Museum Koenig

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum goes back to Bonn zoologist and ornithologist Alexander Koenig, who built up an extensive private animal collection through research expeditions and purchases. In 1912, the foundation stone was laid for the stately museum building on what is now Adenauerallee, designed by Gustav Holland. War and inflation delayed its completion; in 1929, Koenig handed over the building and collection to the Prussian state, and the museum finally opened in 1934.

The building made German history in 1948: on September 1, the Parliamentary Council – which went on to draft the Grundgesetz (Basic Law, Germany's constitution) – was ceremonially opened in its atrium. The stuffed giraffes could not be removed at the time and were simply covered up. For a time, rooms in the museum were also used by federal institutions.

As a research museum of the Leibniz Association, the museum holds around seven million collection objects, mainly vertebrates and arthropods, and conducts biodiversity research. Since 2021, together with the Museum der Natur in Hamburg, it has formed the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB). The permanent exhibition presents the Earth's habitats in lifelike landscapes and also shows historic dioramas from the 1930s.

Highlights

• Atrium where the Parliamentary Council was opened in 1948
• African savanna with watering hole and baobab
• Two-story rainforest with a walk-in fig tree
• Aquariums with more than 60 freshwater species
• Historic dioramas from 1934

Permanent exhibitions

• Dauerausstellung: Lebensräume der Erde – Lifelike landscapes – from savanna, rainforest, desert, and polar regions to Central Europe – showcase the diversity of the animal world and the threats it faces from humans.

Founded

1912

Operated by

Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels (LIB), Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts

Director

Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor LIB)

Admission & discounts

Free admission for, among others, members of the Alexander-Koenig-Gesellschaft, the Deutscher Museumsbund, and ICOM. No annual pass listed.

Accessibility

• 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

All exhibition levels can be reached by elevator; step-free access from the Museum Koenig subway station via elevator; accessible restroom with baby changing facilities on the ground floor; two loaner wheelchairs and two rollators; lightweight folding stools and seating in the exhibitions.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Kids’ birthday parties

Public family tour every Sunday at 14:00 (60 minutes, admission only), family Sundays with workshops, story hours for children aged 4 and up, and flashlight tours. Detective case "Wer ist Perti?" (Who Is Perti?) with an accompanying booklet for families with children aged 8 and up, free at the ticket desk. Children's birthday parties with an educational program; visitors may eat their own food in the break room. Baby changing room on the ground floor.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

The museum café is closed until a new operator is found; visitors may eat their own food in the café area (2nd floor) and the break room (ground floor). Museum shop, cloakroom, and lockers on the ground floor.

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit