Museum Stillfried – Zentrum der Urzeit

About the museum

The Stillfried Museum Association was founded in 1914 to display the finds of the teacher Engelbert Neuner and future excavation results in its own museum of prehistory and early history. Stillfried an der March is regarded as one of Austria's most important archaeological sites because of its roughly 30,000 years of continuous settlement and excavations that have been running for about 150 years.

After World War II, Kurt Hetzer made sure the holdings were not handed over to central museums and reorganized them together with the Federal Monuments Office; the museum reopened in 1955. In 1974, on the 100th anniversary of the excavations, another reorganization followed. Since 1979, Walpurga and Gerhard Antl have run the museum on a volunteer basis and expanded it in several stages: a newly designed display hall, a special exhibition room and, in 1995, the attic conversion, which more than doubled the display area.

Most recently, an elevator for accessibility as well as a new ticket and shop area were added. The permanent collection ranges from stone tools and jewelry of Ice Age reindeer hunters, through settlement finds of the first farmers, the Bronze Age with its earthwork fortress and the oldest cultivated-wine seeds in Central Europe, to Roman-era and medieval pottery. In 2020 the museum received the Austrian Museum Quality Seal (Österreichisches Museumsgütesiegel).

Highlights

• Largest Paleolithic ivory jewelry find in Austria
• Oldest evidence of cultivated wine in Austria (grape seeds from the Bronze Age fortress)
• Finds from the prehistoric trading place on the Amber Road
• Roman and Germanic finds north of the Limes
• Museum cinema with introductory film and children's program "Betty Bernstein"

Permanent exhibition

• Schausammlung: 30.000 Jahre Urgeschichte – From Ice Age reindeer hunters through the first farmers, the Bronze and Iron Ages, to the Romans and the Middle Ages: all finds come from the Stillfried area.

Operated by

Museumsverein Stillfried-Grub

Admission & discounts

With the Niederösterreich-CARD, one-time free admission per card season. Payment at the museum shop in cash, by Bankomat card or by credit card.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Separate entrance for people with walking difficulties and wheelchair users, a lift for people with limited mobility and for strollers, and an accessible toilet.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly

Children's program "Betty Bernstein" for elementary school age, with a museum rally (grinding grain, copying objects in clay, identifying objects by touch); whoever finds the solution word receives a prehistoric detective pass.

Getting there & parking

From Vienna via the B8 to Angern, then via the B49 and Mannersdorf to Stillfried.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

Coffee corner and, in good weather, the museum garden with coffee, tea and cake; tasting of a Roman spiced wine. Museum shop with amber and mammoth jewelry and archaeological specialist literature; inns in Mannersdorf and Ollersdorf nearby.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit