About Kempten Museum
2,000 Years of Kempten’s History Retold
In December 2019, the Kempten Museum in the Zumstein House began welcoming visitors to its 580 square metres of wheelchair-accessible exhibition space. The museum offers vivid exhibits in which complex material is presented in a way that is easy to understand. Participation points appealing to all the senses transform the museum visit into an enthralling experience.
Kempten in Space and Time
A walkable map of Kempten located on the ground floor provides a quick means of orientation. The town’s most important sights and the fastest routes for getting to them can be identified at a glance. Posted on the wall is a timeline showing 100 significant events in Kempten’s history stretching from the Roman era to the present day mapped against historical events from around the world.
Exhibition room "Kempten in Space and Time" / © Kempten Museum, Hermann Rupp
At Home with the Zumsteins
What’s the story behind the Zumstein name? How did it happen that two brothers from the Allgäu’s Aosta Valley became prosperous fabric merchants and ended up building one of Kempten’s most important buildings?
The “At Home with the Zumsteins” exhibition room tells the brothers’ stirring story and how they came to construct the Zumstein House, the listed building named after them which is now home to the Kempten Museum.
Oil painting by Johann Nicolaus Zumstein (builder of the Zumstein House) around 1830 / © Kempten Museum
Themed Spaces
The history of the city from the Romans all the way to the present is examined in detail on the first and second floors of the Kempten Museum, where there are eleven spaces devoted to different transhistorical themes: The Powerful and the Powerless; Transport; Belief Systems; Health; Urban Space; Production; Migration; Market; A Place to Live; Leisure Time and Recreation; and the Allgäu Festival.
Dive into Kempten’s eventful history!
Exhibition space "The Powerful and the Powerless" / © Kempten Museum, Hermann Rupp
Activity Path for Kids and Families
Get involved and have a great time at the Kempten Museum.
Look out, girls and boys, the Zumstein mice are on the loose! Wherever you see one of our mice, you’ll find something exciting in the exhibition to explore and try out.
The Zumstein Mice /© Kempten Museum, Roger Mayrock
Activity Points
There are a series of activity stations located throughout the exhibition enabling visitors to experience Kempten’s history with all their senses. How would you like to see yourself in some “medieval fashion items”, for example?
Active point "Middle Ages fashion" / © Kemptenn Museum, Karl Jena
Special Exhibitions
The Citizens’ Centre is a venue for the museum’s special exhibitions: these are developed with active input from Kempten residents.
The Citizens’ Centre with changing exhibitions / © Kempten Museum
Basement Cinema
The Basement Cinema shows a wide range of different films: in most cases, the themes they deal with have a connection to Kempten. The cinema is conceived as a platform for presenting local film-makers and participatory film projects. Welcome to Kempten Museum’s Basement Cinema!
Basement Cinema / © Kempten Museum, Hermann Rupp