Location: Germany Lower Saxony Braunschweig
Art museum in Braunschweig, opened in 1754 as one of the first public museums in Germany – with works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens and Giorgione.
Interesting facts
- The museum opened in 1754, one year after the British Museum.
- It has been called the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum since 1927.
- The 2008–2010 extension has a floor area of around 4,000 square metres.
Why visit
- Paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens and Giorgione
- One of the first museums in Germany open to the public
- Easy to combine with Dankwarderode Castle
The Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig was opened in 1754 by Duke Charles I, at the suggestion of Daniel de Superville, as a “cabinet of art and natural curiosities”. It was one of the first museums in Germany to be open to the public – one year after the British Museum. It has carried its present name since 1927, after Duke Anton Ulrich (1633–1714) of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
The main building was designed by Oskar Sommer together with the museum director Herman Riegel following a competition in 1882 and opened in 1887. An extension was built in the museum park between 2008 and 2010, and after a comprehensive renovation the main building reopened on 23 October 2016.
Around 4,000 works of art from 3,000 years are on display, including Rembrandt’s “Family Portrait”, Vermeer’s “Girl with a Wine Glass”, Rubens’s “Judith with the Head of Holofernes” and Giorgione’s “Self-Portrait as David”. The medieval collection is shown in Dankwarderode Castle.
History
Opened in 1754 as a cabinet of art and natural curiosities under Duke Charles I; moved into the present main building by Oskar Sommer in 1887; renamed Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in 1927; extension built 2008–2010; main building renovated 2013–2016.
Special features
Around 4,000 works of art from 3,000 years on display. The best-known paintings include works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens and Giorgione. The medieval department is housed in Dankwarderode Castle.
Map
Opens an external route planner. Please check access and opening times before you set off.
Nearby

Brunswick Palace
Braunschweig, Lower Saxony
0.4 km away
Reconstructed façade of the classicist residence of the Dukes of Brunswick – today with a quadriga, the palace museum, the city library and a shopping centre.
Route
Dankwarderode Castle
Braunschweig, Lower Saxony
0.6 km away
Palace of Henry the Lion on Braunschweig's Burgplatz, rebuilt in Romanesque Revival style in the 19th century – today home to the medieval department of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Mus…
Route
Sources
Image: Claus Cordes · Copyrighted free use · Wikimedia Commons
