From 6 October 2022

Decline and renewal – Early Middle Ages in the Southern Upper Rhine

Archäologisches Museum Colombischlössle

Almost everyone can imagine what the times of the Romans and knights was like. But what happened in our region in the roughly 500 years in between? The new exhibition space in the Colombischlössle presents finds from this exciting era. Was it just a time of doom? 

For a long time, researchers assumed that society in the southern Upper Rhine region collapsed after the end of the Western Roman Empire. Archaeological finds such as precious jewelry, swords of the highest quality and imported goods from foreign lands tell a very different story. Within three centuries the life of the people changes in many ways: On the hills squares are fortified and developed, in the plains farms and villages are developing. Near them, over generations, small cemeteries grow into large burial grounds with several hundred graves.

The exhibition Decline and renewal offers the opportunity to take a look at the transition to a new age!