Museum August Kestner

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The foundation of the collection was laid by August Kestner (1777–1853), who lived in Rome for 36 years as Hanoverian envoy and collected Egyptian and Greco-Roman small-scale art there. His nephew Hermann Kestner bequeathed the collection to the city of Hannover in accordance with his will. Supplemented by the medieval and ancient holdings of Senator Friedrich Culemann, the museum opened on November 9, 1889, in a Neo-Renaissance building.

The building was partially destroyed in World War II. Between 1958 and 1961, a conversion and extension was built whose listed glass-and-concrete facade, with around 5,000 window openings, encloses the remains of the old building; inside, the historic entrance facade from 1889 is largely preserved.

The collection grew steadily through donations and acquisitions, for example in 1935 with the mainly Egyptian collection of Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing. Under director Wolfgang Schepers, modern product design came more strongly into focus from 1999 onward. To avoid confusion with the Kestnergesellschaft, the former Kestner-Museum has been called Museum August Kestner since December 2007.

Since 2014, the museum has been part of the municipal network Museen für Kulturgeschichte Hannover, together with the Historisches Museum and the Museum Schloss Herrenhausen. Its four collection areas range from Egyptian art and ancient cultures to applied art and numismatics.

Highlights

• Egyptian collection with reliefs from the Amarna period
• Greek vases and Etruscan art
• One of the largest collections of engraved gems in Germany
• Extensive collection of coins and medals
• Design collection of the 20th and 21st centuries
• Listed glass-and-concrete facade from 1961 surrounding the old building from 1889

Permanent exhibitions

• Sammlungen: Ägyptische Kunst und Antike Kulturen – Art and daily life of ancient Egypt and the Greco-Roman and Etruscan world.
• Sammlungen: Angewandte Kunst/Design und Numismatik – Decorative arts from the Middle Ages to modern design, as well as coins and medals.

Founded

1889

Operated by

Landeshauptstadt Hannover (Museen für Kulturgeschichte Hannover)

Director

Anne Gemeinhardt

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission on Fridays

Admission includes special exhibitions. Free admission with the Hannover-Aktiv-Pass and for members of various museum and professional associations, among others. Guided tours are free; only admission is charged.

Accessibility

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

Entrance via ramp; elevator available on request at the ticket desk (with staff escort). Induction loop at the ticket counter, FM system for guided tours. Special tours for hard-of-hearing and deaf people, and occasional programs for blind and visually impaired visitors.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

Tours and workshops for parents with children (e.g., mosaic laying, dyeing with natural dyes), monthly story afternoons for children ages 4 and up or 8 and up in the interactive foyer SammleR*s, and a museum club for ages 10 and up. Themed children's birthday parties (“Entdeckerpartys”); up to three accompanying adults free.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Wi-Fi

Kestner-Laden (run by the friends' association). Interactive foyer SammleR*s without a ticket, with Wi-Fi, small snacks, and drinks.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit