August Kestner Museum, Art and archaeology museum in Mitte district, Hannover, Germany.
The August Kestner Museum is an art and archaeology museum in the Mitte district that displays around 6000 years of human culture across four collection areas. The exhibition spans works from ancient civilizations, objects from ancient Egypt, and both contemporary and historical decorative arts.
The museum was founded in 1889 from the private collection of August Kestner, who gathered valuable artifacts with his nephew Hermann during extended travels through Europe. These two men created the foundation for an institution that still preserves artistic works from different periods.
The name comes from August Kestner, a 19th-century collector whose passion for applied arts shaped the museum's founding. Visitors encounter rooms where ancient coins sit alongside crafted vessels and jewelry pieces from many cultures.
The museum welcomes visitors Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00, with extended hours until 20:00 on Wednesdays. The building is fully wheelchair accessible, making exploration of the exhibitions freely possible for all.
The collection contains over 50,000 objects, including a specialized exhibition that reconstructs ancient Egyptian gardens through carefully crafted recreations and historical records. This unusual focus on recreating ancient ways of life sets it apart from typical exhibition approaches.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
