Städtisches Museum Göttingen

The Städtisches Museum Göttingen stands in the city centre on Ritterplan, where it occupies a group of historic buildings. The main building is the Hardenberger Hof, a 1592 Renaissance mansion built for the chancellor Johann von Jagemann. Nearby are the Alte Post and the Posthalterhaus, both fine half-timbered structures from the 18th century.

The museum’s collection of about 150,000 objects traces Göttingen’s story from its earliest settlement to today. It began in 1889 as the Städtische Alterthümersammlung under the Germanist Moritz Heyne, with support from Oberbürgermeister Georg Merkel. Heyne also arranged the addition of a chapel wing and the transfer of a 16th-century façade to show how half-timbered houses once looked.

Visitors can still walk through parts of the Hardenberger Hof and see exhibits on local building and cultural history. The museum garden at the front and the relocated 16th-century façade beside the Alte Post remain open. During closure of the main galleries, the church-art collection from the 12th to 19th centuries is also on view.