This is one of Germany's oldest museums. The foundations of the collection had been laid in the 17th c. by the local Elector, Johann Wilhelm II and his spouse Anna Maria Louisa de Medici. In the next few centuries the museum location has changed several times. Its current abode is a four-building complex, Ehrenhof, built in 1926 after an architect Wilhelm Krays's design.
The museum is a host to collection of art from antiquity to nowadays, divided into five themed sections: painting, sculpture, graphic and decorative arts, and artistic glass. The latter is the largest of its kind in Europe. 2005 has seen the museum's restoration when displays have been modernised and largely become interactive.