Antiquities Collection
The Institute's collection of original works of sculpture, ceramics and other genres of ancient arts and crafts dates back to the early history of the University of Göttingen and remains an essential resource for research and teaching at the Archaeological Institute today.
Ethnographic Collection
The Ethnographic Collection of the University of Göttingen is one of the most important teaching and research collections in the German-speaking world. Its beginnings date back to the time of the Enlightenment. The regions of America, Asia, Australia, Oceania and Africa are spread over two floors.
Photographic collection
Under the management of Friedrich Wilhlem Unger, who worked for the art collection from 1863 to 1876, and Rudolf Hermann Lotze (1817-1881), a number of photographs were acquired and accepted as donations. The aim was to use the then still new technology to build up a scientific teaching apparatus of images to supplement the existing collections of paintings, prints and drawings.
Collection of Paintings
Founded in 1770, the art collection of Göttingen University is the oldest of its kind in Germany. The Collection of Paintings dates back to the year
1795. Since then, it has become rich in works by masters dating from the 14th century on to the modern period and comprises a total of around 300 paintings.
Collection of Prints and Drawings
As early as 1736, Johann Friedrich Armand von Uffenbach (1687 – 1769), a wealthy patrician from Frankfurt, had already bequeathed a large part of his art collection to Göttingen University, which was officially founded the following year. His bequests included 10,000 prints as well as 1,000 drawings.
Collection of Sculptures
The Georgia Augusta's sculpture collection can be divided into three different areas. Firstly, it includes busts made of marble and plaster, which depict the important personalities from the university's history that are typical of a university collection.
Collection of Musical Instruments
With 2,164 objects (as of 06/2021), the collection of musical instruments at Göttingen University is one of the largest collections of its kind in Germany. Its holdings mainly comprise musical instruments from Europe, Africa (including ancient Egypt) and Asia.
Numismatic Collection
Consisting of more than 40,000 items, Göttingen University’s Münzkabinett, or Numismatic Collection, is Germany’s third largest academic collection of coins and medals.
The Heinz Kirchhoff Collection – Symbols of Femininity
Figurative representations of women as pregnant women, women in labour or in their role as mothers can be found again and again in the various epochs and cultures of the earth. Naturalistic, stylised, reduced to symbols, formed from clay, stone or wood: their functions and meanings are as different as the times and cultures themselves.
Teaching Collection for Pre- and Protohistory
The collection currently consists of around 8,500 Objects which provide a good overview of central European pre- and protohistory. It is being used primarily as visual and haptic aids for lectures and seminars and as study material.
Property of the von Schlözer family
The Schlözer donation consists of books, manuscripts, sheet music, works of art, furniture and everyday objects from the von Schlözer family.
Paul Arnold Grun seal collection
The "Paul Arnold Grun seal collection" consists of four well-organised cassettes in good conservation condition, each containing 15 to 17 shelves with recessed storage compartments for up to 30 seals.
Collection of Pre-Columbian Objects (bequest Raddatz)
In 2016, the University of Göttingen received a collection of around 300 pre-Columbian artefacts from the estate of the agronomist Erich Carl Raddatz (1924-2010). These are artefacts from the time before the 'discovery' of America by Christopher Columbus and were found on the territory of the present-day state of Colombia.
Collection of Historical Books for Children and Young Adults
Children's and youth literature is equally interesting for children and adults. Discover valuable and amazing things from the world of children's books with us.
University Archives
The university archive functions as a state archive for the university. Its task is to take over the archive material from all the university's facilities, to index it and to make it usable. This includes all administrative documents that are of lasting value for the fulfillment of public tasks and historical research.
Diplomatic apparatus (Apparatus diplomaticus)
The Apparatus Diplomaticus was founded in 1759 as a »Diplomatic Cabinet« and consists of more than 1,600 written documents dating from Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods. It is the largest apparatus diplomaticus that is still used for teaching in Germany.
Collection at the Department of Egyptology and Coptology
The collection at the Göttingen Department of Egyptology and Coptology consists of around 100 original artefacts and is used as a teaching collection. The objects are primarily amulets, scarabs, ushabtis and ceramics.
Cast Collection of Antique Sculptures
Göttingen University’s Institute of Archaeology is home to the oldest university collection of plaster casts in the world. Consisting of more than 2,000 original-sized reproductions of antique sculptures from over 150 museums, the collection is also amongst the largest of its kind in international comparison.
Map collection
Since its foundation, the SUB Göttingen has collected maps and atlases at great financial and personnel expense. In addition to individual purchases, the acquisition of generous donations and important bequests laid the foundation for one of the most important map collections in Europe.
Ancient History Film Archive: Tom Stern Collection
Partial estate of the film scholar, archaeologist and museum educator Tom Stern (1958-2016). The collection includes approximately 800 films, 1,500 books and magazines, and 100 other objects such as supplements and projectors.
