Stadtmuseum Erfurt

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The woad merchant Paul Ziegler built the Haus zum Stockfisch in 1607 as a residence and place of business above a medieval cellar. Its first floor, with ashlar blocks that project and recede in a checkerboard pattern, some of them ornamented, makes it one of the most important late Renaissance buildings in Erfurt. The name of the house ("stockfish") refers to dried sea fish, a much sought-after long-distance trade good.

In 1905 the city acquired the building for its applied arts collection. From 1922 the natural history museum moved in, occupying the entire house from 1947 to 1965. In 1965 the building was handed over to the newly founded Museum für Erfurter Stadtgeschichte (Museum of Erfurt City History), which opened its first exhibition on the city's history in 1974.

In the 1990s the house was renovated and its facade reconstructed. Two new permanent exhibitions opened in 2012, and in 2025 a show on Erfurt's archaeological finds was added in the cellar. The exhibitions span prehistory, late medieval Erfurt as a trading metropolis, and the Reformation era through to the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Stadtmuseum is part of the Geschichtsmuseen Erfurt network and also manages branch sites such as the printing museum in the Benary-Speicher, an air-raid shelter, and the Bartholomäusturm.

Highlights

• Late Renaissance facade of the Haus zum Stockfisch (1607)
• "Tolle Jahre": Erfurt as a late medieval metropolis on the eve of the Reformation
• Archaeological treasures in the cellar, including a bracteate hoard and evidence of Neolithic skull surgery
• Exhibition on the end of the Erfurt fortress in 1873
• Free admission on the first Tuesday of every month

Permanent exhibitions

• Nabel der Welt. Erfurts archäologische Schätze – Permanent archaeological exhibition in the cellar with finds from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, organized into five themed areas on settlement, trade, and cultural contact.
• Tolle Jahre. An der Schwelle zur Reformation – Erfurt as a wealthy center of trade and learning at the close of the Middle Ages, and the upheavals leading up to the Reformation.

Founded

1965

Operated by

Landeshauptstadt Erfurt (Geschichtsmuseen Erfurt)

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Every first Tuesday of the month and on Heritage Day (Tag des offenen Denkmals); free admission to all municipal museums on days of 30 °C or more

Adult and reduced prices according to the museum website; family, group, and guided tour prices as well as concession and free-admission rules according to the city's fee schedule (as of 2014). Under the city's fee schedule, free admission applies to, among others, classes from general-education schools, companions of people with disabilities, holders of the Erfurt-Card, Thüringen-Card, Familienpass, and Ehrenamtscard (volunteer card), and members of ICOM, DMB, and MVT. According to the fee schedule, audio and video guides are included in admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• 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

Step-free access to the foyer and first floor; the elevator can only be reached via 8 steps, so the upper floors and the cellar are not accessible to wheelchair users. Accessible restroom on the first floor. Two accessible parking spaces in front of the neighboring Sparkasse (savings bank).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Museum education workshop with programs for all age groups, dedicated family programs, and holiday workshops (e.g., heraldry, archaeology, scavenger hunt through the sports exhibition). The app game "Jenseitsspiel" is for ages 12 and up.

Getting there & parking

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