Schloss & Museum Alt-Falkenstein

About the museum

Alt-Falkenstein Castle was built in the Middle Ages by the Counts of Falkenstein at the entrance to the Jura and was first mentioned in 1255. It guarded the road through the Klus gorge on the border with the territory of the Bishop of Basel. In the early 15th century it passed to the city of Solothurn, which installed bailiffs here.

The museum goes back to the Museumsgesellschaft founded in 1919, a private association. The first museum was last housed in the old Amtshaus of Balsthal and was damaged in the flood of 1926. The society then moved to the freshly renovated castle, where the local history museum opened in 1929. As co-founders, Anton Nünlist, Werner Heutschi, Hans Kölliker and Emil Rumpel shaped the holdings through their collecting. Since 2017 the association has been called “Schloss und Museum Alt-Falkenstein”.

The collection shows art and crafts of the region: ceramics, including Aedermannsdorf ware of the “blue family”, and products of the Mümliswil comb-making trade, as well as fossils from the Jura strata discovered by the museum's founder Nünlist (two species of sea urchin are named after him). One room is devoted to polearms, handguns, suits of armour and rapiers from the 16th and 17th centuries, and three rooms are furnished in the style of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Highlights

• Ceramics collection with Aedermannsdorf ware of the “blue family”
• Products of the Mümliswil comb-making trade
• Fossils from the Jura, including sea urchin species discovered by the museum's founder
• Room of weapons and armour from the 16th and 17th centuries
• Castle tower that can be climbed

Permanent exhibition

• Heimatmuseum Alt-Falkenstein – Collection on the crafts, art and everyday life of the Thal region: ceramics, fossils, weapons and rooms furnished in the style of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Founded

1919

Operated by

Verein Schloss und Museum Alt-Falkenstein

Admission & discounts

The price covers the museum and the tower. Payment in cash or by TWINT.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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

For historical reasons, the castle is not accessible.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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