Steinmuseum Solothurn
Small museum in Solothurn's old town on Solothurn limestone and the stone trade, with free admission and exhibits you can touch.
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About the museum
The Steinmuseum goes back to the association "Freunde des Solothurner Steins", founded in 1980, which has been called "Solothurner Steinfreunde" since 1991. In 1983 the association opened a first museum under the name "Steinmuseum Kreuzen" in Rüttenen; in 1997 it moved to the old town of Solothurn, right next to the Jesuit Church.
The exhibition largely grew out of the lapidarium of the former cloister of the Jesuit college. Almost all objects belong to the city or canton of Solothurn, while the association organises and runs the museum. On show are building elements, inscriptions, sculptures and tombs that tell of the use of white Solothurn limestone since Roman times, along with tools and evidence of the former stone industry, which supplied stone as far as Alsace in the 19th century.
Special features are the exhibits you can touch, which also make the museum accessible to people with visual impairments, and a free audio guide that leads through the museum and on through the old town. For the project "Mit den Händen sehen" (Seeing with your hands), the museum received the tourism prize of the canton of Solothurn in 2013. The association also looks after the Megalithweg, a trail to erratic boulders in the forests around Solothurn.
Highlights
- Building elements, inscriptions and sculptures made of Solothurn limestone
- Exhibits may be touched, including by people with visual impairments
- Free audio guide through the museum and old town (German, French, English)
- Roman-era evidence and tools of the stone trade
- Megalithweg trail to 13 erratic boulders around Solothurn
Permanent exhibition
- Steine erzählen Geschichte(n) – Permanent exhibition on the significance of Solothurn limestone for the city's buildings, inscriptions and sculptures, and on the former stone industry.
- Founded
- 1983
- Operated by
- Verein Solothurner Steinfreunde
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Group tour for up to 15 people (German, May–October) | CHF 100Register with the office, usually during opening hours. |
|---|---|
| Tour for 16–30 people (in two groups) | CHF 200 |
| Audio guide rental device | CHF 5The audio guide is free on your own smartphone. |
Free admission.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The museum is on one level and, according to the city portal, is wheelchair accessible. Visitors with visual impairments are expressly invited to touch the exhibits; special tours are available on request.
Kids & families
- Hands-on stations
The exhibits may be touched. Visits for school classes are also possible outside opening hours.
Getting there & parking
The museum is centrally located in the old town, halfway between St. Ursen Cathedral and the market square, to the right of the main entrance of the Jesuit Church.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (DE, FR, EN) |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | The audio guide "Stein-Geschichten im Museum" (Stone Stories in the Museum) lasts about 25 minutes; the old-town walk "Stein-Spuren in der Solothurner Altstadt" (Stone Traces in Solothurn's Old Town) takes about an hour including walking time; rental devices are available at the museum and from Solothurn Tourismus. Group tours by registration with the office. |
