Deutsches Hygiene-Museum
Photo: Own work — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden offers exhibitions on human health, culture, and society, including the ‘Human Adventure’ and ‘World of Senses’ for children.
Planning your visit
The Deutsches Hygiene-Museum has a complicated history it addresses directly. Founded in 1912 by the mouthwash manufacturer Karl August Lingner to promote public health education, it became internationally famous for the Transparent Man — a see-through anatomical model unveiled in 1930 that toured the world. Under National Socialism the institution was turned to racial hygiene propaganda, and afterwards it served East German health education. The museum is candid about all of it.
Today it is best described as a museum of the human being rather than of medicine. The permanent exhibition, "Human Adventure", runs across seven rooms covering the body, eating and drinking, sexuality, memory, movement, beauty and death, mixing anatomy with cultural history and contemporary social questions. The Children's Museum, "World of Senses", is excellent and hands-on.
Temporary exhibitions are ambitious and often address contested social topics directly, which is why the museum has a reputation well beyond Dresden.
The building itself is a significant piece of 1930 modernism. Allow two to three hours. The main booking is an admission ticket. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Deutsches Hygiene-Museum?
Deutsches Hygiene-Museum is in Dresden, Germany. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Deutsches Hygiene-Museum?
Allow two to three hours. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.
