Hessisches Landesmuseum

In contrast to the nearby inner city, this historical building, inaugurated in 1913 for Kassel’s millennial jubilee, survived World War II almost undamaged. In the postwar period, the museum housed a famous collection of Flemish and Dutch Old Masters. After extensive renovations, it reopened in 2016 as a museum dedicated to the history of Hesse. The region’s development is richly presented through exhibits on the prehistory and early history of the area, the landgraves, and contemporary culture, among others.

On the first floor, Berlin-based artist Pınar Öğrenci shows a film and an installation of hand-sewn paper tissues produced by women who suffered from the armed conflict around Van, Turkey. The artist, who had to leave her homeland in 2015, deals with conditions of oppression and exclusion in her father’s village of Moks, in Van. In the heraldry room above, the collective FAFSWAG presents installations, screenings, and a digital sculpture. They also invite visitors to participate in a video game dedicated to the queer, non-white body and to the expressive and body-emphasizing dance movements of voguing.