Museum im Spital

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum building was constructed in the 15th century as a convent of Augustinian nuns in Grünberg's Neustadt (new town) and is first mentioned in 1457. After the convent was dissolved during the Reformation, the long half-timbered building served as a hospital where, until the 20th century, elderly and frail people were cared for at the expense of the townspeople. Later, apartments were set up in the building; after that the town used it as an archive before it stood empty for a long time.

From 2002 to 2007 the listed building was renovated and given a glass front extension; at the end of September 2007 the town of Grünberg opened the Museum im Spital here. It is supported by the Freundeskreis Museum Grünberg, a friends' association founded in 2004, which also helps fund special exhibitions and publications on the town's history. In 2010 the museum received the museum award of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen.

The first floor covers the history of the town and its districts, the long-standing Gallusmarkt fair, and Grünberg's monasteries and hospitals, especially the Antonite monastery. Audio stations and drawers invite visitors to go exploring on their own. The upper floor is dedicated to the ethnologist Theodor Koch-Grünberg, who undertook four research expeditions to South America between 1898 and 1924; the Amazon exhibition also includes long-term loans from the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin. A room for special exhibitions, a reference library and a small garden of fragrant and medicinal plants in the forecourt round out the offering.

Highlights

• Half-timbered building of the former Augustinian convent from the 15th century
• Amazon exhibition on Theodor Koch-Grünberg with loans from Berlin
• History of the Antonite monastery and the Gallusmarkt fair
• Children's audio tour for ages 6 to 12
• Garden of fragrant and medicinal plants in the forecourt

Permanent exhibitions

• Stadt-, Kloster- und Spitalgeschichte – Grünberg and its districts, the Gallusmarkt fair, and the town's monasteries and hospitals with a focus on the Antonite monastery, with audio stations and discovery drawers.
• Theodor Koch-Grünberg und der Amazonas – The ethnologist's four South American expeditions between 1898 and 1924, presented with loans from the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin.

Founded

2007

Operated by

Stadt Grünberg

Director

Karin Bautz

Visitors per year

approx. 5,000 (2008)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

No fixed admission price; visitors can voluntarily give what they feel the visit was worth. The audio tour is included.

Accessibility

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

Accessible, with elevator.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

Children aged 6 to 12 can explore the exhibition with their own children's audio tour (around 60 minutes); audio stations and pull-out drawers invite discovery.

Getting there & parking

Bike racks on the side of the building facing the Alter Friedhof (old cemetery). By car via the A5 (Grünberg exit) or the B49.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop with books, CDs, DVDs, postcards and handicrafts from the Amazon region; reference library.

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit