Museum der Natur Hamburg – Mineralogie
Mineralogy exhibition of the Museum der Natur Hamburg with around 1,500 minerals, gemstones and meteorites on two floors – free admission.
About the museum
Hamburg's mineralogical collections were originally kept together with other natural history holdings in the Naturhistorisches Museum on Steintorwall. For lack of space, they were moved in 1907 to the Mineralogisch-Geologisches Staatsinstitut (State Institute of Mineralogy and Geology), where a separate Mineralogical-Geological Museum opened in 1910. From 1933 the display collection could be seen on the Esplanade; after being evacuated during the war, it reopened there in 1950.
Because of war damage, the building on the Esplanade later had to be abandoned. The collections moved into the university's Mineralogical-Petrographic Institute on Grindelallee, built in 1958. Because the university's computer center initially occupied the intended rooms after the 1962 storm flood, the public display collection could not open until 1969.
Today the mineralogy collection is part of the Museum der Natur Hamburg, which is run by the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) and operates three exhibition buildings in the university quarter, covering zoology, mineralogy and geology-paleontology. The collection comprises around 90,000 objects, including numerous meteorites. The gallery-style exhibition emphasizes the beauty of individual pieces rather than a strictly systematic arrangement.
Highlights
- 424 kg Gibeon iron meteorite from Namibia
- Huge stibnite crystal clusters from Japan
- "Elmshorn" meteorite
- Gold, silver, diamonds and gemstones
- Minecraft blocks and their real-life counterparts in rocks and minerals
Permanent exhibitions
- Mineralogie – On two floors, the exhibition shows crystals, ores, gemstones and meteorites from around the world; one section compares blocks from the game Minecraft with their real-life counterparts.
- Operated by
- Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels (LIB)
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Groups (7+ people) | –Groups of 7 or more, please register in advance free of charge (by phone or by email at least 3 days ahead; wait for confirmation). |
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Free admission (as at all locations of the Museum der Natur Hamburg). Guided tours through the Museumsdienst Hamburg: daycare groups/school classes 60 min. €40, 90 min. €55; adult groups 60 min. €90, 90 min. €105.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: not available
- Accessible restroom: no information
- 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
The main entrance has two steps; a side entrance offers step-free access to the first floor (ask the museum attendants). The gallery level can be reached only by stairs; no elevator.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
- Kids’ birthday parties
Tours for daycare groups, children's and youth groups, and school classes (with a scavenger hunt) can be booked through Museumsdienst Hamburg; children's birthday parties are likewise arranged through the Museumsdienst.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Grindelhof
Bus 4 or 5 to Grindelhof
By car
No on-site parking at the museum.
The museum has no parking lot of its own.
Amenities & dining
- Café: not available
- Restaurant: not available
- Museum shop: not available
No café or museum shop; however, donated minerals can be purchased. Cafés in the surrounding university quarter.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
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| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Photography without flash permitted for private, non-commercial purposes. |
| Good to know | Guided tours (including “Highlights of the Mineralogical Museum,” 60 min., also available in English and Italian; group offerings of 60 or 90 min.) can be booked through Museumsdienst Hamburg. Eating and drinking are not allowed in the exhibition; animals other than service animals are not permitted. |
