Federseemuseum

About the museum

The Federseemuseum was founded in 1919 by the local association for antiquities and local heritage. The collection was initially housed in Buchau Palace and grew rapidly thanks to the intensive excavations by Tübingen prehistoric researchers in the Federsee bog. After being evacuated during the Second World War, it was shown provisionally in the former women's convent.

In 1968 the museum moved into its new building on the edge of the bog. The architect Manfred Lehmbruck designed it in the modernist style as a contemporary interpretation of a pile dwelling: an atrium building of glass and wood with a small bog in the inner courtyard. The building itself is now a protected monument.

Since the 1980s the museum has been a branch museum of the state, and since 2003 it has belonged to the Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Württemberg State Archaeological Museum). Between 1998 and 2000 the archaeological open-air site was created with reconstructed Stone Age and Bronze Age houses; in 2014 it was expanded with an Ice Age hunting camp and a Celtic fish-trapping facility. Since the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps were added to the World Heritage List in 2011, the museum has served as the state's central information center for this World Heritage Site.

The permanent exhibition, redesigned in 2017, shows original finds from the bog settlements, including disc wheels from around 3000 BC, which are among the oldest in the world. A media guide, hands-on stations and an extensive educational program are aimed especially at families and school classes.

Highlights

• Some of the oldest surviving wooden wheels in the world (around 3000 BC)
• Open-air site with reconstructed Stone Age and Bronze Age houses
• Information center for the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric Pile Dwellings
• Listed museum building by Manfred Lehmbruck (1968)
• Family Activity Trail with explorer backpack

Permanent exhibitions

• Einzigartige Funde – Faszinierende Fakten – A tour from the Ice Age reindeer hunters to the Bronze Age with original finds from the bog settlements on Lake Federsee, covering topics such as hunting, fishing, trade, beliefs and early wagons.
• Archäologisches Freigelände – Reconstructed houses and structures from the Ice Age to the Celts, built according to excavation findings from the Federsee bog.

Founded

1919

Operated by

Archäologisches Landesmuseum Baden-Württemberg (Zweigmuseum)

Director

Dr. Ralf Baumeister

Admission & discounts

The media guide is included in the admission price during the winter season.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• 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

Access to the museum is via stair lifts; the permanent exhibition is fully accessible for wheelchair users. For the archaeological open-air site, the museum recommends being accompanied by another person.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Kids’ birthday parties

From April to October, an explorer backpack for the Family Activity Trail can be borrowed at the ticket desk; in winter there is an adapted version with nine stations. The media guide offers two children's tours through the museum and open-air site. Monthly children's tours by the ArchäoKids (April to October), flashlight tours and children's birthday parties in the Stone Age village (2.5 hours, up to 15 children).

Getting there & parking

By car via the B 30 (Ulm – Friedrichshafen), exit Federsee/Bad Buchau; in Bad Buchau follow the signs for "Federsee".

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop with the museum's publications. Dogs are allowed.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit