Town Museum Battenberg (Eder)

In the 18th century, numerous stately homes were built in and around Battenberg in connection with the hunting parties of the Landgraves of Hessen-Darmstadt. The influence that the princely lords exerted on the town and its population is the subject of the exhibition on hunting history, which also features the antlers of the famous Battenberg stag from 1767 (copy). This magnificent animal was once captured by Landgrave Ludwig VIII and released near Darmstadt.

An ancestral gallery shows portraits of landgraves and landgravines of the Hessian-Darmstadt line. Prince Alexander is of particular importance to Battenberg, as his wife Julie von Haucke was given the title "Princess of Battenberg" in 1851 to make her marriage, which was not in keeping with her rank, socially acceptable. An audio-visual show provides information about the exciting (love) story of the two and the rise of the noble von Battenberg family to European royalty. One example is the English branch of the von Battenberg family, Mountbatten-Windsor, represented by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

A special attraction is the section on the motorcycle races on the Battenberg Ring. These races took place between 1950 and 1956 and were attended by up to 40,000 visitors each time.

A separate exhibition area is dedicated to mining in the region (with a focus on manganese ore), which was also important for the landgraves. This is directly connected to the Burgbergstollen visitor mine, which can be reached on foot in five minutes from the market square. In the visitor mine, 150-year-old tunnels and shafts illustrate the working conditions of miners underground (guided tours only).

As a visitor, you can use free audio guides to take you through the museum individually.

Guided tours are also available outside regular opening hours.