Museum im Hollerhaus

About the museum

In 1989 the town of Dietfurt decided to use the so-called Hollerhaus as a museum. The fully renovated Altmühl Valley farmhouse, with its calcareous shale roof, stands in the center of town, right next to the St. Aegidius parish church. The exhibition shows how the people of the valley turned a natural landscape into a cultural landscape over roughly 4,000 years.

The core of the geology section is the private collection of mining engineer Oskar Hoffmann (1897–1989), who came from the Ruhr region and left it to his adopted hometown of Dietfurt. In Room 1, rocks, minerals and fossils tell the story of life on Earth; the oldest pieces are trilobites about 570 million years old. Room 2 covers the landscape history of the Altmühl Valley and explains that the Altmühl came into being during the Riss ice age, roughly 200,000 years ago, when the Urdonau changed its course.

On the first floor there is also an overview of the construction of the Main-Danube Canal. On the upper floor, the early settlement of the Dietfurt valley is shown with finds and documentation from excavations, including a prehistoric settlement near Griesstetten. Since 2014, a model of Dietfurt's inner town at a scale of 1:50, showing how it looked 100 to 120 years ago, has complemented the display; a virtual house database can be accessed via QR codes.

Highlights

• Hoffmann collection of rocks, minerals and fossils, including trilobites
• Landscape history of the Altmühl Valley
• Finds and documentation of a prehistoric settlement near Griesstetten
• History of the construction of the Main-Danube Canal
• 1:50 scale model of Dietfurt's inner town with QR house database

Permanent exhibitions

• Erdgeschichte und Sammlung Hoffmann – Rocks, minerals and fossils explain the geological and landscape history of the Altmühl Valley; there is also an overview of the building of the Main-Danube Canal.
• Frühe Besiedlung des Talraums – On the upper floor, finds and excavation documentation show how people have settled the Dietfurt valley since prehistoric times.
• Dietfurt vor 100 Jahren – Stadtmodell – A 1:50 scale model of the inner town shows Dietfurt as it looked 100 to 120 years ago; QR codes provide background on the houses.

Founded

1989

Operated by

Stadt Dietfurt a. d. Altmühl

Admission & discounts

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 is in the center of Dietfurt, right next to the St. Aegidius parish church.

Amenities & dining

• Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi in the museum on request.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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