Multidisciplinary museum in Darmstadt for art, cultural history and natural history – from the Block Beuys and Art Nouveau to the fossils of the Messel Pit.
June 18, 2026 – October 18, 2026
The first comprehensive show of the Expressionist printmaker Hedwig Kruse (1895–1991), with color woodcuts, linocuts and collages full of mythological and spiritual motifs; extended until October 18.
July 9, 2026 – October 25, 2026
The skylight hall displays four large-format tapestries from the 1950s, by artists including Else Mögelin, Johanna Schütz-Wolff and Fritz Winter, together with their designs.
August 13, 2026 – January 24, 2027
Large-format photographs and expert information show the diversity of insects and the threat they face from habitat loss and climate change – with regional examples from the Griesheimer Düne (Griesheim dune).
October 2, 2026 – January 17, 2027
This cross-disciplinary show combines European and East Asian depictions of dragons from antiquity to the present with fossils and specimens from the natural history collections (admission €12, reduced €8).
December 3, 2026 – April 4, 2027
Award-winning nature and wildlife photographs from around the world from the renowned international competition.
March 5, 2027 – June 13, 2027
For the 200th birthday of the Swiss Symbolist, more than 30 loans complement the museum's own Böcklin collection and show how his fantastical imagery influenced art right up to Surrealism.
The core of the Hessisches Landesmuseum consists of the collections of the Landgraves and later Grand Dukes of Hesse-Darmstadt, who gathered artworks, natural specimens and curiosities from the 17th century onward. In 1820 Grand Duke Ludewig I transferred these holdings to a public institution intended to promote knowledge and enlightenment among the population – the year the museum was founded.
From 1897, a dedicated museum building designed by Alfred Messel was built on Friedensplatz and opened in 1906. Messel tailored the rooms to the periods of the collection, for example with a Romanesque corridor and a Gothic church interior. During the Nazi era, the museum lost more than a hundred modern works in 1937 to the “Degenerate Art” campaign; in 1944 the building was badly hit by air raids, but the main works, which had been moved to safety, survived. The museum reopened in 1955.
An extension by Reinhold Kargel was added in the early 1980s. In 1989 the State of Hesse acquired the Block Beuys, the extensive group of works by Joseph Beuys that has been on view in Darmstadt since 1970. From 2007 to 2014 the museum was closed for a complete renovation, reopening in September 2014.
Today the Landesmuseum combines art and cultural history with natural history: the painting gallery, prints and drawings, Art Nouveau, medieval art and archaeology sit alongside zoology, geology, mineralogy and paleontology – including important fossils from the Messel Pit World Heritage Site and the historic Darmstadt dioramas.
| Adults | €8 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5University students, apprentices, people with severe disabilities, people in voluntary service, unemployed people, recipients of Bürgergeld (basic income support), Teilhabe or Sozialcard benefits, holders of the artcard, DarmstadtCard, Ehrenamtscard (volunteer card) or JULEICA, and members of professional associations of visual artists (proof required in each case) |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 17 · Children and teens under 18, as well as school students (including those over 18), get free admission. |
| Seniors | –No general senior discount. Grandparents with grandchildren (ages 4–12) pay the reduced price on the last Saturday of the month. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €5companion free · Reduced admission for people with severe disabilities; companions of people with disabilities free. |
| Students & apprentices | €5Students of TU Darmstadt, Hochschule Darmstadt (h_da) and Evangelische Hochschule Darmstadt, as well as student groups with a lecturer, get free admission. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €6 per personFor 10 or more people; please register in advance at vermittlung@hlmd.de (at least 10 days ahead). Bookable guided tours €85 per group plus admission, in foreign languages €105. School classes free, up to two accompanying adults free. |
| Families | –No separate family ticket; children and teens under 18 are free. Holders of the Familienkarte Hessen or FamilienApp Hessen get free admission. |
Special exhibitions cost extra: e.g. “Drachen – Mythos und Wirklichkeit” (Dragons – myth and reality) €12, reduced €8, groups €10 per person (including the permanent exhibition). Tickets for the permanent exhibition bought online are valid for one year from booking. Free admission for, among others, ICOM and Museumsbund members, members of the friends' associations of the museums in Darmstadt, Wiesbaden and Kassel, teachers preparing lessons, refugees and press.
Accessible entrance through the museum shop on the west side, next to the museum café; the exhibition areas can be reached by accessible elevators. Two areas are not accessible because of the historic building layout and are presented via media stations (including a visual tour of the Block Beuys). Accessible restrooms on the lower level. Accessible parking spaces in the Q-Park Schlossgarage (entrance from the Cityring) and on Schleiermacherstraße; from the garage, an elevator leads through the Welcome Hotel into the museum. Tactile models of selected paintings and objects. Information in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache) online; according to the website, content in sign language has only been announced so far. Accessible orientation map as a PDF. Programs for people with dementia (“Erinnerungskoffer”, memory suitcase) and with learning difficulties (“Wundertüte Landesmuseum”). The outdoor area of the café in the Rodensteiner Hof is not accessible.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 17 |
|---|
Public family tours (ages 6 and up) and hand-puppet tours (ages 4 and up), bookable family tours, children's birthday parties for ages 6 to 12, courses such as Samstagsmaler (Saturday painters), holiday programs; scavenger hunt and activity booklet at the information desk. With a stroller, accessible entrance through the museum shop on the west side and elevators to all levels; child back carriers must be stored in a locker.
Schloss
Tram and bus lines to Schloss, Luisenplatz or Willy-Brandt-Platz.
Parking available
Public parking garage Q-Park Schlossgarage directly beneath Friedensplatz (accessible spaces near Karolinenplatz/Welcome Hotel); more accessible parking spaces on Schleiermacherstraße. Coaches can stop in front of the main entrance.
Museum café “Dialog & Genuss” (Tue–Sun from 9:30; breakfast, light lunches, cakes; outdoor seating in the historic courtyard). Museum shop at the west entrance. Cloakroom and lockers; bags larger than A4, backpacks, umbrellas and child carriers must be stored in a locker.
The official website does not offer rental of museum spaces. The museum café “Dialog & Genuss” hosts private events (inquire directly with the café).
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Photography for private purposes allowed without flash; no tripods or selfie sticks. Posting online does not count as private use. |
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