Archäologisches Museum Bad Königshofen

Description

The Archaeological Museum Bad Königshofen im Grabfeld presents the archaeological research of the region and is institutionally attached as a branch museum of the Archäologische Staatssammlung in München. It is located in Bad Königshofen in the Lower Franconian district of Rhön-Grabfeld and uses the town’s historic buildings for its displays.

The exhibition was opened in 1988 in the Alte Schranne, a granary of the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg dating from 1693. The Archäologische Staatssammlung München is the museum’s sponsor and provides scientific oversight of the collection. In the rear building the Museum für Grenzgänger was established in 2006. A comprehensive renovation and technical upgrade from June 2017 to May 2019 led to the reopening with a completely revised exhibition. Since the refurbishment both museums have been physically connected by an intermediate wing and linked thematically by the subject of “borders”.

The permanent exhibition focuses on the prehistory and early history of eastern Lower Franconia, with particular emphasis on the Rhön and the Grabfeld. It presents predominantly finds from the immediate vicinity that document the close cultural ties of prehistoric communities. The collection includes rich hoards from the Middle and Late Bronze Age, grave furnishings from the Hallstatt period, and finds from fortified hilltop settlements. Special attention is paid to the grave goods of a foederati grave from Hammelburg and to the burial finds from the Thuringian noble cemetery of Zeuzleben dating to the Merovingian period, which provide insights into the power structures and contacts of the respective eras.