Übersee-Museum Bremen

What Übersee-Museum Bremen does

Übersee-Museum Bremen is a public-law cultural foundation (Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts) founded in 1896 and supervised by the Senator für Kultur of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. It operates a single-site museum at Bahnhofsplatz 13, Bremen, presenting approximately 1.2 million natural history and ethnographic objects from Asia, Africa, America, and the Pacific across seven permanent exhibitions (including the 2025-launched, German Design Award-winning 'Der blaue Kontinent – Inseln im Pazifik') and a programmed calendar of special exhibitions. Its core product portfolio combines on-site exhibition visits, educational programs for schools and families, event venue rental, and visitor services (Restaurant Café Übersee, museum shop, library), with an increasingly significant digital layer comprising the Blue Continent online platform, virtual experiences (Interactive Reef, digital rallies, online mediaguide), the Dina consortium natural history database, and a Linked Open Data / CC BY-SA 4.0 open data publishing program for digitized collections.

The institution generates revenue through five streams: ticket admissions (general, special exhibitions, workshops, annual pass), recurring memberships via the Friends of the Übersee-Museum association (€25–€2,000 tiers), event venue rental (DIORAMA, Forum, Foyer), object sponsorship programs (€50–€10,000), and on-site retail/restaurant. The majority of operating capital is drawn from public-sector funding (Bremen state, federal grants from the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, Kulturstiftung des Bundes project grants, and Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste provenance research funding). Customer segments span individual visitors and families, schools and educational groups, museum members and supporters, corporate and private event clients, and researchers/academics accessing digitized collections.

Operationally, the museum runs a 24-person core staff supplemented by named project leads across provenance research, natural sciences, digital strategy, Oceania Digital, and the NEO Collections program, and is led by Director Prof. Dr. Wiebke Ahrndt and Managing Director Gabriele Müller. It maintains a strategic partnership network including the National University of Samoa (Oceania Digital), Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg and Nationalmuseum Stockholm (NEO Collections), and a Digital Advisory Council, with an explicit institutional commitment to provenance research, repatriation, and decolonization as evidenced by completed returns of human remains to Hawai'i and New Zealand and ongoing New Ireland, Benin, and Ewe (Legba Dzoka) investigations.

Name

Übersee-Museum Bremen

Legal name

Übersee-Museum Bremen, Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts

Website

https://uebersee-museum.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1896

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Übersee-Museum Bremen is a public-law foundation museum founded in 1896 in Bremen, Germany, presenting 1.2 million natural history and ethnographic objects across permanent and special exhibitions, serving the general public, schools, researchers, and corporate event clients through admissions, memberships, and venue rental.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (71211)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

Keywords

• Ethnographic museum
• Natural history collections
• Permanent exhibitions
• Cultural education programs
• Provenance research

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: The museum generates revenue through ticket sales for general museum admission to permanent and special exhibitions. Tickets are available through online booking systems (Ticketfritz) and at the museum box office.
2. Membership and Friends Programs: Annual membership fees from the Friends of the Übersee-Museum e.V. supporting organization, including single, family, and corporate memberships ranging from €25 to €2,000 annually.
3. Sponsorship and Donations: Sponsorship programs for individual museum objects and exhibits, with sponsorship amounts ranging from €50 to €10,000, as well as general donation programs for restoration and maintenance of collections.
4. Event Venue Rental: Rental of museum spaces including DIORAMA, Forum, foyer, and exhibition areas for conferences, celebrations, corporate events, lectures, and private functions. Includes supporting programs such as guided tours and catering.
5. Retail Operations: Museum shop and restaurant/café services offering merchandise, publications, and food and beverages to visitors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Übersee-Museum Bremen is a public law foundation museum presenting natural history specimens and ethnographic collections from Asia, Africa, America and the Pacific. It operates permanent exhibitions, rotating special exhibitions, online virtual experiences, educational programs, and event venue rentals. It also conducts provenance research, repatriation initiatives, and digital collection access programs.

Product overview

Übersee-Museum Bremen is a public law foundation museum presenting natural history and ethnographic collections from a global perspective. The museum operates a portfolio of permanent exhibitions (including 'Der blaue Kontinent', Asia, Africa, America, 'Erleben was die Welt bewegt', 'Spurensuche', and 'ÜBERMAXX' visible storage), rotating special exhibitions (such as 'Kult Katze!' and 'Tibati'), and digital online experiences (interactive reef, mediaguide, digital rallies). Visitor services include restaurant, shop, library, and annual membership. The museum also offers event room rental for conferences and celebrations. The museum maintains an online platform 'Der blaue Kontinent' for Pacific regional dialogue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Der blaue Kontinent – Inseln im Pazifik: Permanent exhibition about Pacific Island cultures, biodiversity, and colonial history, awarded German Design Award Winner 2026
• Tibati – Bremen und zurück
• Oceania Digital
• NEO Collections
• Digitalisierung Naturkundesammlung

