MUSEUMS
The museum landscape of Lüneburg is as diverse as the city itself. A total of 7 museums invite you to learn, discover and participate. For example, in the German Salt Museum you can follow the journey of the 'white gold' that once made Lüneburg rich or learn more about our water in the Water Tower. By the way, a sensational view of Lüneburg awaits you high up here. The Lüneburg Museum shows an interesting collection from the areas of regional cultural history, archeology and nature. The Town Hall is a contemporary witness to Lüneburg´s history and definetly worth a tour.
© Lüneburg Marketing GmbH
TOWN HALL
Behind the 1720 fulfilled baroque facade you will find one of the biggest medieval town halls in Northern Germany. The building grew over the centuries, so you will find an exceptional mix between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. With its beautiful interior and decoration it is one of the most beautiful attractions in Lüneburg.
© Deutsches Salzmuseum Lüneburg
GERMAN SALT MUSEUM
Explore the salty history of Lüneburg and the saline, an unique industrial monument. Salt is white, salt makes you thirsty, salt is odorless, salt is cheap. Salt is an inconspicuous, small grain, a small grain that enables all life on Earth. As one of the oldest cultural trade goods, it has shaped human history. Reason enough to exhibit it! But why in Lüneburg? Lüneburg is the Salt City of the North. For more than a thousand years, salt dominated life in the town and brought wealth and power - and left its mark on the city. In 1980, the saltwork closed its production. It was one of the oldest industrial establishments in Europe. The German Salt Museum keeps its glorious past alive with fascinating, interesting, and striking exhibits around the subject of salt for all visitors to explore.
Provided information in English:
The museum offers their guests an audio guide for a rental fee of 1 €.
The average length of stay by using this guide is 1 hour.
Moreover exhibition texts in English and guided tours for groups are available.
© Kunstsammlung Henning J. Classen
HENNING J. CLAASSEN ART COLLECTION
The Henning J. Claassen Art Collection, housed in a distinctive modern museum in Lüneburg, opened on September 1, 2022, at St.-Ursula-Weg 1. Funded entirely by Claassen, this cubist-inspired building symbolizes a personal gift to his hometown, also featuring a unique red concert grand piano at the entrance, hinting at future art and music collaborations. Claassen, born in Lüneburg in 1944, initially pursued a career in economics and psychology before founding several businesses. Over decades, he amassed a diverse art collection during his travels, reflecting his passion for 20th and 21st-century art.
The collection boasts approximately 500 pieces, with 140 on display in Lüneburg. It highlights major artists such as Picasso, Andy Warhol, Banksy, and David Hockney, showcasing a variety of media from photography to sculptures. Claassen's dedication to art, alongside his entrepreneurial success, earned him honorary citizenship in Lüneburg. Visitors can explore additional pieces from the collection at the Parkhotel de Wiemsel in Ootmarsum, Netherlands, further emphasizing the collection's international appeal.
© Museumsstiftung Lüneburg/ Martin Bäumel Fotodesign
MUSEUM LÜNEBURG
On a Journey Through Time in the Museum Lüneburg: Visitors to the Museum Lüneburg take a relaxing journey through Lüneburg's past! Experience history, explore archaeology, and discover nature in the seven beautifully and generously decorated exhibition rooms of the museum, which opened in 2015. Take the initiative to lead yourself on your journey from the Paleozoic to today, use one of our free MediaGuides, or book a tour in English. The Museum Lüneburg is a cultural meeting place for all ages. The museum's cafe LUNA serves delicious coffee and cake, and on the weekends treats you to breakfasts featuring several regional ingredients.
Provided information in English:
The museum offers their guests a media guide free of costs.
The average length of stay by using this guide is 1,5 hours.
The museum offers exhibition texts in English and guided tours for groups. A guide book about the museum is available for 5 €.
© Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg
EAST STATE PRUSSIAN MUSEUM
Opened in 1987 and institutionally supported by the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony, the East State Prussian Museum presents rare, valuable and unusual exhibits that will take you on an impressive journey through the landscape, history and culture of East Prussia and the Baltic Germans.
Why is the museum located in Luneburg? In 1945 East Prussia's 700-year German-influenced history ended when the province was divided up and separated from Germany after the Second World War. Many refugees and expellees stranded in and around Luneburg. As early as in 1958 they founded an East Prussian hunting museum here, the collection of which would later form the core of the modern state museum.
The East Prussian State Museum cooperates closely with cultural institutions in Eastern Europe in order to promote mutual understanding and to explore and preserve the German cultural heritage in the friendly coexistence of a common European idea.
Provided information in English:
The museum offers their guests a media guide free of costs.
The average length of stay is 1,5 hours.
The museum offers guided tours for groups in English.
© Kloster Lüne
LÜNE CLOISTER AND TEXTILE MUSEUM
The Benedictine Lüne cloister, founded in 1172, is located just 15 walking minutes away from the city centre, amidst a park with old trees and meadow orchards. During the year you can visit the completely preserved cloister from April 1st until October 15th. The fountain hall with the constantly rippling handstone fountain, the refectory with its excavated murals and the cross coat’s Taustein (an ornamental stone looking like a rope) roof are well worth visiting. The cross coat also features gothic windows. Located in the inner courtyard is a burial place adorned with roses. The most precious possession of the cloister is shown at the textile museum: white work, embroidered palliums and lenten veils from the 13th and 14th century as well as wall rugs and bench sheets, all in excellent condition. Before or after the guided tour you can enjoy cake or other small delicacies at the cloister café.
© Wasserturm Lüneburg
WATER TOWER
The water tower, built in 1907 and designed by the architect Franz Krüger from Lüneburg, supplied even those districts with water that were located higher than the rest of the city. Modern techniques finally made it possible to defrost and filter the ferrous spring water. Please visit the platform to enjoy a wonderful view over land and city. You don’t even have to work up a sweat – just take a comfortable elevator ride right to the top of the tower on 55 metres.
You should also go downstairs and take a look inside the tower. The elevated 500 cubic metre tank made of shipping steel and the constantly changing temporary exhibitions on various levels of the tower are especially interesting. Maybe you saw the small wedding sign at the exit on the top – wedding couples like to get married here and enjoy the special ambience with their guests.
© Ostpreußisches Landesmuseum Lüneburg
BREWERY MUSEUM
The brewhouse of the Kronen Brewery in Lüneburg was still being used to brew beer as late as 1981. It reopened as a museum in 1985. This authentic monument to industrial history has since become a popular tourist and day-tripper attraction: two large copper vats form the centrepiece of the former brewery. They are surrounded by a large selection of apparatus an equipment, some items of which are extremely rare, that provide an insight into the brewer´s crafts prior to the start of modern industrial production. Ice saws and ice hooks are a reminder of the days before refrigerators were invented when ice used to be sawn out of frozen pools in the winter and stored for future use. A rotary bottling machine boasting an impressiv thoughput of 1,200 bottles per hour heralds the arrival of bottled beer after centuries during which beer was only available in wooden kegs. The old brewhouse contains relics of a brewing tradition going back to the days when brewer Thomas Lampe plied his trade at the kettles and vats in 1485. It is fascinating display for both technicians and laymen.
Provided information in English:
The museum offers guided tours for groups in English.
Further information