Kiel Museum Night

A Kiel Tradition Since 2000

Kiel Museum Night has been a firm fixture in the state capital's cultural calendar since 2000 — making it one of the oldest museum nights in Northern Germany. Organized by Kiel-Marketing e.V., it brings together around 30 museums, galleries, archives, and cultural institutions under one roof each year. Traditionally held on the last Friday in August — in 2026, this falls on Friday, August 28.

Around 30 Venues from A to Z

The range of participating venues extends — as Kiel-Marketing itself puts it — "from A for Alte Mu to Z for Zoological Museum." Among them are:

• Kunsthalle zu Kiel — one of Schleswig-Holstein's most important art museums
• Schifffahrtsmuseum Fischhalle — by the harbor, with historic boats
• GEOMAR Aquarium — marine life and research station
• Zoological Museum of the Christian-Albrechts-Universität
• Stadtmuseum Warleberger Hof
• Alte Mu — the artists' initiative in the former Muthesius University of Applied Sciences
• City and Maritime Archive
• Numerous galleries in the city center and in Gaarden
• Technical museums such as the Computer Museum

Each venue puts together a special program for the night: special guided tours, lectures, concerts, hands-on activities for children, live performances, or special openings of normally closed areas.

One Ticket, Free Travel on Public Transport

The Museum Night concept is consistently accessible: one ticket grants access to all participating venues, and public transport is included in the ticket. In addition to the regular bus and ferry services of KVG, additional buses and ferries are deployed for the night, connecting the locations on the west and east shores of the Kiel Fjord. So you can plan the night entirely car-free and without searching for parking — which is highly recommended given the high number of visitors in the city center.

Kiel — State Capital and Port City

With around 250,000 inhabitants, Kiel is the state capital of Schleswig-Holstein and is located at the end of the Kiel Fjord on the Baltic Sea. The city is home to the Christian-Albrechts-Universität (founded in 1665), the Federal Navy base, the Federal Plant Variety Office, and numerous research institutions. Culturally, Kiel is shaped by the interplay of the harbor, the university, and shipyard history — which is also reflected in the Museum Night program: maritime, artistic, scientific, and city history venues stand side by side.