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Archäologisches Museum Wolfenbüttel

Archaeological collection of the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum in the late Renaissance Kanzlei in Wolfenbüttel – currently being redesigned.

Temporarily closed

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Temporarily closed. Closed to individual visitors because of the redesign of the permanent archaeological exhibition; school classes can come after registration with the booking service.

About the museum

The Kanzlei (chancery) was built toward the end of the 16th century on older foundations as the administrative seat of the dukes of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and is considered the oldest building in the town. In 1587/88 it was extended in the late Renaissance style under Hans Vredeman de Vries, and a conversion followed from 1851 to 1854. The two-story, plastered rubble-stone building has a projecting annex in the west and a stair tower in the east; in the former archive rooms, the original drawer cabinets of the ducal chancery are preserved.

Since 1959 the building has housed the prehistoric and early historic collection of the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum. The exhibition ranged from finds from about 500,000 years ago to the Frankish conquest in the 8th century – with stone tools, bronzes and silver jewelry – and in the so-called drawer cabinet, archaeological thematic exhibitions were held. The building also serves as a depot for archaeological finds and as the seat of restoration workshops.

Since 2020 the museum has been closed to general visitors; the reason was deficiencies in fire protection. Meanwhile, the permanent archaeological exhibition is being fundamentally redesigned. School classes can still visit the building after registration; since 2024 there has been an educational program on the Stone Ages for them.