Museum August Kestner

The Museum August Kestner in Hanover is the oldest municipal museum in the state capital and has a eventful history. Named after the Hanoverian envoy August Kestner, who assembled a remarkable private collection of Egyptian and Greco-Roman small-scale art in Rome, the museum opened in 1889. The original Neo-Renaissance building was partly destroyed in World War II and, between 1958 and 1961, was enclosed in a listed concrete cube with a glass facade that protects the surviving parts of the building, such as the staircase and sections of the entrance facade. The museum has carried its current name since 2007, chosen to avoid confusion with the Kestnergesellschaft, and today it is part of the Museums for Cultural History Hanover network.

As the only museum in the region, it offers visitors a comprehensive overview of six thousand years of applied art. The collections are divided into four main areas: The Ancient Egypt department shows reliefs, sculptures, and grave goods from the fourth millennium B.C. to the Roman-Christian period. The collection of ancient cultures includes Greek vases, Etruscan art, and one of the largest gem collections in Germany. Another focus is European applied art and design, where medieval manuscripts, textiles, and goldsmith work are displayed alongside contemporary product design.

The offering is rounded out by one of the largest coin and medal collections in northern Germany, with around one hundred thousand pieces documenting the history of money from antiquity to the 19th century. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the museum regularly presents themed special exhibitions that shed light on historical topics such as the careers of early women archaeologists or the significance of tattoos in antiquity. As one of the most important museums of applied art in Germany, it combines historical holdings with current questions of craftsmanship and design.