Products and services

• Der blaue Kontinent – Inseln im Pazifik (Permanent Exhibition)
• Asien (Permanent Exhibition)
• Afrika (Permanent Exhibition)
• Amerika (Permanent Exhibition)
• Erleben, was die Welt bewegt (Permanent Exhibition)
• Spurensuche – Geschichte eines Museums (Permanent Exhibition)
• ÜBERMAXX Schaumagazin (Permanent Exhibition)
• Kult Katze! (Cult Cat!) Special Exhibition
• Tibati – Bremen und zurück (Cabinet Exhibition)
• Annual Pass (Jahreskarte)
• Friends of the Museum (Freundeskreis)
• Event Rooms Rental
• Der blaue Kontinent Online-Plattform
• Interactive Reef Virtual Experience
• Restaurant Café Übersee
• Museum Shop

Quantifiable outcome

• Digital residency program attracted international creative practitioners to explore collection accessibility in the 21st century
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National University of Samoa (NUS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Primary cooperation partner for the Oceania Digital project accompanying the new permanent exhibition 'Der blaue Kontinent'. Collaboration includes digital access development, citizen science projects (Vaisigano River monitoring), staff exchanges, and ongoing dialogue about Pacific collections. The partnership aims to explore new ways of collaborating, learning from one another, and providing digital access to the museum's Oceania collection.
• Dina ConsortiumcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021Joint development of the Dina database system for natural history collections management. The consortium brings together various parties involved with natural history collections to develop an openly usable, modular, and innovative database platform. The museum participates in developing standards for database-based inventory of natural history collections.
• Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe HamburgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2019One of three partners in the NEO Collections project (alongside Nationalmuseum Stockholm) aimed at finding new ways to work with museum collections – online and on-site. The four-year project funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes explores user-centred, explorative approaches to digital museum collections in the 21st century, including digital residencies and innovative collection exploration methods.
• Nationalmuseum StockholmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2019One of three partners in the NEO Collections project exploring digital approaches to museum collections. The collaboration focuses on digital curating, prototyping, innovation, and improving access to digital collections across all three institutions.
• Digital Advisory Council MembersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory council including Dr. Chantal Eschenfelder (Städel Museum Frankfurt), Dr. Franziska Mucha (Historisches Museum Frankfurt), Nils Pokel (Digital Identities network), Dr. Antje Schmidt (German Maritime Museum), and Björn Schneider (construktiv agency). Provides strategic guidance for digital transformation initiatives.
• Pacific Island Communities and ArtistscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetworks of artists, researchers, cultural practitioners, and communities in the Pacific region contributing to The Blue Continent platform and Oceania Digital project. Includes creative practitioners participating in digital residencies, workshops (Weaving A Narrative), and ongoing dialogue about collection interpretation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tropenmuseum Amsterdam: Major Dutch ethnographic museum within the National Museum of World Cultures covering world cultures, colonial history, and global topics, comparable in mission but with broader institutional scope.
• Deutsches Historisches Museum: Berlin's national history museum covering German and broader world history with permanent and special exhibitions, overlapping with the Übersee-Museum's history-and-culture remit but at a larger national scale.
• Naturhistorisches Museum Wien: Vienna's natural history museum with 30 million objects including significant ethnographic and natural history specimens, providing a comparable Austrian public institution with deep-sea expedition history similar to Übersee-Museum's Gauss Expedition link.

Direct peers

• Ethnologisches Museum Berlin: Part of the Berlin State Museums, one of Europe's largest ethnographic collections with significant provenance research efforts, providing a comparable federally funded peer with global non-European focus.
• MARKK Museum am Rothenbaum – Kulturen und Künste der Welt: Hamburg's ethnographic and world art museum with extensive global collections and active decolonization work, directly comparable in scope, geography, and German public-foundation structure.
• Senckenberg Nature Research Society: Frankfurt-based natural history research society and museum network with extensive specimen collections, deep-sea expedition archives, and digitization programs, directly aligned with the Übersee-Museum's natural history workflow.
• Linden Museum Stuttgart: Stuttgart's state museum of ethnography featuring global cultural collections with active provenance research and international partnerships, closely matching the Übersee-Museum's ethnographic-and-trade-heritage positioning.
• Museum Fünf Kontinente (Five Continents Museum): Munich's ethnographic museum presenting non-European cultures across regions, with similar mission, federal-state funding structure, and permanent regional exhibitions to the Übersee-Museum.
• Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum – Cultures of the World: Cologne-based ethnographic museum combining world cultures and regional trade history with a strong provenance research and decolonization profile, directly comparable to the Übersee-Museum's natural history and ethnography blend.

Regional players

• Museum Natur und Umwelt: Bremen-based natural history and environment museum with overlapping regional audience and educational programming, focused on local natural history rather than global ethnography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/UeberseeMuseumHB
• Facebookfacebook.com/ueberseemuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/ueberseemuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%C3%BCbersee-museum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Übersee-Museum Bremen