Collection of classical art that became the basis for the museum was collected in the 19th century by Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer. He was a professor of antique history and gave lectures in Christian Albrecht University in Kiel. The museum opened in 1843, and how its collection is considered one of the best in Northern Germany. A vast collection of original ancient Greek ceramic vessels with images of divine feasts and scenes from afterlife attracts interest. Here you can also find symbolic sculptures of Ancient Greece and Rome, for example Apollo Belvedere and Laocoon. They are presented in copies.