(c) by Antikenmuseum der Universität Leipzig. All rights reserved.
Description [EN]
Antikenmuseum
The Antikenmuseum (Museum of Antiquities) was founded in 1840, making it one of the oldest and most important collections of Greek and Roman antiquities at German universities. After an eventful history, it has been exhibiting painted ceramics, marble sculptures, terracotta figures and clay reliefs, bronze statuettes and utensils, clay lamps and glassware from the ancient Mediterranean region in its teaching and study collection in the Alte Nikolaischule, which is open to the public, since 1994. In addition to the sculpture collection of the Dresden State Art Collections, it is now Saxony´s only museum that focuses comprehensively on Greco-Roman antiquity.
An overview of the materials that have survived from various regions of the ancient Mediterranean forms the starting point for the exhibition. Several examples are used to provide an insight into the scientific analysis methods used to examine ancient materials.
In the approximately 450 objects on display, aspects such as ancient mythology or different burial customs, e.g. in clay sarcophagi but also underneath marble stelae, through to exuberant excerpts of ancient life in the form of scenes from the feast are thematized. While the oldest finds from the Schliemann excavations at Troy belong to the so-called Bronze Age, the period of the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC, the latest finds date to the Roman imperial period of the 4th century AD. The museum thus brings together legacies from well over 3000 years of human history. The holdings of Greek ceramics, which were produced in Athens and became a real export hit throughout the entire Mediterranean region in the years 600-400, are particularly rich. The development of its forms and decoration is shown from its beginnings to its heyday. The extensive, but not exhibited, collection of casts of ancient statues is represented by at least one object. In addition to marble heads and sculptures from the Roman Empire, a particular highlight of the visit is not an antique object, but a model of a house made by the British architect Nicholas Wood and donated to the museum. It shows the famous ´House of the Tragic Poet´ from a 19th-century novel, with a mosaic on the doorstep warning those entering about the dog.
A new addition to the permanent exhibition is a tour for the visually impaired and blind, for whom antiquity is literally “within reach” at specially marked red stations. Like other exhibitions, this is the result of the work of students, whose commitment contributes to the continuing vitality of the site.
The cultures of the Greeks and Romans are brought to life in exhibitions, guided tours for school classes and visitor groups. The museum also regularly hosts seminars and tutorials for archaeology students at Leipzig University.
Opening hours:
Wednesday - Friday 11:00 - 16:00
Saturday - Sunday 12:00 - 17:00
Closed during public holidays.
Accessibility
Door width (in cm)
96
Guidance system for visually impaired people, Tactile / acoustic map
Yes
Access stairless
Yes
Elevator door width (in cm)
78
Disabled toilet
Yes
Labeling in pictograms
No
Inscription in braille
No
Acoustically accessible exhibition objects
No
Tactile accessible exhibition objects
No
Print medium in braille inscription / large print
No
Tactile / audio tours
No
Guided tours in sign language
No
Tactile flooring system
No
Barrier-free Audioguides
No
Educational programs for visitors with learning difficulties
No