Ethnological museum of the SKD (Dresden State Art Collections) in Herrnhut with collections from the Moravian mission; permanent exhibition being redesigned, currently a small focused exhibition.
July 3, 2026 – October 30, 2027
Around 40 objects, including a missionary's medical bag and ritual objects of Indigenous healers, show how Christian mission and traditional healing met on the Mosquito Coast and changed each other.
The collection has its roots in the worldwide missionary work of the Moravian Church (Evangelische Brüder-Unität), which began in 1732. As early as 1740, Herrnhut missionaries were sending objects from the mission fields to Europe; they initially went to the Moravian community's natural history cabinet in Barby, and later to Niesky. These even include objects from James Cook's third voyage, which arrived in Barby in 1781.
The institution became an independent museum in 1878, when a museum association was founded at the suggestion of pharmacist Bernhard Kinne. Unlike many mission museums, it saw itself from the start as a scientific ethnographic museum. In 1901 it moved into its own building on Goethestraße. The holdings survived World War II; in 1947 objects from the destroyed museum in Niesky were added, and later further collections from the Moravian Church.
In 1975 Herrnhut became a branch of the Dresden Museum für Völkerkunde (ethnology museum). In the 1990s an extension and renovation of the building followed, in 2003 a new permanent exhibition, and in 2010–2012 an annex with storage and a special exhibition room. Since 2004, together with the ethnology museums in Dresden and Leipzig, the museum has formed the Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsens (State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony), which have been part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden since 2010.
In January 2023 the permanent exhibition closed so that a new, modular concept could be implemented. It is to address topics such as climate change, colonialism, and the enslavement of people in Suriname and to examine the history of the mission from today's perspective. Since July 2026, a small focused exhibition on the mission on Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast has offered a first glimpse of this new direction.
| Adults | €3 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €2Those eligible under SKD rules, including students and people with disabilities |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 16 · Free admission under 17. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €2companion free · Reduced admission; companions of people with a severe disability ID (Schwerbehindertenausweis) free. |
| Students & apprentices | €2Reduced price. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €2.50 per personFor 10 or more people. |
| Families | –No family ticket; children under 17 free. |
| Public guided tour | €5Sundays at 15:00, at least once a month; children's tours Saturdays at 15:00, children free |
| Partial tour for groups (about 60 min.) | €30per group |
| Full tour for groups (2 hours) | €60per group |
Ticket for the Völkerkundemuseum Herrnhut; introductory talk for groups €15 per group.
The website notes that accessible entry is currently not possible. Normally: entrance at the corner of Goethestraße/August-Bebel-Straße via a ramp (6.5%) or steps, elevator with tactile buttons to all floors, accessible restroom on the first floor, accessible parking space about 100 m away at the sports field. Tours for blind and visually impaired visitors, with sign language interpretation, and in easy-to-read German on request; assistance dogs allowed; portable stools.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 16 |
|---|
Public children's tours at least once a month on Saturdays at 15:00 (free for children) and a hands-on station in the exhibition. Under "Familienzeit digital" there are worksheets with experiments and craft ideas for at home.
Zinzendorfplatz
Bus to Zinzendorfplatz; by train to Herrnhut station.
Parking available
Small parking lot directly at the entrance, plus a few spaces along the street in front of the museum. Accessible parking about 100 m away at the Sportplatz Herrnhut.
No café. Museum shop at the ticket area, coat check with lockers.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (DE) |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Free multimedia guide in the browser (bring your own headphones). Group tours by registration with visitor services; travel cost subsidy for schools and daycare centers via the KuBiMobil program of the Kulturraum Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien. |
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