University Museum
The University Museum is divided into 2 exhibition areas. The permanent exhibition hosts objects and media that trace 100 years of University history. Special exhibitions present current topics and projects from research, teaching, and education.
Special exhibition “Traces of Empires in the Philippines”
Photo: UHH/Feuerböther
The special exhibition at the University Museum was created by students in a project seminar. The topic is the colonial war between Spain and the United States in 1898 and its consequences.
Photo: UHH/Feuerböther
The students asked: What traces did the occupation leave behind in the present-day Philippines?
The exhibition is in English, but there is a booklet with a translation.
Photo: UHH/Feuerböther
On the evening of 15 February 1898, there was an explosion on board the USS Maine cruiser in Havana Harbor. The ship sank. Following this incident, the United States and Spain declared war upon each other.
Photo: UHH/Feuerböther
The exhibition is a joint project between Languages and Cultures of Southeast Asia and the University Museum. It was conceived and developed by students in the Master of Arts in Austronesian Studies (Indonesian and Malaysian studies). The project was supported by the Philippine Embassy and the Hamburg Society of Austronesian Studies (HGA).
Photo: UHH/Feuerböther
Who takes care of you? During and after the Second World War, the demand for nurses rose in the United States, leading to the migration of many Filipino nurses as part of the Exchange Visitor Program. Later, there were targeted recruitment efforts. A media display in this exhibition illuminates this particular result of the occupation. It includes interviews with nurses in Hamburg who have emigrated from the Philippines.
Rap Bars and Beats on a Museum Tour? Word!
Experience the museum differently with our rap tour by Sherlock F.
Be it the founding of the Colonial Institute Hamburg, the University during the Nazi era, or the 1960s student protests⸺the rapper Sherlock F. will guide you through history with dope beats and lyrics.
Request a rap tourPermanent exhibition: 100! Universität Hamburg Past and Present
The University Museum displays over 300 objects from Hamburg’s scientific and university past in its exhibition 100!
Universität Hamburg Past and Present, showcasing an exciting century of
- teaching, research, and education at the University
- pioneering research, findings, and contemporary methods
- campus and university life
- the connections between business, politics, and scientific pursuit in Hamburg with a focus on the harbor, trade, colonialism, and science and scholarship since 1850.
The exhibition highlights a university that reflects Germany’s eventful past from 1919—including the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, and the student protests of 1968.
The museum is located on the first floor of the University’s historic Main Building, which is visible from afar.
Now under a preservation order, the large lecture building on Edmund-Siemers-Allee was ceremoniously opened in 1911, even before the founding of the University. With its 7 lecture halls, it is the ideal place to get a first-hand taste of the University’s history.
Fifteen theme islands, a time line, and 2 art installations give an in-depth look at the topics.
Curators
Dr. Kirsten Weining and Dr. Antonia Humm
Exhibition patrons
We would like to thank the Claussen-Simon Foundation, the Hamburger Sparkasse, the Alfred Töpfer Foundation, the Universität Hamburg Foundation, the Matthias Tantau Foundation, and Marquard & Bahls AG for their generous support. We would especially like to thank the Claussen-Simon Foundation for sponsoring 2 exhibition topics: World Knowledge and New Horizons.
Some more history—accessible to all: a museum guide to the exhibition
Tablets with the museum guide are available to visitors free of charge. The guide can be used in 2 modes: You can access additional information and images at each station, or you can call up most of the texts or pictures from the exhibition. You can, of course, also use the museum guide with your own device. About the museum guide
Permanent exhibition impressions
Photo: UHH/Ohme
Visitors can enjoy 300m2 of photographs and display items from all of the faculties. There are also films, audio recording stations, artworks, and hands-on exhibits.
Photo: UHH/Ohme
From Helmut Schmidt to Caren Miosga: Universität Hamburg alumni include many renowned figures.
Photo: UHH/Ohme
Researching the world’s many continents and countries is only one of the many tasks of a University. Here you can see an historical typewriter from Japanese Studies.
Photo: UHH/Ohme
Individual displays such as this one dedicated to theater highlight special facets of the University. In the background, you can see the time line room with a floor map of University buildings.
Photo: UHH/Ohme
From student leaflets and physical instruments to preserved and prepared animals: The exhibition illuminates the many facets of 100 years of campus life, research, and teaching.
Photo: UHH/SaintPere
Putting together the first exhibition in the University Museum
Special exhibition archive
Photo: UHH/Röttger
Orte der (Un-)Sichtbarkeit accompanying exhibition
There are few places in Hamburg that commemorate those who fled the GDR, but there are people who remember. As part of the research project and exhibition Orte der (Un-)sichtbarkeit, contemporary witnesses describe their own experiences. Their personal places of memory become tangible on audio tours through Hamburg.
Four audio and 2 video installations in the accompanying exhibition at the University Museum gave some insight into the findings of the Orte der (Un-)sichtbarkeit accompanying exhibition.
Photo: UHH/Röttger
Orte der (Un-)Sichtbarkeit accompanying exhibition
The research in this exhibition was based on conversations with 70 contemporary witnesses. The project resulted in 5 audio tours through Hamburg. The accompanying exhibition at the University Museum provided vivid information about the research process and findings and gave viewers an opportunity to delve deeper into a topic at a given site.
Directions
Main Building of Universität Hamburg
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, First Floor
Access is available for wheelchair users and baby strollers.
By public transport:
The University Museum is located in the Main Building of Universität Hamburg and is easily reached using public transport. Because of the lack of parking, we strongly recommend that you come by train or bus.
- S-Bahn (train): The S2 and S5 trains take three minutes to get from the Main Station (Hauptbahnhof) to Dammtor train station, where the Main Building is located.
- U-Bahn (underground): Take the U1 to Stephansplatz. Cross the bridge and go through Dammtor train station to reach Edmund-Siemers-Allee.
- Bus: Lines 4, 5, and 19 stop at the University (bus stop “Bf. Dammtor”).
