Freilichtmuseum Massing

About the museum

The Freilichtmuseum Massing is one of the earliest museums of its kind in Bavaria. Its nucleus, in 1969, was the Schusteröderhof, an imposing Rottal four-sided farmstead with carved wooden balconies, which remains largely in the state in which it was furnished at that time. Initially, the focus was mainly on the stately and decorative-arts side of rural life in the Rott Valley.

In the following decades the perspective broadened: alongside large farms came smallholders' cottages (Sölden), a ropemaker's house, a herdsman's house, a retirement house around 400 years old and a skittle alley. Under the art historian Georg Baumgartner, who directed both Lower Bavarian open-air museums in the early 1980s, the Kochhof, for example, was furnished comprehensively with everyday objects. Today the grounds feature buildings from the Rott Valley, the Isar Valley and the Hallertau, including the Lehnerhof, Heilmeierhof, Marxensölde and Görgenmannsölde.

The museum is run by a special-purpose association made up of the Lower Bavaria district, the districts of Rottal-Inn and Freyung-Grafenau, and the municipalities of Massing and Mauth, which also operates the Freilichtmuseum Finsterau in the Bavarian Forest, opened in 1980. Themed exhibitions in the houses cover topics including hop growing, wall decoration in farmhouses, ceramics, food storage and the Italian migrant workers who once came from Friuli to the Rott Valley.

Highlights

• Schusteröderhof, the museum's founding farmstead from 1969
• Fully furnished Kochhof farmstead
• Smallholders' cottages, ropewalk and a retirement house around 400 years old
• Exhibition on the history of hop growing
• Animals, gardens and demonstrations such as bread baking

Permanent exhibitions

• Der Hopfenbau und seine Geschichte – The exhibition traces the origins and development of hop growing in Bavaria, focusing on the Hallertau and its cultivation methods.
• Bayern-Italien im Rottal – Tells the story of workers from Friuli who came to Lower Bavaria more than a hundred years ago – as brickmakers, construction workers and miners, and later as ice cream parlor owners.
• Keramik im Alltag – Everyday tableware and stove tiles by Lower Bavarian potters show the role ceramics played in rural daily life.

Founded

1969

Operated by

Zweckverband Niederbayerische Freilichtmuseen

Director

Clemens Knobling

Admission & discounts

Contactless card payment with Girocard only. The Freilichtmuseum Finsterau has its own admission prices; no combination ticket is offered.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• 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

Two parking spaces right at the entrance; one restroom for people with disabilities each in the inn and in the Heilmeierhof. A wheelchair can be borrowed; small ramps make it easier to enter the buildings.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Baby changing facilities

Free admission for children; holiday program and family events according to the annual program. Baby changing room in the restroom area.

Getting there & parking

GPS address: Steinbüchl 1, 84323 Massing. Access via the B 388 or, from the direction of Munich, via A 94/B 299.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant

Museumsstüberl Massing (tavern on the museum grounds). Dogs on a leash allowed.

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit