Historisches Museum Hanau, City museum in Schloss Philippsruhe, Hanau, Germany
The Historical Museum Hanau is housed in Schloss Philippsruhe, a classicist palace in the city center. The exhibition displays around 20,000 objects relating to the history of Hanau from the Middle Ages to today, including crafts, documents, and everyday items.
The museum grew out of the Hanau Historical Society's collection, opened in 1875 in the chancellery building on Schlossplatz and later moved to the Old Town Hall and the city palace; part of it was destroyed in World War II bombing. On 9 June 1967 it opened in Schloss Philippsruhe, three years after the city administration vacated the palace, which had served as a provisional town hall. The display was created jointly by the city and the Hanauer Geschichtsverein 1844, and the present exhibition dates from 1987.
The museum's side wings hold the GrimmsMärchenReich, a display on the Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales, alongside a paper theatre museum. In the former dining room of the landgraves, faience from the Hanau manufactory (1661–1806), one of the earliest of its kind in Germany, is shown with Hessian earthenware and Westerwald ceramics.
The museum occupies Schloss Philippsruhe west of Hanau's centre, by the Main; the lower floor holds the permanent exhibition "Moderne Zeiten. Hanau 1848-1946", while the Beletage and the side wings with the GrimmsMärchenReich and PapierTheaterMuseum are reached separately. The palace rooms of the Corps de Logis retain their 1880-1884 interiors, so allow time for both floors.
The GrimmsMärchenReich and the PapierTheaterMuseum occupy the palace's side wings, separate from the regional history displays. The paper theatre collection is not mentioned in the sources as UNESCO-listed; what the sources record is the 1987 exhibition and the 1986 move of the prehistoric collection to Schloss Steinheim.
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