Pfefferminzmuseum Eichenau
Volunteer-run museum on the former peppermint cultivation in Eichenau near Munich – with its own mint field, tea from its own harvest, and local history.
About the museum
For decades, Eichenau, west of Munich, was a cultivation area for medicinal peppermint known throughout Europe. It began in 1918 with an official living in the village who brought back root runners of English Mitcham mint from the experimental garden in Weihenstephan. The plant thrived so well on the peat soil of the Allinger Moos that many neighbors soon followed. In 1939 about a dozen full-time and about 50 part-time farms worked more than 400,000 square meters; the "Eichenauer Ware" went to pharmacies, the drug trade, and the pharmaceutical industry.
From the mid-1950s, new residential areas displaced the fields, and after the market opened to cheaper imports in 1956, labor-intensive cultivation no longer paid off. To preserve this economic history, the voters' group Unabhängig Eichenau founded the museum in 1986; since 1992 it has been run on a volunteer basis by the Förderverein Pfefferminzmuseum Eichenau (friends' association).
The museum is located in an annex of the Starzelbachschule. Historic machines, tools, photos, and documents explain the cultivation, harvesting, and drying of mint as well as its healing effect and other herbs once grown in Eichenau. A separate section is devoted to local history, supplemented by multimedia terminals. The association's members still farm a mint field of more than 2,000 square meters, harvest twice a year, and process the leaves into peppermint tea, which is sold only at the museum and finances the association's work.
Highlights
- By its own account, the first and only peppermint museum in the world
- Historic machines and equipment for the cultivation, harvesting, and drying of mint
- Original Eichenau peppermint tea from its own harvest
- Separate section on Eichenau's local history
- Multimedia terminals with films and photos
Permanent exhibitions
- Pfefferminzanbau in Eichenau – Equipment, machines, photos, and documents show how mint was grown, harvested, and dried in Eichenau, and explain its significance as a medicinal plant.
- Eichenauer Ortsgeschichte – A separate museum section with photographs, documents, and objects on the development of the village.
- Founded
- 1986
- Operated by
- Förderverein Pfefferminzmuseum Eichenau e. V.
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Groups (10+ people) | –Special tours for groups of 10 or more by prior appointment. |
|---|
Free admission; the association is financed mainly through sales of the peppermint tea it produces itself.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Friedenskirche
S-Bahn S4 to Eichenau; bus 860 to the stop Friedenskirche.
The museum is in the annex of the Starzelbachschule (Parkstraße 43).
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
Small museum shop with original Eichenau peppermint tea (available only at the museum, no shipping) and selected products; visitors are invited to a cup of tea.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Special tours for groups of 10 or more upon registration, also outside opening hours. |
