Museums in Hanover
The Sprengel Museum for modern art possesses the largest collection of the works of the famous artist Niki de Saint Phalle in the world.
The Kestner Museum Hanover – a museum of applied arts – was founded in 1889. Its name dates back to a citizen of Hanover, August Kestner (1777-1853), and his nephew Herrmann Kestner (1810-1890). The art lover and successful diplomat August Kestner commissioned his nephew to donate the extensive collection to the town of Hanover, so that the people of his home town could be aroused to appreciate “the sense for the beautiful…”.
Even the place where the Historical Museum stands is closely linked to the history of Hanover: from the hohen Ufer of the river Leine, which lent its name to the town, is where the town was founded in 1100. Stone relics of the late Middle Ages are the semicircular beguine tower and the rest of the town wall which is now rubble – both were integrated into the architecture of the museum very effectively. Opposite the entrance, the last Tudor town houses stand; very close to the “Holzmarkt” is the reconstructed Leibniz house. The permanent exhibition in the museum is the most worthwhile part. 750 years of Hanover – from the settlement, “to den hogen overen”, to the city of Hanover – come alive again in this museum. The development of the principality of Calenberg at about 1600 until the end of the kingdom of Hannover in 1866 is shown in the department of state history.
The Wilhelm Busch Museum in the Georgengarten, a part of the Herrenhäuser Gärten in Hanover, shows caricatures and critical illustrations.
