The Landesmuseum Württemberg (Württemberg State Museum) is the main historical museum of the Württemberg part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

. It emerged from the 16th century “Kunstkammer” (art chamber) of the dukes, later kings, of Württemberg

Württemberg

Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....

 who resided in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

. As a museum it was founded in 1869 by King William I

William I of Württemberg

William I was the second King of Württemberg from October 30, 1816 until his death.He was born in Lüben, the son of King Frederick I of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel .-First marriage:...

.

The museum's main location is the Old Castle

Old Castle (Stuttgart)

The Old Castle is located in the centre of Stuttgart, the capital of the German State of Baden-Württemberg. It dates back to the 10th century....

 in Stuttgart. The nearby granary and the cellar of the New Castle

New Castle (Stuttgart)

The New Palace is a building which stands on the south edge of Schlossplatz, the central square in Stuttgart, Germany. The castle is built in late Baroque style....

 also contain parts of the collections as well as Waldenbuch

Waldenbuch

Waldenbuch is a town in the district of Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.It is the home of the popular Ritter Sport brand of chocolate.-Geographical location:...

 Castle outside of Stuttgart. The collections are grouped into three divisions:

• archeology: paleolithic, neolithic, bronze age, iron age, antiquity, Romans in Württemberg, early middle ages, antique glass, and the Roman lapidarium (located in the New Castle)
• history of art and cultural history: modern era glass, Württemberg crown jewels
  Crown Jewels of Württemberg
  The Crown Jewels of Württemberg are a historical jewel collection belonging to the Kings and Queens of Württemberg....
  
  , medieval art, art chamber of the Württemberg rulers, modern glass painting, musical instruments (located in the granary), clocks and scientific instruments
• folklore (located at the Museum of Popular Culture in Waldenbuch Castle): labor, belief and piety, graphic design, clothing, merchandise, culture of living.

Apart from these collections the museum regularly features special exhibitions.

The museum presents a whole range of archeological treasures and a notable collection of medieval art. It also includes the inventories of the former army and manufacturing museums. Some of the most valuable possessions of the museum were already acquired by the dukes for their art chamber: two of only four preserved aztec

Aztec

The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

 feather shields from before 1521 and the oldest preserved card game, about 1430, richly decorated and expensive already at the time of production. Exhibits of local origin include a celestial globe of 1493 by Johannes Stöffler

Johannes Stöffler

Johannes Stöffler was a German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, priest, maker of astronomical instruments and professor at the University of Tübingen.-Life:...

, a 11-digit mechanical calculator of 1774 by Philipp Matthäus Hahn, first to build functional calculators to Gottfried Leibniz

Gottfried Leibniz

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....

' design for all four arithmetic operations, and, less unique, but probably the museum's most symbolic exhibit: the royal Württemberg crown of 1797.
The museum today has a further seven branches throughout Württemberg referring to special topics:

• Schlossmuseum Aulendorf
  Aulendorf
  Aulendorf is a town in the district of Ravensburg, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 20 km southwest of Biberach an der Riß, and 19 km north of Ravensburg....
  
   (Aulendorf Castle museum): old toys and art of the classicism
  Classicism
  Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
  
   period
• Schloss Urach (Urach Castle): sleighs of state, 25 specimens, world's biggest collection of this kind
• Museum für Kutschen, Chaisen, Karren (museum for carriages, chaises, carts), Hellenstein Castle
  Schloss Hellenstein
  Hellenstein Castle is located above the city of Heidenheim an der Brenz in eastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was once the home of the Lords of Hellenstein....
  
  , Heidenheim
• Deutsches Spielkartenmuseum (German Playing Card Museum), Leinfelden-Echterdingen
  Leinfelden-Echterdingen
  Leinfelden-Echterdingen is a town in the district of Esslingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approx. 10 km south of Stuttgart, near the Stuttgart Airport...
  
  : 15000 card decks and 500000 cards from seven centuries, biggest public collection of playing cards in Europe
• Fashion museum, Ludwigsburg Palace
  Ludwigsburg Palace
  Ludwigsburg Palace is a historical building in the city of Ludwigsburg , Germany. It is one of the country's largest Baroque palaces and features an enormous garden in that style....
  
  
• Ceramics museum, Ludwigsburg Palace
  Ludwigsburg Palace
  Ludwigsburg Palace is a historical building in the city of Ludwigsburg , Germany. It is one of the country's largest Baroque palaces and features an enormous garden in that style....
  
  
• Dominican
  Dominican Order
  The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
  
   museum, Rottweil
  Rottweil
  Rottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants...
  
  : archeological collection on arae flaviae (Rottweil), oldest town (AD 73)in Baden-Württemberg; medieval religious art collection; contemporary art collection of the Rottweil area

Several other former branches now belong to the separate Baden-Württemberg State Archeological Museum (Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg), which has been founded in 1990 due to the ever increasing findings of archeological heritage in the state.

External links

• Official web site
• Playing Card Museum (German)