A visit to the Natural History Museum of the city of Aschaffenburg is an extraordinary experience. It is, in a way, a "museum of a museum" that presents its exhibits in a very traditional manner. This nostalgic charm turns the tour into a journey through the history of science. It is particularly fascinating to see the local bird life—usually only observed from a distance—so close at hand, allowing visitors to appreciate their true size and intricate details from up close.

From College to Museum

The roots of this impressive collection lie in the Aschaffenburg Forestry College, which existed from 1807 to 1910. What delights visitors today as a public exhibition originally served as teaching material for prospective foresters. The zoological, botanical, and geological-mineralogical holdings contain numerous individual objects that today possess not only high visual appeal but are also of invaluable scientific-historical worth.

Science in a City Palace

Since 1970, the magnificent Schönborner Hof—a former city palace of the Counts of Schönborn dating from 1681—has housed the collections. In the heart of Aschaffenburg's city center, the museum now showcases the treasures of the Spessart and the Bavarian Lower Main. Under the patronage of Prince-Primate Karl Theodor von Dalberg, the former private forestry school grew into a significant center for forestry research and education, the legacy of which is preserved here.

Treasures from the Underground

On the first floor, a glittering world awaits visitors. The geological-mineralogical department provides a comprehensive overview of all ten mineral classes. Alongside a systematically organized collection, nearly all minerals from the Spessart and Odenwald regions are represented. Particularly noteworthy is the secondary mineralization of the quartz porphyry from the Hartkoppe near Sailauf, which is displayed here with a level of completeness that is unparalleled worldwide.