Günter Grass made literary history with his novel "The Tin Drum". He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his complete works. The Günter Grass House has been presenting the life and work of this versatile artist since 2002. Until his death in 2015, the writer, graphic artist and sculptor was in and out of the historic building in Lübeck's Old Town, where he had his office for many years. Today, authentic experience meets interactive media in a permanent exhibition redesigned in 2022.
In a lovingly furnished grocery store, visitors can explore the world of the author's most famous character. Between eels, potatoes and sherbet powder, the story of the little tin drummer Oskar Matzerath comes to life as he closely observes the social changes during the National Socialist era and comments on them with loud drumming and bright cries.
Afterwards, the open archive and interactive media stations invite visitors to delve deeper into the extensive work and exciting life of Günter Grass. Original prints show how attentively he observed his surroundings and how he tried to capture and depict complex ideas in everyday things with his brush and pencil. A selection of his sculptures can be seen in an idyllic garden that connects the museum with the adjacent Willy Brandt House.
There is also plenty for children to experience in the museum. In the "Tulla" children's ship station, young guests can read in peace and discover lots of things. Then it's off across the Günter Grass House with the story "All aboard?", developed especially for the house by children's book author Nadia Budde: Captain Olek Schnarock has lost his crew. Whoever manages to get everyone back on board, from the ship's cook to the helmsman, can finally romp and climb to their heart's content on a wooden ship.
In a highly acclaimed series, the museum also presents other artists who, like Günter Grass, have worked in more than one discipline. In the past, special exhibitions have been held on word and image artists Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Hermann Hesse, Gottfried Keller, Arno Schmidt, Ernst Barlach, Janosch, Robert Gernhardt, John Lennon, Markus Lüpertz, Winston Churchill, Joachim Ringelnatz, Jonathan Meese and Cornelia Funke. Most recently, photographs by Bryan Adams were on display.
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Special exhibition Else Lasker-Schüler: artist, poet, world builder
Else Lasker-Schüler (1869-1945) is one of the most fascinating personalities of classical modernism - with modernity, rhythm and mysticism, she enchants as a living work of art. The Günter Grass House is presenting an exhibition that explores the art, life and topicality of the lyrical bohemian. With over 80 drawings, letters and publications brought together from private and public collections, the show invites visitors to rediscover the interplay of language and image in Lasker-Schüler's artistic legacy.
Else Lasker-Schüler © Else Lasker-Schüler-Gesellschaft
From 1900 onwards, Lasker-Schüler developed her unmistakable drawing style: clear lines, colorful chalks, sometimes golden accents made of candy wrappers. Middle Eastern motifs, symbolic mysticism and intercultural coexistence are the content of her modern paintings. Clear drawings, ambiguous language: Lasker-Schüler polarized with her innovative linguistic style. In addition to her internationally acclaimed poetry, the exhibition also presents dramatic and prose texts. In Berlin cafés, Lasker-Schüler staged herself as "Jussuf, Prince of Thebes" between reality and artistic fiction. Using words, images and performance, she created a poetic counter-world. Six exhibits by up-and-coming artists transfer this into the 21st century.
In September, some of the letters, postcards and drawings will be exchanged so that as many exhibits as possible can be shown.
June 25 to November 9, 2025
