The Historisches Museum on the Römerberg is Frankfurt’s municipal museum. The unique historic architectural ensemble welcomes visitors with topical permanent and special exhibitions as well as a wide range of events and activities to accompany children and adults in exploring the city of Frankfurt and its history.
Frankfurt’s oldest municipal museum presents five fascinating permanent exhibitions. The architectonic fragments of the twelfth/thirteenth-century royal castle bring the city’s “Staufer Age” back to life. A show in the Toll Tower entitled “Main Panorama” is devoted to life and trade on the Main since early modern times. In the Neo-Romanesque Burnitz Building, the opulent presentation “Collectors and Donors of Frankfurt” features the outstanding holdings of twelve notable private collectors of the seventeenth to twentieth centuries. Frankfurt’s “Town Models” – among them the famous old town model created by the Treuner brothers in the years 1925–1961 – are on display on the upper level of the Bernus Palais. There visitors will also find the “Bibliothek der Alten”, an open archive of Frankfurt authors enhanced by a new contribution every year. This diverse exhibition programme is regularly supplemented with special shows.
Since the opening of the new building on the Römerberg in October 2017 the Historisches Museum presents itself as a modern municipal museum of the twenty-first century with completely new exhibitions on Frankfurt’s variegated history.
The Historical Museum has furnished the two upper floors of the front building of The House of the Golden Scales in Frankfurt's historic district with furniture, paintings and everyday objects from the 17th and 18th century, as they could have been inhabited by the wealthy merchant family van Hamel, who built the house in 1618. A visit to the House of the Golden Scales is possible only in connection with guided tours.
The Branches
The Young Museum Frankfurt, featuring a special exhibition programme and educational activities for children, is located at the Historisches Museum.The Kronberger Haus in Frankfurt-Höchst presents a fine collection of Höchst porcelain.
Municipal museum of the City of Frankfurt
Free admission for children and young persons under 18