Hanau's city, art, and cultural history in the Baroque Schloss Philippsruhe on the Main River, with GrimmsMärchenReich and a paper theater museum.
March 17, 2026 – November 8, 2026
Around 80 collection items, mostly acquisitions of recent years, shown without a fixed order to illustrate how wide-ranging a city museum's collecting is, from everyday objects to works of art.
May 19, 2026 – October 18, 2026
More than 80 large-format black-and-white portraits of men with their animals, from unknown people to Hanau celebrities, explore closeness and belonging.
September 4, 2026 – November 8, 2027
Objects, photos, and films recall the 1946/47 "Ehrendienst" (civic honor service), in which residents cleared the rubble of the largely destroyed city center, as well as the reconstruction.
November 13, 2026 – April 4, 2027
Product design from Hanau, from jewelry and lamps to tableware and bicycles, and its influence on industry and everyday life.
November 27, 2026 – January 10, 2027
Biographies, institutions, and company histories shed light on the exchange between Hesse and North America, with Hanau connections such as Paul Hindemith and the US Army.
The core of the collection was assembled by the Hanauer Geschichtsverein (Hanau historical society), founded in 1844, whose holdings remain at the museum on permanent loan. After the city administration moved out of Schloss Philippsruhe, the city of Hanau set up its Historisches Museum there in the mid-1960s; the palace also houses the registry office's wedding room.
The palace itself was built from 1701 onward as the Baroque summer residence of the Counts of Hanau, right on the Main River, and its layout is often compared to Versailles. In the late 19th century, the Landgrave's family of Hesse had the interiors redesigned in historicist style by the Danish architect Ferdinand Meldahl; stucco ceilings, inlaid floors, and the rediscovered Neoclassical gallery still shape the tour today.
After the local government reorganization of the 1970s, the holdings were redistributed: prehistory and early history moved to the Museum Schloss Steinheim, and industrial and everyday history to the Museum Großauheim. Since then, Philippsruhe has focused on city history and art, from Hanau painters such as Tischbein, Bury, and Oppenheim to faience and goldsmiths' work and the exhibition "Moderne Zeiten" on the years 1848 to 1946.
Two museums within the museum round out the offering: the Papiertheatermuseum (paper theater museum) has existed since 1990 and reopened with a new design in 2026, and since 2019 the GrimmsMärchenReich in the north wing has invited families to explore the world of the Brothers Grimm hands-on. The palace park also features a freely accessible sculpture park.
| Adults | €7 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5School students, trainees/apprentices, university students, volunteer service participants, people with severe disabilities (degree of disability 50 or higher), holders of the Hanau-Pass, Ehrenamts-Card, Familienapp Hessen, or RheinMain-Card, members of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr), groups of 10 or more, and visitors Mon–Fri after 17:00 |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 18 · Free for children and teens up to and including age 18. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €5companion free · Reduced with a degree of disability of 50 or higher; companions ("B", "H", or "aG" marker) admitted free. |
| Students & apprentices | €5Reduced for school students, trainees, university students, and volunteer service participants. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €5 per personReduced admission for groups of 10 or more; guided tour (1 hr) €70 plus admission. |
| Families | –No family ticket; children and teens up to and including age 18 are free. |
Admission covers the entire palace, including GrimmsMärchenReich and the paper theater museum. Free admission for, among others, members of the Hanau historical societies and friends' associations, ICOM/Deutscher Museumsbund/Museumsverband Hessen, refugees, visitors from Hanau's twin towns, ticket holders of the current season's Brüder Grimm Festspiele, and up to two accompanying adults per daycare or school group. Public fee-based education programs €3 plus admission; workshop/children's birthday party (2 hrs) €150; education programs for daycare centers and schools (2 hrs) €90.
Rooms partially accessible; passenger elevator, wheelchair-accessible restrooms with baby changing tables in the foyer and on the second floor. Loaner wheelchair and portable seats at the ticket desk. Public accessible parking space in front of the Golden Gate; vehicle access to the palace forecourt only by arrangement. Sign language films on two fairy tales, audio stations, three fairy-tale books in Braille, and a tactile model in GrimmsMärchenReich and in "Moderne Zeiten". Assistance dogs allowed.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 18 |
|---|
Family tours including ones with the palace ghost "Spuki" and GPS treasure hunts in the palace park; children's birthday parties from age 4. Strollers are not allowed in the exhibition rooms; baby carriers are available at the ticket desk against a deposit. Baby changing tables in the accessible restrooms in the foyer and on the second floor.
Schloss Philippsruhe
Bus 5, 10, and MKK23 to Schloss Philippsruhe; about 15 min. on foot from Hanau West station, from Hanau Hbf with a transfer to the bus.
Free parking
Free parking in front of the palace (Goldenes Tor, with an accessible parking space there too), on Philippsruher Allee, Kastanienallee, and Burgallee, and at the Schlosspark/amphitheater.
By bike via cycle route R3; bicycle racks available.
Get directionsPalace restaurant "Der Weiße Saal" with a vaulted cellar and palace terrace; museum store.
The museum rooms (including the Red and Blue Halls, the Historic Dining Room, the Historic Library, and the Vestibule) are available only to patrons, sponsors, and long-term partners; private parties and corporate events through the palace restaurant. Civil weddings in the palace's wedding hall through the Hanau registry office.
Inquiries & details| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Private photos to a normal extent allowed without permission; professional photo and film shoots only with permission and for a fee; drones not permitted. |
| Good to know | Free media guide (pixi.guide) on your own smartphone via the palace Wi-Fi, with a tour of the palace's history and in-depth content on "Moderne Zeiten". Private guided tours (1 hr) €70 plus admission, foreign-language and costumed tours €30 extra each; book via online form or by phone at 06181 2950-2148 (9:30–16:30). Education programs for daycare centers and schools (1 hr €70, 2 hrs €90). Larger bags and backpacks must be checked. Regular guest paper theater performances in the paper theater museum. |
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