The Historical Museum of the Palatinate (german: Historisches Museum der Pfalz) is a museum in the city of

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

in the Palatinate region of the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. It is situated across the square from the

Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...

. 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. 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 Gabriel von Seidl (9 December 1848 – 27 April 1913) was a German architect and a representative of the historicist style of architecture. Life and work Gabriel Seidl was born in Munich, Bavaria in 1848. He was the first son of the wealthy b ...

; a modern annex was added in 1990. The museum is a trust borne by the City of Speyer, the

Evangelical Church of the Palatinate Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (german: Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz (Protestantische Landeskirche)) is a United Protestant church in parts of the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, endorsing both Lutheran and Calvinist o ...

, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer, the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Historical Society of the Palatinate, and the ''Bezirksverband Palz'' (County Association).

Exhibitions

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.

Special exhibitions

*"Germany and the World Football Championships since 1954" (2004), on occasion of the 50th anniversary of the World Football Championship 1954 *"Looted and Sunk in the Rhine – The Barbarian’s Treasure of Neupotz" (2006) 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. *"Attila and the Huns" (2007) * "The Samurai" (2008) * "The Vikings" (2009) * "Witches – Myth and Reality" (2010) * "Amazons – mysterious Female Warriors" (2010/2011) * "The Salian Dynasty – Changing Power" (2011) * "Discovering Egypt’s Treasurs. Masterworks from the Egyptian Museum in Turin" (2012)

Permanent exhibitions

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

cathedral treasure A church treasure is the collection of historical art treasures belonging to a church, usually a monastery (monastery treasure), abbey, cathedral. Such "treasure" is usually held and displayed in the church's treasury or in a diocesan museum. Hist ...

contains the most important testimonies of the Salian Dynasty. One of them is the imperial crown of

Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

from 1039. * The Emperor's last clothes – This exhibition shows the restoration and conservation of remnants of clothing found in the imperial and royal graves in the Speyer Cathedral. * Prehistory – The exhibits show the cultural, social and economical development in the Palatinate beginning from the earliest findings to the eve of the Roman occupation. One of the most prominent exhibits is the Golden Hat of Schifferstadt found near Schifferstadt. * Roman Era – The Roman Era collection shows findings from the Palatinate, which once was part of the Roman province of Germania Superior (Upper Germany). A special exhibit is the head of a centaur, dating around 10 B. C., found in Homburg-Schwarzenacker. * Modern Era – Information and exhibits from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

till the end of the Second World War. Highlights are the Frankental China, baroque paintings and precious gowns as well as the German Flag (black-red-gold) flown at the

Hambach Festival The Hambacher Festival was a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle, near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The event was disguised as a nonpolitical co ...

. There are also paintings by the Speyer painter

Anselm Feuerbach Anselm Feuerbach (12 September 1829 – 4 January 1880) was a German painter. He was the leading classicist painter of the German 19th-century school. Biography Early life Feuerbach was born at Speyer, the son of the archaeologist Joseph ...

. * Wine Museum – The collection contains unique artifacts from the world of wine, among them the oldest wine ever found, the

Speyer wine bottle The Speyer wine bottle (or ''Römerwein'') is a sealed vessel, presumed to contain liquid wine, and so named because it was unearthed from a Roman tomb found near Speyer, Germany. It is considered the world's oldest known bottle of wine. Histor ...

, dating from the 4th century. * Evangelical Church of the Palatinate – This exhibition shows the tight connection between the development of the Protestant Church and Palatinate history.

The Young 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

External links

Objektsammlung des Historischen Museums der Pfalz

Historischer Verein der Pfalz

Homepage of the museum (English version)
{{Authority control History museums in Germany Archaeological museums in Germany Wine museums Bottles Oenology Viticulture