Archaeological museum in Ellwangen's historic Nikolauspflege covering five centuries of the Alamanni, with important excavation finds from Lauchheim.
March 19, 2026 – January 10, 2027
The princely collection from Sigmaringen, taken over from the Landesmuseum Württemberg and presented through five collector personalities – with finds ranging from the Stone Age to Roman silver discs and Apulian vases.
The town of Ellwangen opened the Alamannenmuseum in September 2001. It moved into the Nikolauspflege, a listed complex made up of a chapel with a late medieval core and a prebendary house from 1593, one of the oldest surviving almshouses and infirmaries in southwestern Germany. The garden with the Nikolauskapelle is part of the museum concept and features, among other things, a reconstructed granary and a vegetable garden from the Alamannic period.
The core of the exhibition comes from the excavations that the state heritage office has been carrying out since 1986 in Lauchheim, a few kilometers up the Jagst valley. With more than 1,300 burials from the 5th to 7th centuries, they uncovered the largest known Alamannic cemetery in Baden-Württemberg, along with the associated settlement, including a manor farm and richly furnished burials within the farmstead. These finds are complemented by loans from all over southern Germany.
The tour, designed by archaeologist and museum director Andreas Gut, spans three levels: the lower level covers the early Alamannic period and the Migration Period, starting with a partially reconstructed pit house with a loom; the upper floors deal with the Merovingian period, when Alamannia was a Frankish duchy. Topics include textile and woodworking crafts, gold- and silversmithing, and Christianization, represented above all by gold-foil crosses and tree-trunk coffins decorated with snakes. Life-size scenes, media stations, and hands-on elements bring the subject to life.
To mark its 25th anniversary in 2026, the museum is the second venue for the special exhibition on the Hohenzollern archaeological collection of the Landesmuseum Württemberg.
| Adults | €4 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €3 |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 5 · Children under 6 free. |
| Groups (12+ people) | €3.50 per personSchool classes €1.50 per student. Guided tour (max. 25 people) €45. |
| Families | €9.502 adults with children. |
| Combination ticket with Limesmuseum Aalen | €8According to Limesmuseum Aalen. |
Free admission with the AlbCard. Discount on presentation of a same-day bwtarif ticket, D-Ticket JugendBW, or Deutschland-Ticket (bwegtPlus). Who qualifies for the reduced price is not specified.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 5 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | €9.50 · 2 adults with children. |
Many exhibition stations to touch and join in, plus interactive media; child-friendly tours via the tourist information office. Children under 6 free.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Cafeteria and museum shop on site.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Public guided tour on the first Sunday of every month at 14:30, no registration needed (admission only). Course program including tablet weaving, reading nights for school classes, and the annual "Ellwanger Alamannen-Forum." |
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