopen on Monday, but the government has yet to announce dates for major institutions like the Louvre.

With tourism at a standstill, however, many museums are anticipating lower-than-usual visitor numbers. That is likely to help social distancing, but it also means that spaces that depend significantly on international guests face an uncertain financial future.