The history of the museum

The State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe emerged from the Margrave and Badenian collections of curiosities and specimens of natural history.

The interest and dedication of Margravine Karoline Luise of Baden helped expand the collection to a scientifically significant exhibition between 1752 and 1783. In 1784, the cabinet of natural history was moved to the facilities of the court library, and it was first opened to the bourgeoisie as a museum in 1785. In other words, the collections of today's natural history museum have been open to the public for over two hundred years!

The museum's current location at Friedrichsplatz was built between 1866 and 1872 and designed to house the cabinet of natural history and the court library. The building was destroyed by bombs in 1942, and many valuable items were lost. The rebuilding process was completed in 1972. Today, the State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe once again ranks amongst the major museums of its kind in Germany.

Under the direction of the current Director Prof. Dr. Martin Husemann, we will continue to pursue the broad spectrum of our research and uphold our responsibility as a conveyor of knowledge via numerous exhibitions and educational events.