Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte
City museum founded in 1907 in the Bayenturm, covering regional prehistory – destroyed in 1943, its remnants became the founding stock of the Romano-Germanic Museum.
since 1907
The Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Cologne was a municipal institution founded in 1907, housed in the Bayenturm on the Rhine riverbank in the city's southern old town. Its collection offered an overview of regional history spanning from the Neolithic period to the early Middle Ages.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Municipal prehistoric museum
- Location
- Bayenturm on the Rhine riverbank, Altstadt-Süd
- Founded
- 1907
- Collection
- Regional finds from the Neolithic to the early Middle Ages
- End
- Destroyed in an air raid in June 1943
- Legacy
- Surviving remnants helped form the founding stock of the Romano-Germanic Museum
The museum was founded in 1907 not by the city itself but by a private Anthropological Society, which then handed it over to the city at a ceremonial opening attended by renowned scholars from across Germany and abroad. After its destruction in 1943, the rescued remnants of its collection became the founding nucleus of today's Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne.
Things to do here
- Marvel at the eventful history of the Bayenturm on the Rhine bank
- Trace the prehistory and early history of Cologne
- Discover the story from this museum to the Roman-Germanic Museum
- Stroll along the Rhine bank in the Südstadt
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
From Society to Museum
In 1903, Cologne citizens established an Anthropological Society to promote knowledge of anthropology and build a prehistoric library through donations. Their efforts culminated in the founding of a dedicated prehistoric museum, led by Carl Rademacher (1859–1935) from Altenrath in the Siegkreis.
The Collection
The first exhibits likely came from excavations led by Rademacher since 1893, including digs at burial mound fields in Rath, Dellbrück, and Dünnwald. The collection was later enriched by finds from Linear Pottery Culture settlement sites in the western parts of the city — in Müngersdorf, Vogelsang, Mengenich, and Lindenthal.
Transfer to the City
Under Mayor Wilhelm von Becker, the city offered to take over the society's private collection and convert the Bayenturm into a museum building. The formal handover took place on 30 July 1907 and was marked by a scholarly conference at the Gürzenich banquet hall. Rademacher continued to lead the now-municipal museum and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cologne in 1927. Werner Buttler directed the institution from 1931 to 1936, followed by Walter von Stokar from 1939.
Destruction and Legacy
An air raid on 29 June 1943 gutted the exhibition rooms and destroyed a large portion of the collection. Rescued remnants were mostly moved to the Severinstorburg. In 1946, these remains were combined with the Roman and Germanic departments of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum to form the institution that would eventually become the Romano-Germanic Museum.
Timeline
- 1697Fire severely damages the Bayenturm
- 1881Bayenturm escapes demolition; site passes to the city of Cologne
- 1895–1898Extensive restoration of fire damage to the Bayenturm
- 1903Foundation of the Cologne Anthropological Society
- 1907Ceremonial transfer to the city; opening as a municipal museum (29/30 July)
- 1931–1936Werner Buttler becomes director; discovers the Linear Pottery village in Lindenthal
- 1939Walter von Stokar takes over as museum director
- 29. Juni 1943Bombing raid destroys the exhibition rooms; most of the collection lost
- Oktober 1946Successor institution founded; basis of today's Romano-Germanic Museum
Map
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-26
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