Liebig-Museum
The largely original laboratory where Justus Liebig conducted research and taught from 1824 to 1852 – with a historic lecture hall and experiments.
About the museum
The building was erected from 1817 to 1819 as the guardhouse of a barracks on the Seltersberg. After the military left Gießen, the university took over the complex; from 1824 the young chemistry professor Justus Liebig set up his laboratory in one of the guardhouses. He expanded it twice, in 1839/40 adding, among other things, the Analytical Laboratory, and made it the nucleus of modern, practice-oriented chemistry teaching that attracted students from many countries. In 1852 Liebig moved to Munich.
Afterward, other university institutes used the building, and toward the end of the 19th century it even faced demolition. In 1910 the entrepreneur Emanuel A. Merck bought the building, and that same year the Gesellschaft Liebig-Museum, today's Justus Liebig-Gesellschaft, was founded. On March 26, 1920, the museum opened with furnishings that recreate Liebig's workrooms using contemporary equipment.
The Old Laboratory was destroyed in an air raid in December 1944; after reconstruction funded by donations, the museum reopened on July 1, 1952. In 2003 the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (German Chemical Society) designated it a "Historic Site of Chemistry", and the Liebig-Gesellschaft is also seeking recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a fire in December 2022, the building was extensively renovated and technically modernized; it reopened at the end of June 2026. Volunteers regularly give experimental lectures in the historic lecture hall, including some especially for children.
Highlights
- Justus Liebig's original laboratory from 1824–1852
- Analytical Laboratory from the 1839/40 extension
- Historic lecture hall with public experimental lectures
- Children's lectures with experiments
- "Historic Site of Chemistry" designation by the GDCh (2003)
Permanent exhibitions
- Liebigs Laboratorium – Liebig's work and teaching rooms, with the Analytical Laboratory, lecture hall, and historic equipment, show how chemistry was researched and taught in Gießen around 1840.
- Founded
- 1920
- Operated by
- Justus Liebig-Gesellschaft zu Gießen e.V.
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €7 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5School/university students, apprentices, holders of a severe disability ID (Schwerbehindertenausweis), holders of the Ehrenamts-Card (volunteer card) |
| Visitors with disabilities | €5Reduced admission with a severe disability ID. |
| Students & apprentices | €5 |
| Groups | €10 per personGuided tour without experiments, including admission, €10 per person (reduced €8), max. 20 people, minimum €100 per tour; book via info@liebig-gesellschaft.de. |
| Families | €15Parents with children. |
| Experimental lecture for groups (including short tour and admission) | €15Reduced €10; max. 30 people, minimum €150 per session; booking required. |
| Public experimental lecture (approx. 2 hours, including tour) | €20.50Reduced €14; roughly monthly, tickets online or at the Gießen tourist information office. |
| Children's lecture (ages 4 and up) | freeFree thanks to donations; children only when accompanied by an adult. |
Members of the Justus Liebig-Gesellschaft get free admission. Event tickets are available only online or at the tourist information office of Gießen Marketing GmbH (Schulstraße 4), not at the museum. Free admission on Heritage Day (Tag des offenen Denkmals).
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Family ticket | €15 · Parents with children. |
|---|
- Family tours & workshops
Monthly free children's lectures with experiments for children aged 4 and up in the historic lecture hall; children must be accompanied by an adult. Family ticket for parents with children.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Gießen Bahnhof · 450 m
About 450 m on foot from Gießen station (Bahnhofstraße, then Liebigstraße); bus stops Bahnhof or Liebigstraße, long-distance bus stop at the Mathematikum directly opposite.
By car
Paid parking
No parking on the museum grounds; the nearest is the paid parking garage at the train station (247 spaces, open around the clock).
By car, follow the signs "Gießen Zentrum" and "Bahnhof." Bicycle racks in the museum courtyard.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
Small museum shop (publications).
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
- Private parties
The rooms can be rented for private events with or without a guided tour; inquiries to info@liebig-gesellschaft.de.
Inquiries & detailsPlan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The experimental lectures in the historic lecture hall are given by volunteers; dates in the events calendar on the website. |
