Territorialmuseum Babenhausen

About the museum

The museum is housed at Amtsgasse 32, the former administrative seat of the noble Gayling von Altheim family. The half-timbered building on a solid masonry ground floor bears construction inscriptions from the 1550s and 1570s and, together with the neighboring house at No. 30, forms a listed ensemble. After standing empty for a long time, the building was bought in 2010 by Babenhausen building contractor and local historian Dieter Aumann, who placed it in the nonprofit Stiftung Amtsgasse 32 foundation.

After restoration, the Territorialmuseum opened on March 30, 2014. The renovation won the Hessian Monument Protection Prize in 2014 and the German Half-Timbering Prize in 2015, and in 2018 the building was named Museum of the Month in Hesse. The museum is run by volunteers from the Heimat- und Geschichtsverein Babenhausen (local history society).

Rather than a conventional local history museum, the result is a narrative presentation with numerous audio stations. Spread over three levels and about 300 square meters, it ranges from prehistory, with a reconstructed burial mound, through the Middle Ages, the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg, the witch hunts, the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War to railroad construction, industrialization, the Cellba celluloid doll factory and the town's history as a garrison. In the courtyard is a lapidarium with gravestones and boundary stones, and inside the building there is a reference library on local history.

Highlights

• Original column capital from Babenhausen castle, dating from 1189
• View of the palace around 1780 by Anton Wilhelm Tischbein
• Figure of the robber Hölzerlips with a genuine executioner's sword
• Cannonball from the Thirty Years' War
• Reconstructed Bronze Age burial mound
• Lapidarium with gravestones and boundary stones in the courtyard

Permanent exhibitions

• Babenhäuser Stadtgeschichte von der Vorzeit bis ins 20. Jahrhundert – A tour over three levels, from finds and the burial mound in the lower level through colorfully designed theme rooms on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to industry, Cellba dolls and the garrison in the attic.
• Lapidarium – Tomb slabs from the town church and boundary and marker stones, displayed in the museum courtyard.

Founded

2014

Operated by

Stiftung Amtsgasse 32; Betrieb durch den Heimat- und Geschichtsverein Babenhausen e. V.

Admission & discounts

Accessibility

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

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations

In the attic, children and adults can dress up in robber vests and slouch hats and take photos; interactive stations include cooking a digital Stone Age soup.

Getting there & parking

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

Amenities & dining

Local history reference library in the building; restrooms and kitchenette on the raised ground floor.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The lecture room on the raised ground floor can be used free of charge by cultural associations.

Plan your visit