The Museum of Natural History Ottoneum is a natural history museum located in Kassel, Germany. It was founded in 1603 by Landgrave Moritz of Hesse-Kassel and is the oldest museum in the world that is still in its original building. The museum features a large collection of fossils, minerals, and other natural history specimens, including exhibits on dinosaurs, meteorites, and the human body. One of the museum’s most famous exhibits is the “Riesenbärenklau,” or giant hogweed, which is a large and dangerous plant species native to Central Asia that has been introduced in Europe and North America. The Ottoneum also houses the planetarium of Kassel, which features shows on astronomy and space science. The building itself is a historic landmark and has undergone several renovations and additions over the years, including the addition of a modern glass facade in the 1990s.

The Museum of Natural History Ottoneum appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Kassel!

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