Archaeological State Collection

About this place

The Bavarian Archaeological State Collection sits at the southern tip of the English Garden, directly behind the Haus der Kunst, and it has a single remit: what has come out of Bavarian soil. No Egyptian rooms, no imported classical marbles — instead the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, the Roman occupation of the province of Raetia, then the Germanic tribes and the early Middle Ages. It is the history of the ground you are standing on. The museum was shut for roughly eight years for a complete rebuild and reopened in April 2024 with an entirely new permanent display. It runs on two circuits: the first explains archaeology as a modern science — how a layer of earth is read, how a bone is dated, how the relationship between people and their landscape is reconstructed; the second is a chronological journey through more than fifteen thousand objects. Hands-on stations, sound installations and life-size comic drawings by the Munich illustrator Frank Schmolke accompany you between the rooms. It is a strong museum for families and for anyone who wants to understand Bavaria before it was Bavaria, and it is far less crowded than the museums of the Kunstareal. Being a few minutes from the end of the English Garden, it slots easily onto a walk in the park or a visit to the Haus der Kunst. Closed Mondays, with late opening until seven on Thursdays and Sundays.