The museum is located on the site of the city weigh house at Aachen’s Hühnermarkt (Chicken Market). The house was built in 1662 – six years after the devastating town fire – and initially served as a pharmacy. In 1786, the architect Jakob Couven renovated it in rococo style. The Couven-Museum is typical of the Aachen town houses of its time.

Since 1958, a collection of historical furniture has been on show here. The individual rooms reflect upper-middle-class furnishing styles from rococo and early classicism to Napoleonic empire style and Biedermeier. Visitors can also view the Adler Pharmacy from the earliest years of the building. The museum also puts on regular temporary exhibitions on cultural and art history themes.