Historisches Maasenhaus Betzenstein

About the museum

The museum goes back to Anton Buchner, a dentist from Betzenstein. The passionate collector of fossils and minerals and dedicated local researcher founded a local history museum in 1938 with the support of mayor Georg Hager; its core was his private collection of fossils, minerals, rocks, and prehistoric finds. War and the postwar period brought losses; after returning home in 1947, Buchner spent years trying to recover the pieces, including a 1530 Hakenbüchse (early firearm), which he even had to reclaim through the courts. In 1991 he handed the collection over to the town, which continued it as the Anton Buchner Local History Museum. After several moves, it found a home in the early 2000s in the old town hall on Bayreuther Straße.

Since 2015 the collection has been housed in the Historisches Maasenhaus at Hauptstraße 44. The heritage-listed Ackerbürgerhaus (a combined townhouse and farmhouse) dates to around 1607; its residents, besides farming, ran a small shop and a tavern and brewed beer. The last resident moved out in 1994, after which the house stood empty for a long time until it was donated to the town. The town received the 2015 State Prize for Village Renewal and Building Culture for the successful restoration.

Across roughly 240 square meters and three floors, the house now presents landscape and town history, an excursion into geology, and the history of hops and brewing culture. The house also accommodates the tourist information office and the town's civil wedding room (Trauzimmer).

Highlights

• Exhibition across roughly 240 m² over three floors
• Landscape history and geology with fossils
• Town history featuring the "Tiefer Brunnen"
• History of hops and brewing culture
• Wolfgang Abraham Küfner and the secret of Dürer's self-portrait
• Free admission

Permanent exhibition

• Landschafts- und Stadtgeschichte im Maasenhaus – The ground floor is devoted to landscape history, the first upper floor to town history with the "Tiefer Brunnen", and the second upper floor to geology and the history of hops and brewing.

Founded

1938

Operated by

Stadt Betzenstein

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Wi-Fi

The house has a tourist information office, a lounge, a public restroom, public internet access, and a book swap.

Events & venue rental

The house has an event room with modern presentation technology, a seminar room, and the town's civil wedding room.