From 20th century art treasures to local and municipal history, from the Ancient Egyptians and antiquity to aerospace and caricature, Hannover's diverse museums have one thing in common: excellence. The Sprengel Museum, the Kestner Museum and the Lower Saxony State Museum are firm favourites with visitors to Hannover.Sprengel Museum
Opened in 1979, the Sprengel Museum in Hannover is one of the foremost museums of 20th century art. At the core of the museum is the collection of Dr. Bernhard Sprengel, who specialised in the fields of German expressionism and French modernism. Over the last 20 years, the collection has been extended to cover the key periods of contemporary art. In addition to the extensive permanent collection, this vibrant forum for art and science also hosts around 25 temporary exhibitions every year. Closed on Mondays.
» www.sprengel-museum.deKestner Museum
Founded in 1889, the Kestner Museum of applied art in Hannover is one of the most important museums in Lower Saxony. It is named after the German art collector August Kestner (1777-1853). The Egyptian collection documents art and culture in the country from the 4th century BC to Roman and Christian times. An extensive gallery of reliefs, sculptures, stelae, vessels, amulets, papyrus and burial objects shed light on the day-to-day life of the ancient Egyptians, including their religion, rituals and belief in the afterlife. The classical cultures of the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean and the Near East are also represented, and there is a section dedicated to applied art and design in Europe, which focuses on medieval manuscripts, textiles, bronzes, ivories and goldsmith's work. The coin collection meanwhile documents 2,500 years of monetary history. Closed on Mondays.
» www.kestner-museum.deLower Saxony State Museum
The Lower Saxony State Museum in Hannover is home to a collection of paintings and sculptures from recent centuries, as well as fascinating exhibits on the subjects of ancient history, natural history and ethnology. The art collection comprises works by Rembrandt, Rubens and Albrecht Dürer, as well as many other well-known artists, with an emphasis on German art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance period, Italian paintings from the 14th-18th centuries, Dutch paintings from the 17th century and European art from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The prehistoric section covers more than 500,000 years of cultural history. In the ethnological gallery, you can marvel at exhibits from all over the world. The natural history section features, among other exhibits, a life-size model of a dinosaur and a vivarium containing more than 2,000 native and exotic fish, amphibians and reptiles. Closed on Mondays.
» www.landesmuseum-hannover.niedersachsen.deWilhelm Busch Museum
The Wilhelm Busch Museum opened in 1937, and contains a unique Wilhelm Busch collection as well as an internationally important collection of satirical art spanning four centuries. With 335 oil paintings, 1,200 drawings from nature, 50 illustrated stories, 896 letters and 193 poetry and prose manuscripts, this collection has more than two thirds of all Busch's work still in existence. The "Caricature and critical drawings" collection was established in the early 1960s and contains more 20,000 drawings and graphics from five centuries. Artists from the golden age of English caricature in the 18th and 19th centuries are extensively represented here, along with the great French 19th century caricaturists. The collection also boasts an extensive archive and a specialist Busch library with 2,500 volumes on the subject. Closed on 24 December and 31 December, guided tours on request.
» www.wilhelm-busch-museum.deMuseum of Veterinary History at the University of Veterinary Medicine (TiHo)
The University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover was founded in 1778 under the regency of George III as the Ross-Arzney-Schule. The exhibition shows the development of the lyceum into the royal veterinary college and the granting of university status in 1913. As well as the background of the college and the history of science, the collection, which has been on show since 1981, portrays the historical spectrum of veterinary research and practice. The basis for veterinary medicine was horse medicine, which then extended to include other agricultural livestock. On display are many instruments and tools for diagnosis, operations, venesection, dentistry, obstetrics, castration, anaesthetisation, hoof treatments and control of epidemics. This is the only specialist museum with veterinary cultural treasures of its kind in Germany. Open Tuesday to Thursday.
» www.hannover-tourism.de