Museum Bischofshofen

About the museum

The museum's roots lie in the Kastenturm on Rathausplatz, a Romanesque residential tower from which the possessions of the Prince-Bishops of Chiemsee in Bischofshofen were once administered. There the Museum am Kastenturm, opened in 1998, showed the roughly five-thousand-year settlement history of the area with archaeological finds and works of sacred art; in 2006 it received the Austrian Museum Seal of Quality.

The museum is run by the Museumsverein Bischofshofen, which has existed since 1995 and carries out all tasks, from supervision to building display cases, on a voluntary basis. One research focus of the association is prehistoric copper mining, for example in the Arthurstollen on the Palfnerkogel, as well as the industrial history of the region.

At the beginning of 2015 the site in the Kastenturm closed. Since then the museum has been housed in the visitor centre of the UNESCO Global Geopark Erz der Alpen, which was built in 2014/15 as an extension to the Österreichhaus next to the Paul-Außerleitner ski jump. Alongside the museum exhibition, the four geopark municipalities of Bischofshofen, Hüttau, Mühlbach am Hochkönig and St. Veit im Pongau jointly present prehistoric and historic ore mining there with reconstructed installations, and give an overview of show mines, museums and geosites in the region.

Highlights

• Archaeological finds on the settlement history of the Pongau
• Research on Bronze Age copper mining
• Geopark exhibition on ore mining with reconstructed installations
• Location right next to the Paul-Außerleitner ski jump
• Free admission

Permanent exhibitions

• Museum Bischofshofen – Archäologie und Bergbau – Finds on the settlement history of Bischofshofen and the surrounding area, as well as research results of the Museumsverein on prehistoric copper mining.
• Erz der Alpen UNESCO Global Geopark – Joint show by the four geopark municipalities on prehistoric and historic ore mining with faithfully reconstructed installations, and an overview of show mines and geosites.

Operated by

Museumsverein Bischofshofen

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission to the visitor centre including the museum is free.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The visitor centre is in the ski jump grounds next to the Paul-Außerleitner ski jump, as an extension to the Österreichhaus (Rosenthal 41).

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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