Städtisches Museum Göttingen

About the museum

The impetus for the museum came from the Germanist Moriz Heyne, who, after being appointed to Göttingen in 1883, campaigned for a municipal collection of antiquities. On October 1, 1889, it opened in a few rooms of a house on what is now Goetheallee; donations from citizens and the administration made the holdings grow quickly, so that the collection had to move to a larger building on Burgstraße as early as 1893.

Since 1897, the museum has been located in the Hardenberger Hof on Ritterplan, a Renaissance noble palace built in 1592 – the last of its kind in Göttingen. Gradually, the neighboring Alte Posthalterei (old post house), the carriage house, and, in 1979, the house of the former postmaster were added; the expansion was the occasion for a complete redesign of the permanent exhibitions.

In 2008, a structural inspection showed that the overloaded attics endangered large parts of the complex. The exhibitions were closed and tens of thousands of objects were moved to a new external storage facility. Since 2015, areas have gradually become accessible again, and in 2025 the renovated largest exhibition room in the Hardenberger Hof reopened.

The collection comprises around 150,000 objects on life in Göttingen from the Middle Ages to the present, with a focus on the 18th to 20th centuries, including paintings, graphic art, Judaica, and scientific instruments. Today the museum sees itself as a city museum in transition and in 2014 was the first municipal city history museum in Lower Saxony to restitute cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution.

Highlights

• Hardenberger Hof from 1592, Göttingen's last surviving noble palace
• Permanent exhibition on Göttingen in the 16th century
• Church art collection
• Judaica holdings and provenance research
• Audio stations available via smartphone

Permanent exhibitions

• Stadt. Macht. Glaube. Göttingen im 16. Jahrhundert – The presentation on the second floor of the Hardenberger Hof shows how printing, the Reformation, and wars shaped life in Göttingen in the 16th century. The museum's church art collection is integrated into it.

Founded

1889

Operated by

Stadt Göttingen

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

The permanent exhibition and some of the special exhibitions are free; admission is charged for individual special exhibitions.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• 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

Because of stairs and steps, the historic building is currently not accessible; accessible rooms are planned after the renovation is completed.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Regular children's tours, workshops, hands-on days, and a holiday program for children aged about 6 to 12; discovery sheets for school classes and daycare centers.

Getting there & parking

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

Amenities & dining

• Coat check
• Lockers

Coats and jackets are left at the coat check, bags are locked away.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 65 guests.

Tapetensaal (wallpaper hall) for conferences and workshops with up to 65 people, plus a smaller room for discussion groups of up to 15 people. Booking via museum-buchungen@goettingen.de or tel. 0551 400-2843.

Plan your visit