Helms Museum Hamburg

The Archaeological Museum Hamburg is Hamburg's museum for archaeology and the history of Hamburg. The museum in the south of Hamburg offers an exciting, interactive overview of 200,000 years of the region's history.

The Archaeological Museum Hamburg has been in existence for over 100 years. From the Historical Museum for the City of Harburg to the Archaeological State Museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the museum has developed into one of the most important archaeological museums in northern Germany. 

Archaeological experience

The Archaeological Museum Hamburg presents an archaeological world of experience that offers visitors of all ages a lively and fascinating insight into the pre- and early history of northern Germany. Across 1,300 square metres of exhibition space, visitors embark on an exciting journey through time and learn interactively, by touching and trying things out, where mankind came from and how it developed.

Six main themes at the Archaeological Museum Hamburg

Instead of presenting finds in glass cabinets in the usual chronological order, the Archaeological Museum Hamburg divides its exhibits into different thematic areas such as food, death, mobility, violence, innovations and materials. The reference to our time is established very creatively; food remains, for example, can sometimes be found housed in modern refrigerators. In addition to the six main themes, the upper floor of the museum houses a 200 square metre map of Hamburg's public transport system. Display cases with finds from the respective neighbourhoods are located at the stops.

ArchaeoLOGICUM - Artificial cave

The museum has a special focus with its educational programme, which is well-known beyond the region. In numerous courses, hands-on activities and special programmes, the museum provides children, young people and adults with interesting facts from the exciting world of archaeology. In the ‘ArchaeoLOGICUM’, a specially created artificial cave offers the opportunity to take part in events such as ‘Making fire the Stone Age way’ or ‘Cave painting’. The educational department shows young and old how to make arrowheads from flint, bake bread without an electric oven or make jewellery from various Stone Age materials.

The museum has display areas in two exhibition buildings:

In the main building at Museumsplatz 2, changing special exhibitions on all topics relating to archaeology of the old and new world are presented throughout the year.
The museum's permanent archaeological exhibition is located at Harburger Rathausplatz 5.