The Landesmuseum Württemberg (Württemberg State Museum) is the main historical museum of the Württemberg part of the German state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. It emerged from the 16th-century “Kunstkammer” ( Cabinet of art and curiosities) of the dukes, later kings, of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

who resided in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. As a museum it was founded in 1862 by King

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

Collections in Stuttgart and Waldenbuch

The museum's main location is the Old Castle in Stuttgart. The nearby granary and the cellar of the New Castle also contain parts of the collections as well as

Waldenbuch Waldenbuch ( Swabian: ''Waldebuech'') is a town in the district of Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the home of the popular Ritter Sport brand of chocolate. Geography Geographical location Waldenbuch is situated at an altitude ...

Castle outside of Stuttgart. The collections are grouped into eight divisions: * Schausammlung ''LegendäreMeisterWerke'' (Legendary Masterpieces) ** archeology: Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, antiquity, Romans in Württemberg, early Middle Ages ** history of art and cultural history: Württemberg crown jewels, medieval art, modern glass painting * Schausammlung ''Wahre Schätze'' (Real Treasures) ** Antikensammlung - Museum of Ancient Art ** Kunstkammer - Cabinet of Art and Curiosities ** Kelten - Early Celtic Treasures * Glass collection of Ernesto Wolf ** antique glass ** modern era glass * Clocks and scientific instruments * Kindermuseum ''Junges Schloss'' - Museum for Children * Musical instruments (located in the ''Fruchtkasten'' (granary)) * Roman lapidarium (located in the cellar of Neues Schloss (New Castle)) * Folklore (located at the Museum of Everyday Culture in

Castle outside of Stuttgart): labor, belief and piety, graphic design, clothing, merchandise, culture of living. Apart from these collections the museum regularly features special exhibitions. The museum presents a whole range of archeological treasures and a notable collection of medieval art. It also includes the inventories of the former army and manufacturing museums. Some of the most valuable possessions of the museum were already acquired by the dukes for their art chamber: two of only four preserved

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

feather shields from before 1521 and the oldest preserved card game, about 1430, richly decorated and expensive already at the time of production. Exhibits of local origin include a celestial globe of 1493 by

Johannes Stöffler Johannes Stöffler (also ''Stöfler, Stoffler, Stoeffler''; 10 December 1452 – 16 February 1531) was a German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, priest, maker of astronomical instruments and professor at the University of Tübingen. Life J ...

, an 11-digit mechanical calculator of 1774 by

Philipp Matthäus Hahn Philipp Matthäus Hahn (25 November 1739 in Scharnhausen (today part of Ostfildern), Duchy of Württemberg – 2 May 1790 in Echterdingen (today part of Leinfelden-Echterdingen)) was a German pastor, astronomer and inventor. In about 1763 he ...

(the first to build functional calculators to

Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathem ...

' design for all four arithmetic operations), and, probably the museum's most symbolic exhibit despite being similar to other ones: the royal Württemberg crown of 1797.

Further Collections

The museum today has a further seven branches throughout Württemberg referring to special topics: * Schlossmuseum

Aulendorf Aulendorf () is a town in the district of Ravensburg, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated southwest of Biberach an der Riß, and north of Ravensburg. Aulendorf exists of the town itself along with the incorporated villages Tannha ...

(Aulendorf Castle museum): old toys and art of the

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

period * Schloss Urach (Urach Castle): sleighs of state, 25 specimens, world's biggest collection of this kind * Museum für Kutschen, Chaisen, Karren (museum for carriages, chaises, carts), Hellenstein Castle, Heidenheim *

German Playing Card Museum The German Playing Card Museum (german: Deutsches Spielkartenmuseum) in Leinfelden-Echterdingen is a branch of the Württemberg State Museum and houses one of the largest public playing cards collections in Europe. It is open to all ludologists ...

(''Deutsches Spielkartenmuseum''),

Leinfelden-Echterdingen Leinfelden-Echterdingen (Swabian: ''Laefälda-Ächdordeng'') is a town in the district of Esslingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 10 km south of Stuttgart, near the Stuttgart Airport and directly adjacent to t ...

: 15,000 card decks and 500,000 cards from seven centuries. The biggest public collection of playing cards in Europe * Fashion museum,

Ludwigsburg Palace Ludwigsburg Palace, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is the largest palatial estate in the country. T ...

* Ceramics museum and Ludwigsburg porcelain, Ludwigsburg Palace * Dominican museum,

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...

: archeological collection on arae flaviae (Rottweil), oldest town (AD 73)in Baden-Württemberg; medieval religious art collection; contemporary art collection of the Rottweil area Several other former branches now belong to the separate Baden-Württemberg State Archeological Museum (Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg), which has been founded in 1990 due to the ever increasing findings of archeological heritage in the state.

Selected exhibits of Landesmuseum Württemberg

External links

Official web site (Select Language menu at top)Museum of Everyday Culture
(German)
Playing Card Museum
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Landesmuseum Wurttemberg Museums in Stuttgart History museums in Germany 1862 establishments in Germany Museums established in 1862 19th-century establishments in Württemberg National museums of Germany