»300 Years of Curiosity«

The exhibition tour begins around 1990 and tells the fascinating story of the rediscovery, rescue and reconstruction of the then almost forgotten collection. In the stairwell of the orphanage, large-format historical photographs impressively document the desolate state of the art and natural history chamber shortly before its restoration – a poignant testimony to cultural decline and, at the same time, the starting point for its rescue.

An exhibition trail with seven themed rooms then guides visitors through key aspects of the collection's history: from the unique classification system used for the objects, the historical collection furniture and presentation forms, to the scientific systematisation of natural history specimens, which was highly modern at the time. Visitors embark on a search for lost and mysterious objects, approach the India cabinet from a polyphonic, postcolonial perspective, follow 18th-century visitors on a journey through time, and take a critical look at the cabinet of curiosities landscape in the 21st century.