The GRASSI Museum for Ethnology in Leipzig is the home to 200,000 objects, 100,000 photographic documents and archival materials, as well as more than 100,000 books. Thus, it stands as one of the oldest and most renowned ethnological museums in Germany. With its project REINVENTING GRASSI.SKD, the museum is gradually transforming into a network museum. Central to this transformation is a critical reflection on the museum’s history and collections within the framework of German and European colonialism. In collaboration with source communities, segments of local society, and international partners, the museum is rethinking object presentations, research, and educational programs.

The collection of the Veterinary Anatomical Institute includes anatomical and embryological specimens, as well as demonstration objects used in veterinary education. Students can also access them for self-study. In addition to specimens, the collection features models, plaster casts, and sculptures, providing insights into the anatomy of organ systems in domestic mammals, birds, reptiles, small mammals, and a selection of zoo and wild animals.

Leipzig hosts a considerable number of museums with a focus on research and teaching. Particularly important are the Grassi Museum for Ethnology and the German Museum of Books and Writing. Moreover, the university operates four important museums, and the city of Leipzig is operating the Leipzig Natural History Museum and the School Museum.

The Museum of Musical Instruments of Leipzig University is one of the oldest and most significant collections of historical musical instruments. Its predecessor collections, established by Paul de Wit in Leipzig and Wilhelm Heyer in Cologne, played a pivotal role around 1900 in the development of the study of musical instruments as a specialized discipline within musicology. Since then, the museum and its study collection have become an internationally recognized institution and a valued research partner for historical and systematic musicology, along with all its interdisciplinary connections. At the same time, the collection is presented to the public as a museum of Leipzig University, enriching the cultural life of the city through an extensive program of special exhibitions, tours, and concerts.

With over 2,600 public botanical collections worldwide, housing more than 300 million plant specimens, the Leipzig Herbarium stands as one of the most historically significant. It was founded in 1806 by Chr. F. Schwägrichen (1775–1853) and is the oldest university herbarium in Germany. The collection is primarily a research collection, with subcollections specifically designed for student education. As a service to the public, the herbarium offers species identification, provides cultivation recommendations for plants, and suggests measures to combat phytoparasitic fungi.

The university collections are used to document and preserve the physical objects of research. They support the teaching by providing a tactile context for historical or abstract concepts, and by communicating overarching concepts in hands-on narratives. They are open regularly for public audiences in guided tours and public events.

The Botanical Garden at Leipzig University is the oldest of its kind in Germany and is considered one of the oldest gardens in Europe, along with Pisa, Padua and Florence. In its more than 450-year history, it has been relocated four times within the city limits of Leipzig. Since 1877 it resides at its current location in Linnéstraße. Today, the Botanical Garden is a garden of diversity. It is not only used for teaching and research, but also as a space for fostering interaction and a meeting place for knowledge transfer between the university and society.

The German National Library is the central archive library for all media works in German from Germany and abroad. The building complex also houses the German Music Archive and the German Museum for Books and Writing. Hence, the German National Library is a library and archive, a museum, and a forum of public exchange. The German National Library is a place of freedom of information and expression, which aims to inspire and at the same time encourage critical thinking with a comprehensive program of events and hands-on activities.

The medical history collections at the Karl Sudhoff Institute go back to the fundamental Leipzig research work of Karl Sudhoff (1853 – 1938). Since then, the collection has been continuously expanded through purchases, donations, and bequests. Most of the objects date from the last decades of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. A small part even dates back to the 16th century. Selected objects and special exhibitions can now be seen in new premises on the campus of the University Medical Center.

The Forum of Contemporary History Leipzig is a venue for political and historical education, and one of four museums of the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Foundation. The permanent exhibition “Our History: Dictatorship and Democracy after 1945” takes visitors on a journey through history – from the years after the Second World War to life in former East Germany and today’s Federal Republic of Germany. Furthermore, the forum presents special exhibitions on topics of relevance to the German civil society, and it offers a thriving cultural program with film exhibitions, talks, round-table discussions, and conferences.

Numerous university professors set up collections to support their teaching, and in the 19th century a number of Leipzig businessmen (and their wives) established famous private collections. From these roots emerged a considerable number of important scientific museums and collections in Leipzig.

