Museum Bensheim

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum goes back to the Bensheim museum association, which founded it in 1909. The collection was initially housed in the Alte Faktorei, a former girls' school building, and had to move to the Dalberger Hof in 1933. There it was stored in cramped conditions, so that by the end of the war around four-fifths of the holdings had been lost. After an interim period in an annex of the town hall, the museum found a permanent home in 1960 in the Haus Blüm on the market square, a former residence the town had acquired in 1940.

In 2005 the building was considerably enlarged by connecting it to a neighboring building; today the exhibitions are spread over three floors with around 630 square meters. In 2019 the Forum was added as a dedicated space for special exhibitions, and in 2020 the redesigned archaeology department "Aus dem Untergrund" ("From Underground") opened with a tactile guidance system and touch stations. The museum is run by Stadtkultur Bensheim, a municipal enterprise.

The permanent exhibition combines the town's history – from the medieval market town with its aristocratic estates through crafts, industrialization and the wine festival to the persecution of the Jewish population under National Socialism – with one of the most extensive archaeological collections in southern Hesse. Notable holdings include early daguerreotypes by Johann Wilhelm Debus as well as works by the Bauhaus student Leo Grewenig and the graphic artist Franz Frank.

Highlights

• Life-size reconstructed mammoth incorporating real bones
• Replica of a Frankish tree-trunk coffin grave from around 700
• Early daguerreotypes by Johann Wilhelm Debus
• Works by Bauhaus student Leo Grewenig
• Scent-sniffing shelf on the medieval market

Permanent exhibitions

• Stadtgeschichte – Bensheim from the medieval market with its aristocratic estates through crafts, industrialization and the wine festival to the world wars and the persecution of the Jewish population.
• Archäologie – Aus dem Untergrund – Finds from the Paleolithic through the Celts and Romans to the Early Middle Ages, with a life-size mammoth and a replica Frankish tree-trunk coffin grave.

Founded

1909

Operated by

Stadtkultur Bensheim (Eigenbetrieb der Stadt Bensheim)

Director

Jan Christoph Breitwieser

Admission & discounts

Prices valid since July 1, 2025 (permanent exhibition). Free admission also for members of the press with ID, members of the Hessischer Museumsverband (Hessian museums association) and sponsors of the daguerreotype collection; Sparkasse customers receive a €2 discount.

Accessibility

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

The archaeology department has a tactile guidance system, touch stations and texts in Braille.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Craft workshops for ages 6 and up, such as cave painting, Ice Age–style carving, papermaking or Roman wax tablets (groups, flat rate €70 plus materials). In the town history section, a wooden knight's castle and a scent shelf invite hands-on exploration.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop with catalogs and books on regional history.

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit