Deutsches Hygiene-Museum

The Deutsches Hygiene-Museum stands at Lingnerplatz 1 in Dresden's Seevorstadt district, in Saxony, Germany, and is one of the most unusual museums in the country. It was founded in 1912 by the Odol mouthwash manufacturer Karl August Lingner and moved into its current building, designed by Wilhelm Kreis, in 1930. Despite its name, the museum is not about hygiene alone but about the human body, health, life and society, and it combines science, art and cultural history. The permanent exhibition, Human Being, Life, Death, explores the senses, nutrition, sexuality, beauty and ageing through interactive displays and objects. The best-known exhibit is the Gläserne Frau, or Transparent Woman, a life-size figure with transparent skin showing the organs, first presented in 1930 and a symbol of the museum. Temporary exhibitions deal with topics such as medicine, ethics, social change and technology. There is also a children's museum area with hands-on activities, and a cafe and shop. Visitors should allow two to three hours. The museum suits families with children and is particularly popular on rainy afternoons, when it fills more quickly, while weekday mornings are quieter. The building itself is a landmark of monumental architecture of the early 1930s, and photographs of the facade are best taken from Lingnerplatz with the Grosser Garten behind. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays. It is a 15-minute walk from the Altmarkt, close to the tram stop named after the museum and to the Großer Garten, so it can be combined with the park or the zoo in a day outside the main historic centre. Reduced and family tickets are available.