Landesmuseum Kunst & Kultur Oldenburg

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum was founded after the end of the monarchy. After the last Grand Duke abdicated in 1918, it was established in November 1919 and opened in February 1923 in the former residence palace. Its foundations were the Grand Ducal picture gallery, the holdings of the former Museum of Applied Arts and the Landesgalerie for modern painting, founded in 1909. The first director, until 1951, was Walter Müller-Wulckow, who gave the house a modern profile. In 1937 it lost numerous works in the campaign "Entartete Kunst" ("Degenerate Art"), including pieces by Barlach, Beckmann, Nolde and Schmidt-Rottluff.

The palace goes back to a medieval castle and was rebuilt from 1607 under Count Anton Günther in the Renaissance style, later extended in the Baroque and Classicist styles. Today it shows the cultural history of the Oldenburg region from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, applied arts and design, and the historic state rooms of the Grand Dukes.

Two further buildings are within sight. The Augusteum was built in 1865–1867 by Ernst Klingenberg as a gallery building in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo; since its renovation in 2013–2015 it has housed the Galerie Alte Meister. The Classicist Prinzenpalais was built in 1821–1826 as a residence for the grandsons of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig. It later served, among other things, as a military hospital, school and land registry office, and since 2003 it has housed the Galerie Neue Meister with art of the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection comprises more than 30,000 objects in total; since 2025 the museum has been led by Anna Heinze.

Highlights

• Historic state rooms of Oldenburg Palace, including the Great Hall and the Marble Hall
• Paintings by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, whose group of works came to the Oldenburg court in 1804
• Galerie Alte Meister in the Augusteum, with ceiling paintings by Christian Griepenkerl
• Worpswede artists, Impressionists and Brücke Expressionists in the Prinzenpalais
• Applied arts from the Middle Ages through Art Nouveau to the Bauhaus

Permanent exhibitions

• Kulturgeschichte, Kunsthandwerk und Prunkräume (Schloss) – Around 800 objects tell the story of the Oldenburg region from the Middle Ages to the 20th century; there is also applied art and design, as well as the grand ducal state rooms.
• Galerie Alte Meister (Augusteum) – Italian, Dutch, French and German painting from the 15th to 18th centuries, hung by theme on the ground floor of the gallery building.
• Galerie Neue Meister (Prinzenpalais) – Painting and sculpture of the 19th and 20th centuries, from Romanticism through Worpswede and Impressionism to the Brücke artists, Franz Radziwill and postwar art.

Founded

1919

Operated by

Niedersächsische Landesmuseen Oldenburg (Land Niedersachsen)

Director

Anna Heinze

Admission & discounts

The day ticket applies to all three buildings. Free admission for, among others, school classes with a teacher, companions of severely disabled visitors ("B" marker), ICOM members, members of the German Museums Association and the Museumsverband Niedersachsen-Bremen, and members of the friends' associations. School programs cost €50 per hour, kindergarten groups €40 (admission free in each case). Price list valid from March 2024.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to the museum, all three buildings are accessible: the palace via the palace inner courtyard, the Augusteum via the right-hand side of the building, the Prinzenpalais via the car park on Huntestraße. The palace is certified by "Reisen für Alle" (accessible for people with walking impairments, partly accessible for wheelchair users). It has an elevator, a unisex accessible toilet, loaner wheelchairs, folding chairs and tours for people with walking impairments. Website information is also available in Easy Language. According to the house rules of the Niedersächsische Landesmuseen Oldenburg, recognized assistance dogs are permitted.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

Family workshops ("Familienzeit"), children's courses and holiday programs; children's birthday parties in the palace for ages 6–10 (max. 10 children); offers for kindergartens in the palace studio and in the creative workshop in the Prinzenpalais. Children up to age 6 free.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Wi-Fi

The Hanna Stirnemann Lounge on the ground floor of the palace is freely accessible and offers free Wi-Fi; coffee machine and seating in the café (ground floor).

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Civil weddings in the Marble Hall of the palace (approx. 20 seated and 10 standing places) on fixed dates, allocated exclusively through the Oldenburg registry office. Wedding photos outside the ceremony are not permitted. Other rentals are not listed.

Plan your visit