Siebold-Museum

About the museum

Philipp Franz von Siebold, physician, naturalist, Japan researcher, and collector, came from a Würzburg family of physicians and scholars: Carl Caspar von Siebold and three of his sons made a major contribution around 1800, as the "Academia Sieboldiana," to building up the university clinic at the Juliusspital. In August 1823, Philipp Franz reached Japan and lived until the end of 1829 on the strictly isolated Dutch trading island of Deshima in the harbor of Nagasaki.

In his memory, the Siebold Society opened the Siebold Museum on July 3, 1995, with the support of the city of Würzburg and numerous German and Japanese sponsors. It is housed in the former director's villa of the Bürgerbräu brewery, built in the Gründerzeit style, in the Zellerau district, which is part of a listed building ensemble. In addition to two museum floors, the building houses a German-Japanese meeting place, a Japan library, and, since 2001, an authentic Japanese tea room.

The permanent exhibition shows objects on the Siebold family of Würzburg and on Philipp Franz von Siebold's German and Japanese periods of life, including parts of the collection of surgical instruments assembled by Carl Caspar von Siebold for the Juliusspital. In addition, there are regular special exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and courses on Japanese culture such as tea ceremony, ikebana, and origami. After the Sieboldhuis in Leiden and the Siebold Memorial Museum in Nagasaki, with which it has a partnership, the museum is the third house of its kind; since 2004 it has also been linked with the Mogami Tokunai Museum in Murayama.

Highlights

• Exhibits on the Siebold family of physicians and scholars from Würzburg
• Objects from Philipp Franz von Siebold's time in Japan
• Surgical instruments from the collection of Carl Caspar von Siebold
• Authentic Japanese tea room with tea ceremonies
• Japan library with literature in several languages

Permanent exhibitions

• Die Würzburger Siebold – Familie, Medizin und Japan – Objects on the Siebold family of physicians and scholars from Würzburg and on Philipp Franz von Siebold's life in Germany and Japan, including historic surgical instruments.

Founded

1995

Operated by

Siebold-Gesellschaft e. V.

Admission & discounts

€4 (reduced €3) apply when there is no special exhibition; during special exhibitions €5 (reduced €4). Concerts at the museum are usually free admission with a donation.

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

Level access for wheelchair users and people with walking difficulties; exhibition floors and library accessible by elevator. Accessible restroom in the basement.

Kids & families

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

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

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

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The event area on the ground floor (concerts, symposia, meetings, celebrations) can be rented by arrangement. Tea ceremonies in the tea house year-round, also as a gift; information from Barbara Lohoff, tel. 09365 9350 (evenings except Mondays, 20:30–22:00).

Plan your visit