The University of Bonn's antiquities collection with Greek, Roman and Etruscan originals and plaster casts, currently in its temporary home on Römerstraße.
October 18, 2026 – February 28, 2027
Roman and late antique clay lamps whose decorated discs show gods, animals, games and everyday scenes, some also Christian motifs. Many of the pieces come from a donation that has expanded the museum's lamp collection since 2021.
When the University of Bonn was being planned from 1815, an art museum was already envisioned to present the most important ancient sculptures as plaster casts for teaching. Work on it began in 1818, and in 1819 the philologist and archaeologist Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker became its first director. The concept of a dedicated teaching museum at a university was new at the time and was widely imitated. That same year, the purchase of a coin collection laid the foundation for the collection of originals.
Initially housed in the university's main building, the museum moved in 1884, under Reinhard Kekulé, into the neoclassical building on the Hofgarten, built in 1823–30 to plans by Waesemann and Schinkel. Under Kekulé and Georg Loeschcke the collection of originals grew considerably, above all with terracottas from southern Italy and Greek vases. Some pieces were lost during World War II; from the late 1960s the museum opened up more to the public with regular opening hours, Sunday tours and special exhibitions.
Today the holdings comprise around 30,000 objects, including about 2,700 plaster casts – one of the largest cast collections in Germany – as well as ceramics, terracottas, glass, marble works, metal objects and coins from the 3rd millennium BC to late antiquity. The building on the Hofgarten has been undergoing a complete renovation since 2022; in the meantime the museum shows its collection of originals and a selection of casts in the university building at Römerstraße 164.
| Adults | €3 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €1.50KulturCard holders; participants in booked group tours |
| Children & teens | freeChildren and school students free |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed |
| Visitors with disabilities | freecompanion free · People with severe disabilities (degree of disability 50 or more) free with ID |
| Students & apprentices | freeUniversity students free |
| Groups | €1.50 per personBooked group tour €40 (60 min.) plus reduced admission; school classes free, tour €30 (60 min.) or €45 (90 min.) |
| Families | –No family ticket; children free |
| Combination ticket for the University of Bonn's art history museums | €6 |
| Admission with the Regio-Welcome-Card | €2.50 |
Also free with the Bonn-Ausweis (city benefits card) and for members of the friends' association, the Verein von Altertumsfreunden im Rheinlande, the DArV and ICOM. Cash only.
According to the museum, the temporary premises are accessible and can be visited without barriers.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Augustinum
Bus 600 or 601 to the stop “Augustinum” (the stop “Pädagogische Fakultät” is currently not served).
Sales stand with small plaster casts, publications and postcards.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Free public tours or talks by students on some Sundays at 11:15 (meeting point: ticket desk), plus tours on the third Wednesday of the month at 18:00. Group and school tours through the museum office, at least 10 days in advance. |
All 20 museums in Bonn All museums in North Rhine-Westphalia
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