Museums - Museum für Völkerkunde, Hamburg

Founded in 1879 by an association of Hamburg businessmen and foundations, the Museum für Völkerdunde ranks among the largest ethnological museums in Europe. It originated from a small ethnographic collection held at the municipal library of Hamburg in the mid-nineteenth century, overseen by Adolph Oberdörfer and Ferdinand Worlée, at which point it consisted of some 645 artifacts. The museum's Art Nouveau building was erected between 1908 and 1912 under the leadership of Georg Thilenius, the institution's first director.
Today the museum preserves over 350,000 artifacts and almost 400,000 historical and ethnographic photographs. The collection comprises objects from Africa, Australia, Europe, Indonesia, the Americas, and the South Seas, selections of which are presented to the public in alternating exhibitions.
The museum will undergo partial renovations through 2009.