Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte

About the museum

The region's natural history and prehistoric collections go back to the late 19th century: from 1875 they were kept in Schloss Großkühnau near Dessau. The museum was founded as an independent institution in 1927 and moved into the Leopolddankstift on Askanische Straße, a building from the mid-18th century that had been remodeled around 1900 for the Anhaltische Kunsthalle and stands out for its striking tower.

In an air raid in 1945 the building burned out completely. By 1948 exhibitions could be seen again. After German reunification, the museum was fundamentally renovated from 1992 and reopened in 1998.

The collections comprise archaeology, paleontology, geology, botany, and zoology. The tour on the upper floor begins with drill cores and reconstructions of primeval landscapes, leads through finds of Ice Age hunters, early farmers, and bronze casters and the history of the Dessau region up to the Middle Ages, to a mineral display. In the tower, visitors climb six floors of Earth history, before large dioramas show the floodplain forests of the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve. On the first floor, special exhibitions change. The sponsor is the city of Dessau-Roßlau.

Highlights

• Earth history on six floors in the 40-meter-high museum tower
• Reconstruction of the Neolithic woman "Charlotte"
• Reindeer hunter's tent and skull of an aurochs
• Bronze Age hoard with decorated spearheads
• Large dioramas of the Elbe floodplains in the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve
• Mineral exhibition

Permanent exhibitions

• Menschenspuren – Eiszeitjäger, erste Bauern und Bronzegießer – Stone tools, a reindeer hunter's tent, the reconstructed Neolithic woman "Charlotte," and Bronze Age grave and hoard finds tell of the early inhabitants of Anhalt.
• Ein Gang durch die Erdgeschichte – On the climb up the museum tower, fossils lead across six floors from primeval Earth to the Ice Age.
• Faszination Natur – Von Anemone bis Zwergrohrdommel – Large dioramas present the floodplain landscape of the Middle Elbe with its floodplain forests and its biodiversity.

Founded

1927

Operated by

Stadt Dessau-Roßlau

Admission & discounts

Free admission with a social pass, for refugees and asylum seekers, members of the Museumsverband Sachsen-Anhalt, Deutscher Museumsbund, ICOM, and the friends' association, and with the WelterbeCard.

Accessibility

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

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

During the holidays there are hands-on activities such as amber polishing or a tour of prehistoric animals followed by crafts (registration via the museum education department, in addition to regular admission). Family ticket €10.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit