International Research and Information Center on Jazz

The Jazzinstitut Darmstadt is a cultural institution of the City of Sciences Darmstadt. The Jazzinstitut Darmstadt houses Europe's largest public jazz archive. In the Institut's collection you will find books, periodicals, recordings, photos ... and much more information about the history and current developments of jazz all over the world. Founded in September 1990, the Jazzinstitut is housed in a baroque hunting chalet called the Bessunger Kavaliershaus (built between 1709 and 1725) since 1997. The historical vaulted cellar underneath the Jazzinstitut has become a performance space for intimate concerts, among them the concert series "JazzTalk".

The institute bridges scholarly and practical demands, regional and multi-cultural activities, as well as transnational scholarly discourses in order to support the music and the many people who keep it alive. It has also earned a reputation in the jazz world for its reliable services answering inquiries of any kind.

For visits no preregistrations are required any longer. We kindly ask our guests to register when attending, and follow the usual distance and hygiene rules. For more information see our tips for using the Jazzinstitut's filed under "Service" Hinweise zur Nutzung des Archivs im Jazzinstitut.


The Jazzinstitut Darmstadt is a cultural institution of the City of Sciences Darmstadt. Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt.