Historisches Museum Frankfurt

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The Historisches Museum Frankfurt traces its origins to a citizens’ initiative of 1877/78: residents of Frankfurt wanted to collect evidence of the city’s history and make it accessible to the public. This makes it one of the city’s oldest municipal museums; today it is run by the City of Frankfurt am Main.

Its home is the Saalhof on the banks of the Main. The ensemble includes the Hohenstaufen-era Saalhof Chapel from the 12th century – the oldest surviving building in Frankfurt – as well as the medieval Rententurm and the Bernus and Burnitz buildings. In 1972 a concrete building was added, which remained controversial for its architecture and exhibition concept and was demolished in 2011. In its place, a new building with a sandstone façade designed by Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei opened in October 2017, forming a new museum square together with the restored historic buildings.

The permanent exhibitions tell the city’s history in several parts: “Frankfurt Einst?” with collectors’ rooms and city models, and “Frankfurt Jetzt!” with the participatory Stadtlabor. The building also houses the Junges Museum for children and families; in the new Old Town, the museum furnished the upper floors of the reconstructed Haus zur Goldenen Waage as a merchant’s home of the 17th and 18th centuries. Doreen Mölders has directed the museum since January 2025; a new branch in the Bolongaropalast in Höchst has been announced for 2027.

Highlights

• Hohenstaufen-era Saalhof Chapel from the 12th century, Frankfurt’s oldest surviving building
• Large Old Town model by the Treuner brothers and other city models
• Snow globe installation in the foyer with views of Frankfurt
• Stadtlabor “Frankfurt Jetzt!” on the city today
• Junges Museum with hands-on exhibitions for children

Permanent exhibitions

• Frankfurt Einst? – City history from the Hohenstaufen era to the present, with collectors’ rooms, city models and treasures of the museum.
• Frankfurt Jetzt! – Exhibition on the city today, created together with Frankfurt residents in the Stadtlabor.

Founded

1878

Operated by

Stadt Frankfurt am Main

Director

Doreen Mölders

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Satourday: free admission for everyone on the last Saturday of every month (in August on the second-to-last Saturday), usually with a free family program

Regular and reduced prices apply to the permanent exhibitions. Frankfurt-Pass/Kulturpass holders and refugees €1. Free with a MuseumsuferCard or MuseumsuferTicket.

Accessibility

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

Accessible except for the Rententurm, the 13th collectors’ room and a few other areas; elevators in both buildings (90 cm door width). Wheelchair-accessible restroom in the basement. Tactile floor guidance system with tactile maps on all levels and a tactile model on the museum square. Wheelchairs and rollators available to borrow (cannot be reserved). Induction loop in the Leopold-Sonnemann-Saal, ten mobile induction systems. Media guide with audio description, Easy Language (Leichte Sprache) and German Sign Language (DGS); tours in DGS and plain language on request. Certified under “Reisen für Alle” (Travel for All).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

Junges Museum with historical play rooms, workshops, holiday courses and changing exhibitions; two printed booklets for a family tour. Children aged 10 and up may visit the museum alone; younger children only when accompanied by someone aged 16 or older.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Museum cafés with snacks and drinks; picnic area in the Junges Museum. Free cloakroom and lockers. Museum shop with books and souvenirs.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 180 guests.

Leopold-Sonnemann-Saal (171 m², up to 180 people in row seating, stage with grand piano), snow globe foyer (365 m²), seminar room (up to 30 people) and courtyards; for receptions, conferences and workshops. No rentals to political parties or party-affiliated organizations.

Plan your visit