Wilhelm Busch – Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und Zeichenkunst

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The Wilhelm Busch Society, founded in 1930, opened a first museum devoted to the illustrator and poet Wilhelm Busch in central Hannover in 1937; its co-founder and first director was Emil Conrad. The building was destroyed in the air raids of 1943, but the collections, which had been moved to safety, survived.

In 1950 the museum found a new home in the neoclassical Georgenpalais (also called Wallmoden-Palais), built around 1780 in the Georgengarten, part of the Herrenhausen Gardens. For the reopening, caricatures were shown alongside Busch's work for the first time – the start of its development into today's museum of caricature and drawing.

At its core are the comprehensive Wilhelm Busch collection and a caricature collection covering the art form from around 1600 to the present, including numerous caricatures of Napoleon and artists' estates. Since 2011 the museum has also held the estate of the British illustrator Ronald Searle, with around 2,200 works. Its research includes work on a historical-critical edition of Busch's picture stories.

The museum is still run by the Wilhelm Busch Society as a private association, with support from the state capital Hannover, the State of Lower Saxony and other partners. Temporary exhibitions feature greats such as Loriot, Sempé, Hogarth and Marie Marcks as well as comics and children's book illustration.

Highlights

• Comprehensive collection on Wilhelm Busch (“Max und Moritz”)
• Caricature collection from around 1600 to today
• Estate of Ronald Searle
• “Comic im BUSCH” room on the history of comics
• Setting in the Georgengarten of the Herrenhausen Gardens, with the palace garden
• “Feierabend im BUSCH” on Thursdays until 20:00

Permanent exhibitions

• Comic im BUSCH – A compact journey through the history of comics – from early 19th-century drawings and Wilhelm Busch to Peanuts and manga.

Founded

1937

Operated by

Wilhelm-Busch-Gesellschaft e. V.

Director

Dr. Eva Jandl-Jörg

Admission & discounts

Free admission for children under 6, members of the Wilhelm Busch Society and the friends' association, and members of ICOM and the Deutscher Museumsbund. With a museum ticket you get a same-day discount on the combined ticket for the Herrenhausen Gardens.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• 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

Museum and exhibition rooms are accessible; entrance via a ramp, with a bell on the post to the left if assistance is needed. Two accessible parking spaces. Certified assistance dogs welcome.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children's library in the collection rooms, stocked to match the exhibitions. Children's birthday parties (approx. 90 minutes, €160 including admission) with a blot, comic, or printing workshop, some from age 5; interactive tours and workshops for daycare centers and schools.

Getting there & parking

GPS destination: Jägerstraße, 30167 Hannover; approach via Königsworther Platz and Jägerstraße.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Wallmodencafé (Tue–Sun and public holidays 11:00–17:00, also without a museum ticket) with seating in the Palaisgarten. Museum shop and online shop.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Museum rooms and the palace garden are available for private celebrations and corporate events; inquiries to vermietung@wallmodenpalais.de.

Plan your visit