Spengler-Museum und Spengler-Haus Sangerhausen

About the museum

The collection goes back to the Verein für Geschichte und Naturwissenschaft (association for history and natural science) in Sangerhausen, founded in 1872, which opened a first municipal museum in 1911. In addition, the master carpenter and local historian Gustav Adolf Spengler (1869–1961) assembled an extensive private collection on prehistory, natural history, and city history, which he displayed from the 1920s in his home on Hospitalstraße.

From 1930, Spengler excavated the nearly complete skeleton of a steppe mammoth in a gravel pit near Edersleben, prepared the bones, and exhibited them in his museum. In 1937 the city acquired his collection, and in 1952 a separate museum building was built at the train station, into which Spengler's holdings were integrated.

Today the Spengler Museum is the regional museum for Sangerhausen and the surrounding area, with exhibitions on geology and copper shale, the fauna of the Goldene Aue and the southern Harz, the Ice Age, prehistory and early history, the Middle Ages, and city history; in addition there is a center on the artist Einar Schleef. Spengler's home was renovated and has been open as a branch since 2001: the faithfully furnished rooms, the "Millionenzimmer" (Million Room) wallpapered with inflation money, and the enchanted courtyard convey how the collector lived and worked.

Highlights

• Nearly complete skeleton of a steppe mammoth from Edersleben (approx. 500,000 years old)
• Lifelike dioramas of the fauna of the Goldene Aue and the southern Harz
• Fossils from copper shale and Ice Age finds from Voigtstedt
• Spengler-Haus with the "Millionenzimmer" full of inflation banknotes
• Einar Schleef Center

Permanent exhibitions

• Tierwelt vor und in der Eiszeit – Mammoth hall with the skeleton of the steppe mammoth cow from Edersleben and finds of a warm-period fauna from the Voigtstedt clay pit.
• Geologie und Naturgeschichte der Region – Rocks, fossils, and minerals from copper shale to gypsum karst, as well as dioramas of the present-day fauna and flora of the Goldene Aue and the southern Harz.
• Spengler-Haus – The collector's faithfully furnished living rooms with carvings, models, and the "Millionenzimmer," plus an idyllic courtyard.

Founded

1952

Operated by

Rosenstadt Sangerhausen GmbH

Director

Monika Frohriep

Admission & discounts

Single tickets are each valid for either the Spengler Museum or the Spengler-Haus. No card payment possible. Guided tours after registration: groups of up to 12 people €25 flat rate, from 12 people €2 per person, school classes €1 per person – each plus admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: no information
• 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

Older building without an elevator: only the basement with the special exhibition, natural history, and the mammoth hall is accessible without steps. The lecture room on the second floor can be reached by arrangement via a level emergency exit on Lengefelder Straße. Accessible parking space in front of the museum.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

For children's groups there are programs such as a museum scavenger hunt with a questionnaire, mammoth crafts, Stone Age and Middle Ages tours, writing with a slate and pen holder, old children's games, a wash day in the courtyard of the Spengler-Haus, and wood carving.

Getting there & parking

Access via the A 38 and A 71 as well as the B 80 and B 86. The Spengler-Haus (Hospitalstraße 56) is about 10 minutes on foot from the museum.

Amenities & dining

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

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit