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We've compiled the best of the best in Karlsruhe - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Housed in the Schloss Karlsruhe, this museum has a large number of Greek and Roman antiquities and trophies that Ludwig the Turk brought back from campaigns in Turkey in the 17th century. Most of the other exhibits are devoted to local history.
This lovely museum shows rotating exhibitions geared toward young visitors, such as artworks from young artists, along with interactive exhibits where visitors can create their own projects. Junge Kunsthalle is also showing a selection of artworks from its sister museum, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, until its expected reopening in 2028.
The little town of Maulbronn, 45 km (28 miles) due east of Karlsruhe, is home to the best-preserved medieval monastery north of the Alps; its entire complex of 30 buildings is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. The name Maulbronn (Mule Fountain) derives from a legend. Monks seeking a suitably watered site for their monastery considered it a sign from God when one of their mules discovered and drank at a spring. The Kloster is also known for inventing the Maultasche, a kind of large ravioli. The monks thought that by coloring the meat filling green by adding parsley and wrapping it inside a pasta pocket, they could hide it from God on fasting days. Today the Maultasche is the cornerstone of Swabian cuisine. An audio guide in English is available.
The town quite literally grew up around the former Schloss of the Margrave Karl Wilhelm, which was begun in 1715 and was in use for more than 200 years. Thirty-two avenues radiate from the palace, 23 leading into the extensive grounds, and the remaining nine forming the grid of the Old Town. Today, the palace is home to the Badisches Landmuseum.
In a former munitions factory, the vast Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, or simply ZKM, houses a top-notch collection of media art, in all genres from painting to video and audio—about 9,000 pieces in all—starting from the end of the 20th century, along with regularly changing exhibitions, which include highlights from the Staatliche Kunsthalle through it's expected reopening in 2028. It's an all-day adventure where you can watch movies, listen to music, try out video games, flirt with a virtual partner, or sit on a real bicycle and pedal through a virtual New York City. Since the space is so large, exhibitions are divided into sections—atrium 1 and 2, and atrium 8 and 9—with separate ticket prices for each section, or one combined ticket to see everything.
