When it comes to museums, galleries and exhibitions there it is quite a lot to explore at Kassel, Germany. Whether you like the old masters or comic art, the city has a place for it. You can learn about the history of Kassel, about natural history or astronomy, you can see giant steam engines and magnetic monorails and you can even see who death was coped with over the centuries and in different cultures. The wallpaper museum is unfortunately currently closed. 😉
Neue Galerie
The Neue Galerie (‘New Gallery‘) is an important art museum at Kassel, Germany. It is located near the city centre and the Weinberg at the Schöne Aussicht – from there you have good views on the Karlsaue. Mostly paintings from the 19th century until today are shown. The building itself was created from 1871 on as the picture gallery which can today be found at the Schloß Wilhelmshöhe. In 1976 the current collection moved into the building, which included paintings of the 18th and the 19th century, a special collection on impressionism and contemporary art. Most impressive artwork is ‘The pack (das Rudel)‘ by Joseph Beuys. Read more…
Neue Galerie / Schöne Aussicht 1 / 34117 Kassel / Germany / https://museum-kassel.de/en/museums-parks-palaces/new-gallery
Gemäldegalerie Alter Meister
The old masters picture gallery is a wonderful art exhibition within the fantastic castle Schloß Wilhelmshöhe located in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Already the castle building in neo-classical style would be worth a visit – but inside you’ll find works of Rembrandt, Rubens and Dürer. In a beautiful and well-designed environment you can see 500 paintings on three floors. Read more…
Gemäldegalerie Alter Meister / Schloß Wilhelmshöhe / Schlosspark 1 / 34131 Kassel / Germany / https://museum-kassel.de/en/museums-parks-palaces/unesco-world-heritage-site-of-bergpark-wilhelmshoehe/wilhelmshoehe-palace/old-masters-picture-gallery
Stadtmuseum Kassel
The Stadtmuseum of Kassel is located within the old Karlshospiz at the Ständeplatz but has the entrance in the rear. On four floors you can see how Kassel grew over time and how it looked like before the fatal bombings of World War II when in one night of the year 1943 about 97 % of the city center were destroyed. But you can also learn a lot about life at Kassel and how the city was restored and developed after the war. The exhibition is designed really well and has a good mix of media. And there is also a space for changing exhibitions. Read more…
Stadtmuseum Kassel / Ständeplatz 16 / 34117 Kassel / Germany / http://www.stadtmuseum-kassel.info
Astronomisch-physikalisches Kabinett
The Astronomisch-physikalisches Kabinett (‘APK‘) as a museum about astronomy and physics within the Orangerie at Kassel, Germany. It is part of the Museumslandschaft Hessen-Kassel (‘MHK‘) and shows the collection of scientific instruments collected by the landgraves of Hesse-Kassel. They started creating this collection in the 16th century CE but it was also extended afterwards. Latest items are computer systems like those from Konrad Zuse, some where obviously in use by municipality of Kassel. Read more…
Astronomisch-physikalisches Kabinett / Orangerie / Staatspark Karlsaue / Kassel / Germany / https://museum-kassel.de/en/museums-parks-palaces/karlsaue-park/cabinet-of-astronomy-and-physics
Naturkundemuseum Ottoneum
The Ottoneum at Kassel, Germany was the first modern theatre building in Germany and houses today a natural history museum. It was built by the order of Moritz von Hessen-Kassel who named it after his favorite son Otto. You can find it in the city center of Kassel next to the Fridericianum at the Friedrichsplatz. In addition to the normal exhibition located there they often show changing exhibitions about various topics – that’s what people get here for. It’s a place you can get to multiple times a year and always discover something new.
Naturkundemuseum im Ottoneum / Steinweg 2 / 34117 Kassel / Germany / https://naturkundemuseum.kassel.de/museum/shortguide/
Grimmwelt
The Grimmwelt at Kassel, Germany is a museum at the Weinberg near the city center dedicated to the life, work and publications of Jacoband Wilhelm Grimm – well known as the Brothers Grimm. It was opened in 2014 and is a replacement for the Brüder-Grimm-Museumexisting until then at the Palais Bellevue. The museum contains 25 sections and space for changing exhibitions. Every section is labeled with a word from the Deutsches Wörterbuchlike Quitte, Wortarbeit or Dornenhecke. You can learn more about their work about the dictionary, about their fairytales and the reception of them worldwide. And you get an sight of the life of these two. Read more…
Grimmwelt / Weinbergstraße 21 / 34117 Kassel / Germany / https://www.grimmwelt.de/en/
Museum für Sepulkralkultur
It’s a topic humans normal try not to think about: the death that awaits us all. At Kassel, Germany you can find the Museum für Sepulkralkultur that gives you a place to debate about this topic. It is a museum dedicated to death and the specific rites that exist around the world. You can see how in other times and other cultures people coped with the fact that life isn’t endless. It consists of all kinds of items that people use around death and funerals. Since 2014 there is a special documentation of the death rites of other cultures in Germany. Read more…
Museum für Sepulkralkultur / Weinbergstraße 25 / 34117 Kassel / Germany / https://www.sepulkralmuseum.de/12/Home.html
Technik-Museum
Kassel, Germany was always a birthplace for new technologies – especially when they could be used to increase mobility. The biggest name for sure is Henschel, a company that built locomotives, lorries, busses, but also tanks, planes and rockets. They were also involved in building the Transrapid magnetic monorail. Another company was Wegmann, producing railway waggons. Still today Bombardier is producing locomotives at Kassel. A good reason for a technology museum with a focus on mobility. The Technik-Museum is located in the Wolfhager Straße within the giant buildings of the Henschel factory. Read more…
Technik-Museum Kassel / Wolfhager Straße 109 / 34127 Kassel / Germany / http://www.tmk-kassel.de
Caricatura
If you’re a fan of comic art or just want to kill an hour of time waiting for your train at the Kulturbahnhof at Kassel, Germany, the Caricatura – Galerie für Komische Kunst is the right choice. It is an exhibition space founded in 1984 and maintained by a private association. They present two to five changing exhibitions of comic art every year. The list of former exhibitions is long and includes important names like Martin Perscheid, F. K. Waechter, F. W. Bernstein, Joscha Sauer, Walter Moers, Hans Traxler, Chlodwig Poth or Robert Gernhardt. Read more…
Caricatura – Galerie für Komische Kunst / Rainer-Dierichs-Platz 1 / 34117 Kassel / Germany / http://www.caricatura.de
Hessisches Landesmuseum
At the Landesmuseum you can learn about the history of the federal state of Hesse from the first people settling here until today. It is located in a building dateing back to the year 1913 close to the Brüder-Grimm-Platz and therefore not far away from the city center. It has very well designed rooms and a good educational concept. The exhibition starts with archeological items about the first people living in the region and early developments. On the first floor you’ll learn about the time of the landgraves of Hesse-Kassel that have left traces in the city still visible today. Another floor up you can learn about the not-so-far past and especially the industrialization. Read more…
Hessisches Landesmuseum / Brüder-Grimm-Platz 5 / 34117 Kassel / Germany / https://museum-kassel.de/en/museums-parks-palaces/museum-of-hessian-history