Local history museum in a former inn from 1630, with a model of a Roman fort and themes of tavern life and viticulture; free admission.
Special exhibition
The special exhibition, which changes every year, explores the often unknown origins of idioms. Curated by Dr Rolf-Bernhard Essig, with caricatures by Marei Schweitzer.
According to an inscription on the courtyard wall, the house on Ludwigsburger Straße was built in 1630 as a farm and inn. It is a two-story Swabian center-aisle house with a large vaulted cellar and 17th-century rollwerk-style paintings. As "Zum Adler" it was the first licensed Schildwirtschaft (sign inn) in the village and remained in operation until the 1970s.
The municipality of Benningen bought the building and converted it into a museum over roughly ten years; it opened in autumn 1989. The project was supported, among others, by the senator Richard G. Hirschmann, who has been an honorary citizen of the municipality since 1990. Previously, parts of the collection were displayed in the basement of the new town hall. The collection was assembled by the Bund für Heimatkunde, whose members still catalogue and look after it today.
Between 2020 and 2022 the museum was redesigned, partly with funds from an emergency aid program of the Deutscher Verband für Archäologie. The permanent exhibition now tells, in several thematic areas, of the Roman past on the Neckar, tavern culture, itinerant trade, the village's development from farming settlement to industrial municipality, daily life past and present, and viticulture on steep slopes. The house is run by the municipality of Benningen.
Admission is free.
| Groups | –Group tours cost €45 (45–60 minutes) or €60 (90 minutes) per group, up to 20 people. |
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Admission is free; donations are welcome. Public children's tours cost €2.50–3.50 per child.
On request, tours for small groups with special needs are offered, for example for people with early-stage dementia (up to 8 people, with an accompanying person).
Great for kids & families
Dedicated children's tours ("Finde den Märchenschatz", "Nachts im Museum", Roman tour) for ages 5 to 11, also bookable as a children's birthday party with a craft session (from €45, up to 12 children). In addition, free children's and family tours are offered without registration.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
| Guided tours | yes |
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| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Public tours take place sometimes with and sometimes without registration. Children's tours are intended for ages 5 to 11 and last 90–120 minutes. Group tours (overview, tavern history, Romans, itinerant trade) and tours with tasting (wine or coffee and cake) can be booked. |
