It opened in 1906, following the death of traveller Wilhelm Joest, who left his collection of over 3500 objects to his sister. To commemorate her brother and husband, who died three years later, she built the museum. Nowadays, it has around 65000 objects from Oceania, Africa, Asia and America, as well as 100000 historical photographs. The building was badly damaged during the Second World War and reopened in 1967, but following the city’s floods in 1993 and 1995, a new building was required, which opened in 2010.