House of History Baden-Württemberg

About

The House of History Baden-Württemberg is a museum funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart. It is located along the "Stuttgart Cultural Mile" on Konrad-Adenauer-Straße between the Staatsgalerie and the Musikhochschule. The House of History Baden-Württemberg was founded on 1 October 1987. Beginning in 1992 a working group of state employees organized exhibitions about the state's history, which were displayed in decentralised locations. At the same time a project group which included the state historian Otto Borst, long-time museum director Thomas Schnabel, and exhibitions director Paula Lutrum-Lenger began to develop the museum's permanent exhibition. The building for the museum was an idea initiated by Erwin Teufel during his term as minister president and is one of the projects carried out by the Stirling-Wilford architectural group in Stuttgart. Final planning for the building was completed in 2002 by the architects Michael Wilford und Manuel Schupp. On 13 December 2002 the House of History Baden-Württemberg opened its permanent exhibition in the space of 2,000 m2 (22,000 sq ft) in its new quarters.

The House of History has had three directors since 1989. Since 2024 the museum director is Cornelia Hecht-Zeiler. The museum's scientific advisory council consists of 13 members from different backgrounds.

The permanent exhibition is organised into three sections. In the entry area 26 objects are on display which are considered typical of Baden-Württemberg, with one object for each letter of the alphabet. In the second section, visitors transverse 200 years of the state's history in chronological order. On display are objects which tell the stories of the formerly separate states of Baden and Württemberg.

In these rooms there are no explanatory texts which would give visitors an interpretation of history or put events into a certain context. The chronological path begins with the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, which paved the way for the secularization of ecclesiastical states and the abolishing of imperial cities, and continues to the present era, with a display of objects which are considered relevant for life today.

The displays highlight the following periods of history:

- 1848–1866: The revolution and its aftermath

- 1866–1914: Integration into the German nation state

- 1914–1945: Two world wars and the interwar years

- 1945–1972: Developments leading to the mergers of the separate states

- 1972–2002: Parliamentary democracy in the age of media

- A multimedia display aimed at evoking a response to the question as to what present-day Baden-Württemberg means to the individual visitor. In the third part of the exhibition, a theme park presents current topics in an historical context: nature and the environment in connection with, for example, the Black Forest, economy, urbanization, religion, migration, family, marriage and relationships, science and research, and also the relationship to the neighboring country of France.

The permanent exhibition was conceptualized and developed by the international project team Atelier Brückner, headed by the architect Uwe R. Brückner.

The House of History offers an educational programme aimed primary at school classes and young people as well as individuals seeking to learn the German language and culture. Guided tours for various epochs and themes as well as workshops strive to develop historical literacy.

The House of History offers an educational programme aimed primary at school classes and young people as well as individuals seeking to learn the German language and culture. Guided tours for various epochs and themes as well as workshops strive to develop historical literacy.

The House of History maintains extensive holdings of historical items, including a large photo archive which includes the following special collections:

- Archive of the Tübingen publishing company Gebrüder Metz, which includes approx 270,000 glassplate - negatives.

- Bequest of Robert Holder (1908–1987), photographer and publisher in Bad Urach

- Bequest of Leif Geiges (1915–1990), photographer and reporter in Freiburg im Breisgau

- Bequest of Hannes Kilian (1909–1999), photographer in Stuttgart

- Bequest of Rupert Leser (1933–2017), photographer in Bad Waldsee These collections are being successively inventoried and digitalized.