Museum am Rothenbaum – Kulturen und Künste der Welt

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum's roots lie in an ethnographic collection of the Hamburg city library, which from the 1840s was housed in the Johanneum. In 1871 it received its first own name as the Culturgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of Cultural History), and in 1879 it was renamed the Museum für Völkerkunde (Museum of Ethnology). Several moves followed, most recently into the Natural History Museum on Schweinemarkt.

With Georg Thilenius as the first full-time director from 1904, the collection grew rapidly to around 100,000 objects. In 1908 the decision was made for a new building on Rothenbaumchaussee, designed by Albert Erbe in the late Art Nouveau style, which was completed in 1912. The building is now a listed monument; because of the First World War, the permanent exhibition could only partly open in 1921.

Today the institution calls itself Museum am Rothenbaum – Kulturen und Künste der Welt (MARKK). It shows permanent and special exhibitions, conducts provenance research on its colonially shaped holdings, and works on restitution projects such as Digital Benin.

Highlights

• Ancient Egyptian collection with around 800 objects
• Māori meeting house "Haus Rauru"
• South Seas masks
• Exhibition "Uri Korea"
• Art Nouveau building from 1912

Permanent exhibitions

• Haus Rauru – Meisterwerk der Māori – A Māori meeting house that serves as a gathering place, a place of learning and a symbolic image of the cosmos, showing the role such houses play for the community.
• Ein Hauch von Ewigkeit – Die Kultur des Alten Ägypten – Around 800 objects on everyday life and art from the 4th millennium BC to 400 AD; the core consists of excavation finds from Abusir.
• Masken der Südsee – Masks from New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and neighboring island states, which once played a central role in ritual life.

Founded

1871

Visitors per year

approx. 180,000

Admission & discounts

Free admission also applies to members of the friends' associations (Freundeskreise), of DMB and ICOM, to press, and to enrolled ethnology students at the University of Hamburg.

Accessibility

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

The listed building has several flights of stairs; a visit by wheelchair is possible with some limitations. The side entrance on Binderstraße is barrier-free with an elevator; staff open the door when you ring. Accessible parking spaces: 2 on Rothenbaumchaussee and 1 at Binderstraße 14. Wheelchair-accessible toilet in the restaurant area. The lecture halls are not barrier-free.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

There are programs for children and birthday parties, as well as offerings for daycare centers and school classes.

Getting there & parking

Address: Rothenbaumchaussee 64.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Coat check

Culture Bistro with lunch menu and snacks (Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00, Thursdays until 21:00); museum shop during opening hours; cloakroom for large bags.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Weddings / ceremonies

Rooms are rented for receptions, lectures and celebrations; by arrangement, weddings can be held through the Eimsbüttel registry office. Inquiries to vermietung@markk-hamburg.de.

Plan your visit