Beneath this listed glass-concrete facade lies a treasure trove of history. This is the Museum August Kestner. It is the oldest museum in Hanover. August Kestner himself was a Hanoverian envoy in Rome. He collected art. After his death, his nephew Hermann Kestner donated the collection to Hanover. The museum opened in 1889.
Inside the Museum August Kestner, you can find 6000 years of applied art. The museum has four collections. These include ancient Egyptian culture. You’ll also see applied art, design, coins and medals. It’s one of the largest coin collections in Northern Germany. The museum is located next to the New Town Hall in the city center.
The Museum August Kestner has a fascinating history tied to World War II. Like many cultural institutions, it acquired art that had been confiscated from Jewish people during the Nazi period.
Take Klara Berliner’s Rococo armoire. Klara was forced from her home. The city authorities purchased her armoire for the Museum August Kestner. She received 1500 Reichsmark. But the money went into a frozen account. She never accessed it. The armoire survived the war in the curator’s office. Klara died in a concentration camp.
Then there’s Max Rüdenberg. He was a Jewish businessman. He collected Chinese art. He stored his collection at the Museum August Kestner for safekeeping during air raids. When he and his wife were deported, the collection became property of the German Reich. The curator selected 49 items for the museum. The rest was sold.
After the war, the children of Max Rüdenberg demanded the return of their father’s art. Except for five objects, the Kestner Museum returned the East Asia collection.
The museum building itself was badly damaged during the war. But the collections had been stashed away in mine tunnels. Temporary exhibitions were held in makeshift spaces as early as 1947. The south library wing was never rebuilt. In 1961, a cube-shaped building with 5000 windows was added.
In recent years, the Museum August Kestner has addressed its past. An exhibition detailed Klara Berliner’s persecution. It showed the ongoing efforts to research the origins of cultural artifacts. The Museum August Kestner stands as a reminder. It connects art, history, and the stories of those who came before us.