Lippisches Landesmuseum

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The impetus came in 1835 from Carl Weerth, whose initiative led to the founding of a natural science society for the Principality of Lippe in Detmold. Its natural history collection formed the core of the later Landesmuseum (state museum); ethnographic pieces soon followed, including objects from North and South America. Since 1919 the museum has been run by the Landesverband Lippe.

The museum has occupied its current site on the Ameide since 1953. Its main building is Haus Ameide, a 19th-century Neoclassical villa. An ensemble gradually took shape around it: the relocated Kornhaus (granary) was added in 1958, the half-timbered tithe barn of 1555 from Sabbenhausen in the early 1960s, and the restored Mittelmühle (middle mill) in 1974. In 1997 a glass building in the former museum moat linked the buildings; it houses the foyer, ticket desk, shop and special exhibition spaces, and won the NRW Architecture Prize.

As a multidisciplinary museum, it presents natural history – including an exceptionally long fulgurite from the Senne – along with archaeology, regional history centered on Princess Pauline, textiles and fashion, art, and collections from around the world, among them the Peruvian Gaffron Collection and a child mummy more than 6,000 years old. The tithe barn houses an exhibition on the myth of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (Varusschlacht) featuring Peter Janssen's cycle of paintings, as well as a teaching collection on seating design created with TH OWL. The holdings from colonial contexts were examined in a provenance research project from 2021 to 2024.

Highlights

• Fulgurite (fossilized lightning) from the Senne, more than 5 m long
• "Detmold Child": a child mummy from Peru, around 6,400 years old
• The myth of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, with Peter Janssen's cycle of paintings and works by Ernst von Bandel
• Furniture design collection from Thonet to Eames
• Aquarium in the basement of the Mittelmühle

Permanent exhibitions

• Mythos Varusschlacht – The exhibition in the tithe barn traces how the battle of 9 AD became a national myth – with Janssen's cycle of paintings and works by Ernst von Bandel, creator of the Hermannsdenkmal (Hermann Monument).
• Naturkunde – Habitats from the savanna to the local forest, fossils, minerals and an aquarium; the centerpiece is the giant fulgurite from the Senne.
• Kulturen der Welt – Objects that people from Lippe brought to Detmold from the 19th century onward, including the ancient Peruvian Gaffron Collection and a child mummy thousands of years old.

Founded

1835

Operated by

Landesverband Lippe

Director

Michael Zelle

Admission & discounts

Free admission for visitors under 18 is a pilot project at the museums of the Landesverband Lippe.

Accessibility

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

All rooms except the third floor of Haus Ameide are accessible; loaner wheelchairs and portable seating are available; videos in German Sign Language online.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

Family tours, holiday workshops and children's birthday parties on themes such as the Stone Age, toys, pottery or fashion (ages 6–14 depending on the theme, 2 hours).

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop of the Lippische Museumsgesellschaft in the glass entrance building; no museum parking (public parking at Lustgarten and Kronenplatz nearby); children's birthday parties and family tours.

Events & venue rental

Children's birthday parties can be booked (€90 including materials, max. 12 children).

Plan your visit