Deutsches Hygiene-Museum

Current exhibitions

About the museum

Karl August Lingner, the manufacturer of Odol mouthwash, founded the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in 1912 as a public education center for health care, inspired by the great success of the first International Hygiene Exhibition held in Dresden in 1911. The present building on the edge of the Großer Garten park was designed by Wilhelm Kreis and opened in 1930. That same year, the museum presented the Transparent Man, a see-through anatomical figure that caused a worldwide sensation; the Transparent Woman followed in 1935/36.

During the Nazi era, the museum placed itself in the service of racial hygiene and spread the regime’s ideology through traveling exhibitions seen by millions of people. The building and collections were badly damaged in the air raids of February 1945. In East Germany (GDR), the museum served as the central institution for health education.

After 1990, it fundamentally reoriented itself and has since seen itself as an open forum for questions about human beings, their bodies, and how we live together. From 2001 to 2005, the architect Peter Kulka renovated the listed building, and the permanent exhibition “Abenteuer Mensch” (The Human Adventure) was created at the same time. Today it presents around 1,300 objects in seven themed rooms covering almost 2,000 square meters. In addition, there is the children’s museum “Welt der Sinne” (World of the Senses) and changing special exhibitions. Since December 2025, the elaborately restored Transparent Woman has been on display again in a specially developed climate-controlled case.

Highlights

• Transparent Woman from 1935/36, restored and back on display since 2025
• Permanent exhibition “Abenteuer Mensch” with seven themed rooms
• Children’s museum “Welt der Sinne” for ages 5 to 12
• Monumental building by Wilhelm Kreis (1930) by the Großer Garten
• Free admission for children and teens up to age 16

Permanent exhibitions

• Abenteuer Mensch – Seven themed rooms – from the Transparent Man to life and death, eating and drinking, and sexuality, all the way to the brain, movement, and beauty – invite visitors to explore their own bodies at many hands-on stations.
• Kinder-Museum „Welt der Sinne“ – Experiments and games about seeing, hearing, touching, and more for children aged 5 to 12 and their families.

Founded

1912

Operated by

Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum

Director

Dr. Iris Edenheiser

Admission & discounts

The ticket is valid for all exhibitions (permanent exhibition, children’s museum, and special exhibitions). The museum garden, café, and the HY! community space are free to enter.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description

Wheelchair ramp at the entrance, elevators with tactile controls to all exhibitions, accessible restrooms, accessible parking spaces near the entrance. Wheelchairs and strollers freely available in the entrance area. Tactile floor and orientation plans, tactile floor guidance system, and touchable key objects; audio guide for blind and visually impaired visitors; regular tours in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache) and German Sign Language; audio guide app also available in sign language and Plain Language (Einfache Sprache). Induction loops in the event rooms. Assistance dogs allowed.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children’s museum “Welt der Sinne” with experiment and play stations for ages 5 to 12; family tours during school holidays (60 min.), discovery tours, holiday program, children’s university, hands-on leaflets, and puzzle cards for the permanent exhibition; children’s birthday parties in the children’s museum (up to 8 children, approx. 2 hours). Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Strollers can be borrowed free of charge in the entrance area.

Getting there & parking

Bicycle parking directly in front of the building with a repair station; e-bike batteries cannot be charged.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop: not available
• Coat check
• Lockers

Restaurant-café “museumsKÜCHE” (regional, seasonal cuisine, Tue–Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat/Sun 12:00–17:00) with a terrace on the forecourt. No museum shop anymore – the former shop rooms are now the HY! community space. Bags and backpacks are not allowed in the exhibitions; lockers with a €1/€2 coin deposit and coat hooks.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 800 guests.

Conference center in the museum: Großer Saal (573 m², up to 590 seated/800 standing), Kleiner Saal, Marta-Fraenkel-Saal, lecture hall, Wandelhalle, reception hall (701 m², 450 standing), eight seminar rooms, and a courtyard terrace – for conferences, receptions, gala dinners, and events. Contact: tagungszentrum@dhmd.de, 0351 4846-311/-313; catering by museumsKÜCHE.

Plan your visit