In the 20th century, among Russian writers fascinated by traveling abroad, N.V. Gogol stood out. He often visited different countries in search of inspiration for his work.

Nikolai Vasilyevich repeatedly visited his friend, poet Vasily Zhukovsky, in Frankfurt. Zhukovsky was involved in the education of the future Emperor Alexander II, developing a special curriculum for him and accompanying him on trips through Siberia and Western Europe. From 1844 to 1848, Vasily Andreyevich lived in this German city with his wife Elizabeth Reitern at the Metzler villa, located on the banks of the Main River. Today, this historic building on Museum Embankment houses the Museum of Applied Arts.

The Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt was founded in 1877 and occupies two buildings due to the vastness of its collection. One of them is the Metzler villa, built in 1803, and the other is a modern building designed by Richard Meier in 1985, located in a park next to the villa.

The museum's collection includes over 30,000 exhibits from around the world. It features examples of decorative and applied arts from the Far East, the Islamic world, and Europe, ranging from ancient times to the present day. Some exhibits are over 6,000 years old. The collections of Persian carpets, unique Baroque furniture, Renaissance glassware, some of which was created in Venice, and examples of modern digital graphics are of particular interest.

The modern building of the museum is itself a work of art, thanks to its original lighting system and unusual architectural solutions.