The collection is regarded as the largest and most important university collection of its kind in Germany. It features unique archaeological discoveries, primarily from Lower Nubian Aniba.

Wonder – Knowledge – Growth | INSPIRATA e.V. is a non-profit association dedicated to promoting mathematics and natural science education. The aim is to inspire children and young people, starting from preschool age, to develop a passion for STEM subjects — not with complicated formulas and symbols, but in a hands-on, and engaging way! The core of INSPIRATA is a constantly evolving exhibition with exhibits through which visitors can experience the natural sciences by conducting their own experiments. True to the motto “Wonder – Knowledge – Growth,” it offers the opportunity to engage in experiments and uncover the principles behind them.

Thanks to the work of generations of geoscientists at the Institute and donations from important collectors and patrons, the Geological-Palaeontological Collection at Leipzig University has grown into one of the largest and most important fossil and rock collections in the German university landscape. Today, the teaching and research repository contains around 85,000 items, spread across 1,780 collection drawers in 110 collection cabinets. The items in the collection bring the diverse geological past of Saxony and Central Germany to life. Since mid-May 2019, they can once again be admired in their historic rooms. Regular events and special exhibitions provide the general public with geoscientific and palaeontological knowledge about Saxony, Central Germany and the world.

The Antikenmuseum of Leipzig University was founded in 1840, making it one of the oldest and most significant collections of Greek and Roman antiquities at German universities. Alongside the sculpture collection of the State Art Collections Dresden, it is now Saxony’s only museum offering comprehensive information on Greek and Roman antiquity. The museum is also deeply integrated into university teaching and research through various collaborative efforts.

The School Museum — Workshop for School History Leipzig is an institution of the City of Leipzig, in collaboration with Leipzig University and HTWK Leipzig. Its unique collections and library holdings offer a comprehensive documentation of Leipzig’s history of education and schooling. The museum features lessons from the Imperial Era and the GDR school system, along with exhibitions, workshops, and project initiatives that explore the intersection of education and resistance, offering fresh perspectives on these themes.

In general, maps serve to impart knowledge, act as orientation aids in the terrain, are contemporary witnesses, and often also works of art. They document current and historical conditions of topographical and thematic content of any kind. The Geoscientific Map Collection of the Institute of Geography is a teaching collection comprising over 33,000 inventoried maps, atlases, travel and specialist literature, and explanatory notes. The majority of the objects (approx. 26,900) are recorded electronically, can be accessed internally in a database, or are also available online. The premises of the collection can be visited by appointment or during the opening hours of the collection.

With a tradition spanning over a hundred years, the Leipzig Natural History Museum is a key institution for intergenerational scientific education. Serving as an archive of biodiversity, it preserves the legacy of remarkable scientific history. It is a place of science where collections are made, preserved, and researched across the fields of flora, fauna, geology, and archaeology. This invaluable wealth of knowledge and genetic diversity must be safeguarded and maintained to offer future generations the opportunity to explore the world in all its richness. Currently, a diverse range of events, with activities for all ages, provides fascinating insights into the museum’s collections and scientific endeavors.

The collection of the first Zoological Museum was opened in 1837 by the first Chair of Zoology, Eduard Friedrich Poeppig. From 1907, the taxidermist Hermanus Hendrikus ter Meer from Leiden made a decisive contribution with the dermoplastic technique: this made it possible to prepare vertebrates in a proportionate and therefore lifelike manner. In the 1960s a large part of the collection was transferred to other museums, in particular the Leipzig Natural History Museum.

The Prehistoric and Protohistoric Collection was established shortly after setting up the chair in Leipzig in 1934 by the first professor, Kurt Tackenberg. It comprises earlier collections from local citizens and antiquarian societies in Leipzig, which were subsequently expanded through targeted acquisitions. Despite significant losses during World War II, the collection grew to over 10,000 artifacts. These original finds and replicas offer a comprehensive overview of all periods of prehistoric and protohistoric Central Europe, from the Paleolithic hand axe (1 million years ago) to the medieval stove tile (14th century). They continue to play a central role in the curricular activities on pre- and protohistory to this day. Visits are possible only by prior arrangement and during special events.