The Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt is one of Germany’s largest museums, uniting a large number of diverse collections from the fields of art, culture and natural history. This wide range of exhibits lends the HLMD a character that makes it special among Europe’s important museums.
The Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt is not only distinguished by the variety, but also by the quality of its collections: Paintings ranging from Pieter Brueghel and Peter Paul Rubens to Arnold Böcklin, August Macke and Gerhard Richter are only a few highlights of the over 400 exhibited works from the painting collection. The comprehensive collection of prints and drawings features works by Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt van Rijn. The collection of medieval treasury art and ivories is one of the most valuable of its kind. The Art Nouveau department with its jewellery collection and suite of rooms by Henry van de Velde is renowned around the world. The largest complex of works by Joseph Beuys, the “Block Beuys” comprising seven rooms and 290 pieces, is among the museum’s internationally most important holdings.
Numerous objects from the natural history collections are of great scientific significance. The zoological dioramas integrated into the museum’s architecture when it was built in 1906 enjoy worldwide fame. Striking exhibits from the geological-paleontological department include many fossils from the nearby Messel pit UNESCO World Heritage Site and the sensational reconstruction of ten hominid busts.