The current director of the Bensheim Museum will take over the management of the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt on January 1, 2027
The Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt will have a new director: Dr. Jan Christoph Breitwieser will take over the museum's leadership on January 1, 2027. The archaeologist, born in 1976, has headed the Bensheim Museum since 2016. Hesse's Minister of Science and Art, Timon Gremmels, introduced the future museum director in Darmstadt on Monday, October 12, 2026.
Breitwieser succeeds Dr. Martin Faass, who took over the management of Hessen Kassel Heritage in March 2026. In the interim, Deputy Director and Commercial Director Julia Hillebrand led the state museum on a provisional basis.
Experience in museum management and exhibition work
With Breitwieser, a museum professional with both academic and organizational experience takes over the management. During his ten years in Bensheim, he developed, among other things, a new permanent archaeological exhibition and organized art exhibitions with nationally renowned artists.
These included exhibitions with Neo Rauch, Rosa Loy, Rose Wylie, Emil Nolde, Mercedes Helnwein, and Andrej Dúbravský. Breitwieser also initiated a museum podcast and was active in the Hessian Museums Association and the Hessian Monuments Council.
Minister of Art and Culture Timon Gremmels, during the presentation, pointed out the diverse requirements associated with managing the state museum. In addition to academic expertise, strategic thinking, personnel management, and financial responsibility are essential.
“With Dr. Breitwieser, we have found the right candidate,” explained Gremmels. The new director successfully completed the multi-stage selection process.
Digitization and mediation as important tasks
Key priorities for the coming years include the further development of educational and outreach programs, digitization, and provenance research. The latter deals with the origin and ownership history of collection objects.
The consequences of climate change and crisis preparedness will also play an important role in museum work in the future.
Breitwieser would particularly like to further develop the diversity of the collections and specialist areas of the State Museum.
"The combination of very different collections and disciplines is the great strength of this museum," said the future director. Together with the staff, he intends to work on further developing the state museum as an open and vibrant institution.
archaeologist with a scientific background
Jan Christoph Breitwieser was born in 1976 and studied prehistory and early history as well as archaeology and cultural history of the Near East at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.
His doctoral thesis dealt with the Hallstatt-era burial grounds of Frankfurt-Harheim. He received the Eduard Anthes Prize for this scholarly work.
His professional experience included a position at the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz. He also participated in archaeological research and excavation projects both in Germany and abroad.
Since 2026, Breitwieser has also been a visiting lecturer at Goethe University Frankfurt, where he teaches museology and exhibition practice.
Thanks to the previous interim management
During the presentation, Minister Gremmels also thanked the staff of the Hessian State Museum for their work during the transition period. He particularly commended Julia Hillebrand, who had taken over the interim management after Martin Faass's departure.
With Breitwieser's appointment at the beginning of 2027, the State Museum will once again have a regular director.
(DARMSTADT – RED/HLMD)
Featured image: Dr. Jan Christoph Breitwieser, Photo: Sascha Engel / Hessian State Museum Darmstadt
