The Württemberg State Museum offers its visitors a stimulating presentation of the history of our state from the Stone Age to the present time. The museum was established in 1862 by King William I as a “state collection of national antiquities”. In the 1960s, the Museum of Decorative Arts was merged into the State Museum, which has been housed in Stuttgart's “Altes Schloss” (Old Castle) since 1969.
In addition to our main location in the Old Castle, the museum also includes the New Castle, which houses the Roman lapidarium, and the "Stiftsfruchtkasten", a former granary and wine depot, as a home for the musical instrument collection. The Museum of Popular Culture is housed in Waldenbuch Castle, a half-hour drive from Stuttgart; here, visitors can gain an insight into the lives of every-day people from pre-industrial times until today.
The Württemberg State Museum also has a number of branch museums at other locations across the state.
