Baden's state museum of cultural history – the main building in Karlsruhe Palace is closed for renovation; the Museum beim Markt with design since 1900 is open.
June 13, 2026 – January 10, 2027
Major state exhibition at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden: objects from the Landesmuseum and contemporary art tell the cultural history of the flower over 2,500 years, with scent stations and room installations.
September 25, 2026 – September 26, 2027
Themed trail at the Deutsches Musikautomaten-Museum in Bruchsal on the export, migration and transfer of knowledge in Black Forest musical instrument making in the 19th century.
Special exhibition
Exhibition at the Keramikmuseum Staufen on the diversity of Art Nouveau ceramics in various countries, with works by artists such as Henry van de Velde, Peter Behrens and Max Laeuger.
The Badisches Landesmuseum was founded in 1919, after Karlsruhe Palace had lost its role as the residence of the Grand Dukes of Baden with the end of the monarchy. It brought together the grand-ducal collections of antiquities, whose core goes back to the Collection of Antiquities and Ethnology established by Grand Duke Friedrich I in 1873, and the Baden Museum of Decorative Arts. The first exhibition rooms opened in the palace in 1921.
During World War II the palace burned out in 1944, but most of the collections survived. After reconstruction with a historic facade and a modern interior, the museum reopened in 1959. In the following decades branch museums were added, including the Museum beim Markt for applied arts, the Museum in der Majolika, the Deutsches Musikautomaten-Museum in Bruchsal and the Keramikmuseum Staufen.
The collections span some 50,000 years of cultural history: from the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and the Romans on the Upper Rhine, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to the regional history of Baden and contemporary design. The Karlsruher Türkenbeute (Turkish booty), taken in the campaigns of Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm, is especially famous.
On September 29, 2025, the main building in the palace closed for a multi-year comprehensive renovation, during which energy systems, fire safety and accessibility will be upgraded and the exhibitions reconceived. Until it reopens, the museum is showing its collections at the Museum beim Markt, at its other locations and in partnerships such as with the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden.
| Adults | €5 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €4University students, vocational school students, apprentices, Federal Volunteer Service (BFD) participants, people with a disability ID, holders of the SWR2 Kulturkarte, Karlsruher Pass, BahnCard or a same-day BaWü-Ticket, groups of 10 or more |
| Children & teens | –No information on children's prices; free with the Karlsruher Kinderpass or Ferienpass and the Landesfamilienpass |
| Visitors with disabilities | €4companion free · With a disability ID |
| Students & apprentices | €4Free for students of certain subjects at KIT, PH Karlsruhe and HfG Karlsruhe |
| Groups (10+ people) | €4 per person |
Free admission: Every Friday from 14:00 (Museum beim Markt), with a free guided tour or other program at 16:00
Prices for the Museum beim Markt; foyer free. Free admission with, among others, the Museums-PASS-Musées, for members of the friends' association, ICOM and the Museumsbund. Reduced price with the Ehrenamtskarte Baden-Württemberg. Tickets and gift vouchers also in the online shop.
Museum beim Markt: entrance via a 14 cm step; a mobile ramp can be ordered in advance (+49 721 926-6578); all floors reachable by elevator (door width 77 cm), DIN-compliant accessible restroom on the second floor. Museum in der Majolika is not wheelchair-accessible.
Great for kids & families
The Klötzle-Schloss, a model of Karlsruhe Palace made of around 250,000 building blocks, is being built in the museum at the Markt; at the Klötzle-Treff on selected Saturdays (14:00–17:00), families can build themselves. Plus open holiday workshops.
Marktplatz (U)
Subway/tram to the Marktplatz (U) stop
Parking available
Schlossplatz underground garage (open around the clock).
By car via the A5 or A8, exit Karlsruhe-Zentrum, then follow the "Schloss" signs.
Get directionsNewly designed museum shop on the first floor of the museum at the Markt. Schlosscafé closed during renovation.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Every Friday at 16:00, a free guided tour or other program at the Museum beim Markt. Digital offerings such as the web app PING! and the magazine "echo" accompany the renovation period. |
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