Erlebniswelten Grubenfeld

About the museum

The Erlebniswelten Grubenfeld lies on the edge of the Mayen Grubenfeld, a landscape that basalt lava quarrying has shaped over thousands of years. The house is one of the information and experience centers of the Vulkanpark in the Osteifel and one of three municipal museums in Mayen. Until early 2019 it was called Terra Vulcania; a naming dispute with a French region forced the change.

The exhibition spans two connected levels and tells the story of stone quarrying since the Neolithic. It explains how quarrying and transport worked in different eras, how the basalt became grinding stones, millstones and building stones, and which trade routes Mayen's products used. It also covers the lives and work of the quarry workers and their families, as well as the plants and animals that have settled in the abandoned quarries.

Much can be tried out at interactive stations, for example with power machines or a stone-rolling simulation. A cinema shows the film "SteinZeiten", which combines cartoon animation, real footage and computer animation. Access to the Mayen Grubenfeld nature reserve begins right next to the building, where the quarry landscape can be explored in its original state.

Highlights

• Hands-on participation, touching and trying out expressly encouraged
• Interactive power machines and stone-rolling simulation
• Animated film "SteinZeiten – 7,000 Years of Basalt Quarrying"
• Millstones at original size and flour grinding the old way
• Exciting quiz for children in the quiz school, with a report card at the end of the tour
• Treasure hunt with the bat Siggi
• Direct access to the Mayen Grubenfeld

Permanent exhibition

• SteinZeiten – 7.000 Jahre Basaltabbau – Interactive exhibition on quarrying, processing and trade in basalt from the Mayen Grubenfeld, with power machines, a cinema and a quiz school.

Operated by

Stadt Mayen

Admission & discounts

Guided group tours (bookable in advance): SteinZeiten exhibition €29, exhibition and Mayen Grubenfeld €32, child-friendly variant €28 – each plus admission per person. For 20 or more people, two guides must be booked.

Accessibility

• 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

Certified under "Reisen für Alle". The information center and the SteinZeiten exhibition are barrier-free (elevators, accessible restroom, accessible parking spaces); the outdoor area of the Mayen Grubenfeld is not.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

Touching and trying things out is explicitly encouraged: there are millstones at original size, flour grinding the old way and a classroom with a quiz. For children there are treasure hunts with a puzzle card across the quarry (the mascot is the bat Siggi) and a child-friendly tour. Children under 100 cm tall enter free.

Getting there & parking

Parking spaces are available.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Plan your visit