Historical Museum of the Palatinate

Museum of the Palatinate - Entrance at the Cathedral Square

The Historical Museum of the Palatinate (German: Historisches Museum der Pfalz) is a museum in the city of Speyer in the Palatinate region of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is situated across the square from the Speyer Cathedral. The museum's focus is on the History of the Palatinate; it has a collection of about 1 million artifacts, the oldest being an approximately 190,000-year-old hand axe. The museum is among the most important in Germany, and is known for its special exhibitions. With over 200,000 visitors per year it is one of the major attractions of Speyer.[1]

The museum was established in 1869 and the collections of the Historical Society of the Palatinate, the former Rhine District, and the City of Speyer were combined. The building at the present site was built in 1910 by architect Gabriel von Seidl; a modern annex was added in 1990. The museum is a trust borne by the City of Speyer, the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer, the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Historical Society of the Palatinate, and the Bezirksverband Palz (County Association).

Exhibitions

Southeastern side of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate with modern annex

The Museum offers two kinds of exhibitions: permanent and special ones. While the permanent exhibitions focus on the history of the Palatinate, the special ones can have general historical topics.[2]

Special exhibitions

Over 1,000 pieces of silver, bronze, brass and iron (weapons, tools, coins, tableware, kitchenware etc., weighing more than 700 kg, sunk in the waters of the Rhine 1,700 years ago, the largest Roman-era trove of metals found in Europe, dug up in a gravel quarry near Neupotz, 30 km south of Speyer.

Permanent exhibitions

Prehistoric Golden Hat found near Schifferstadt

The five permanent exhibitions covering 8,000 m² are: Prehistory, Roman Era, Cathedral Treasure, Modern Era and the Wine Museum.

The Young Museum

The "Forum", (covered courtyard inside the museum)

The first museum of its kind, it playfully gets children in touch with history. It offers workshops during school holidays and programmes for school classes.

The Forum

The 650 m²-area of covered courtyard offers opportunities for communication, concerts, workshops, theatre, discussions etc.

References

  1. Rhein-Zeitung_2011-08-02
  2. http://www.museum.speyer.de/
  3. "The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid". Deutsches Weininstitut. Retrieved 2 June 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Historisches Museum der Pfalz.

Coordinates: 49°18′56″N 8°26′29″E / 49.3155°N 8.4415°E / 49.3155; 8.4415

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