Museum für Militär- und Zeitgeschichte Stammheim

About the museum

The museum goes back to the Verein Militärgeschichte Franken (Franconian Military History Association), founded in October 1994 in Stammheim, a district of the municipality of Kolitzheim on the Main. In June 1997 the collection opened to visitors for the first time. Since then it has been run by the association on a volunteer basis and continually expanded; the association now has several hundred members.

On about 17,000 square meters of exhibition space, three halls, a barn, and extensive outdoor grounds combine military technology with everyday and social history. The time frame extends from the conscription of a Stammheim soldier in 1793 to German reunification in 1990. By its own account, it is the largest private museum of its kind in Germany.

Hall 1 shows in scenes village life in Franconia at the end of World War II, and Hall 2 shows, on two levels, the wartime everyday life of civilians and soldiers with rare large objects. Hall 3 is devoted to the Cold War, with a reconstructed inner-German border installation and a MiG-21 of the East German NVA.

In the outdoor grounds stand more than 250 wheeled, tracked, water, and air vehicles, including an Antonov An-2 and an F-84 Thunderstreak, as well as a reconstructed World War I bunker complex and a narrow-gauge railway for rides. The museum expressly sees itself as a warning in favor of peace.

Highlights

• Over 250 vehicles, tanks, boats, and aircraft in the outdoor grounds
• Walk-in Antonov An-2
• Inner-German border installation and MiG-21 in Hall 3
• Scenes of village life at the end of the war in 1945
• Reconstructed bunker complex from World War I
• Narrow-gauge railway ride across the grounds

Permanent exhibitions

• Halle 1 – Dorfleben in der Notzeit – Scenes and original objects on everyday life in a Franconian village in the last months of the war in 1945.
• Halle 3 – Der Kalte Krieg – Reconstructed inner-German border installation, a MiG-21 of the NVA, and vehicles and equipment of the NVA and Bundeswehr.
• Außengelände – Outdoor grounds with tanks, missiles, aircraft, a reconstructed bunker complex, and a narrow-gauge railway for rides.

Founded

1997

Operated by

Verein Militärgeschichte Franken e. V.

Admission & discounts

Members of the friends' association have free admission.

Accessibility

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

Mostly accessible; not fully accessible are boarding the aircraft, the gallery in Hall 2, and the bunker complex. Dogs are not allowed, except assistance dogs.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

Large outdoor grounds with partly walk-in vehicles and aircraft, narrow-gauge railway rides, and a playground; programs for families and children such as children's birthday parties and holiday programs.

Getting there & parking

Located directly on the Main Cycle Path; from the motorhome pitches it is about 900 m to the landing stage of the Main boat to Volkach.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Inn and café "Zur Schmiede" with a beer garden directly next to the museum (own opening hours); museum shop.

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit