More than 130 works from the former princely collections in Kassel and Darmstadt, including Melencolia I, the Apocalypse and the Rhinoceros. The show asks how Dürer's fame arose and how early original, copy and attribution were distinguished.
Om museet
The roots of Kassel's painting collection lie in the holdings of the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel. The earliest piece is considered to be a small winged altarpiece that Lucas Cranach the Elder created in 1509 in memory of Landgrave Wilhelm II. A princely art cabinet is documented from the 17th century, and around 1700 Landgrave Carl was already acquiring important works by Rembrandt and Rubens.
The collection saw its decisive expansion under Landgrave Wilhelm VIII, who between 1748 and 1756 had diplomats and art agents acquire around 800 paintings in the Netherlands, Flanders, France, Italy and Germany, and built a dedicated gallery to house them. During the Napoleonic era, from 1806, numerous masterpieces were taken to France; some returned after 1814, while others ended up in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg.
In 1877 the collection moved into a new building on the Schöne Aussicht, today home to the Neue Galerie. After being evacuated during World War II, it found its current home in 1974 in the central wing of Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, the Neoclassical summer residence of the landgraves and electors in the Bergpark, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An acid attack in 1977 damaged several major works, whose restoration took decades.
Today the gallery presents European painting from the late Gothic to Neoclassicism across three floors, with a focus on 17th-century Flemish and Dutch art. The same building houses the antiquities collection, with historic cork models of Roman buildings, and the graphic arts collection. The museum is run by Hessen Kassel Heritage, formerly Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel.
Højdepunkter
One of the world's largest Rembrandt holdings, including "Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph" and the portrait of Saskia
Flemish Baroque painting by Rubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens
Portraits by Frans Hals plus works by Dürer, Titian, Poussin and Murillo
Antiquities collection with around 800 objects and 30 historic cork models from Rome
Setting in Schloss Wilhelmshöhe within the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe UNESCO World Heritage Site
Permanente udstillinger
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister – European painting from the late Gothic to Neoclassicism across three floors, focusing on Rembrandt, Rubens and 17th-century Flemish and Dutch art.
Antikensammlung – Around 800 objects from the Bronze Age to the Roman Empire on the first floor and in the basement of the palace, complemented by historic cork models of ancient Roman buildings.
Ejer
Hessen Kassel Heritage (Land Hessen)
Ledelse
Justus Lange (Leitung Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister)
Entrépriser & rabatter
Voksne
8 €
Nedsat pris
5 €Students, trainees/apprentices, people with severe disabilities (degree of disability 50 or higher), volunteer-service participants, unemployed people/recipients of Bürgergeld (basic income support), groups of 10 or more, and holders of the KasselCard, artcard, Ehrenamtscard, Juleica and NVV annual pass, among others; also when visiting a second venue on the same day or with a Bergpark parking ticket
Børn og unge
gratisgratis til og med 17 år · Children and young people up to 18 and school pupils free.
Pensionister
–No separate senior discount listed.
Personer med handicap
5 €ledsager gratis · Discount from a degree of disability of 50.
Studerende og elever
5 €Students of the University of Kassel free.
Grupper (fra 10 pers.)
5 € pr. personReduced price for groups; children's and youth groups, including 2 companions, free.
Familier
–No family ticket; children under 18 free, and with the FamilienApp Hessen parents are free as well.
Wilhelmshöhe day ticket during the Dürer exhibition (October 9, 2026 – January 17, 2027)
12 €Reduced €9.
Hessen Kassel Heritage annual pass
60 €Valid for all venues, including the planetarium.
The Wilhelmshöhe day ticket is also valid for the Löwenburg (guided tour, reservation required), the Hercules monument (April 1 – October 31) and the Große Gewächshaus (Great Greenhouse, November 1 – March 31). Free admission also applies to, among others, refugees, ICOM/Museumsbund members, and holders of Meine Card+/Auszeit Card+.
Tilgængelighed
Kørestolsvenlig
Elevator
Handicaptoilet
Handicapparkering
Servicehunde tilladt
Taktile tilbud: ingen oplysninger
Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger
The palace is located in the Bergpark and can only be reached on foot (no driving in the park); from the parking lots and tram stops it is a climb of about 100 meters on paved paths with steps. Baby changing table available.
Børn og familie
Velegnet til børn og familier
Entré for børn
gratis til og med 17 år
Puslerum
Børnefødselsdage
Children's birthday parties at the Gemäldegalerie (e.g., detective or animal theme, ages 5–12, 1.5 or 2.5 hours) can be booked through the visitor service.
Transport & parkering
Med offentlig transport
Wilhelmshöhe (Park) · 15 min. til fods
Tram 1 to the terminus Wilhelmshöhe (Park), bus 24 to the terminus Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, or tram 4 to Waldorfschule; then on foot through the Bergpark.
I bil
Betalingsparkering · 15 min. til fods til indgangen
Paid guest parking at the Wilhelmshöhe visitor center below the palace.
Handicapparkering
The palace is in the Bergpark and can only be reached on foot; cars and buses are not allowed in the park. It is about a 15–20 minute uphill walk from the parking lot and stops (roughly 100 meters of elevation gain, paved paths and stairs) – sturdy shoes recommended.