Museum für Ur- und Frühgeschichte in Wieselburg

From 1949, the passionate local historian Stefan Denk worked intensively on the prehistory and early history of the Erlauf region. In cooperation with the Federal Monuments Office and the Austrian Archaeological Institute, archaeological excavations were carried out in the Erlauf region for the first time. When Stefan Denk died in 1958, a considerable collection of artefacts had been found, which was exhibited in Wieselburg town hall until the early 1990s. It formed the basis for the Wieselburg Museum of Prehistory and Early History, which was founded in 1994. Since then, the collection has been expanded many times over through donations and loans from numerous collectors and researchers. These collections represent a rich fund for science, which is constantly bringing new findings to light.

The Erlauf region in the Lower Austrian Alps and Alpine foothills acquired its current landscape character at the end of the last glacial period around 10,000 years ago. At that time, dense mixed forests developed. The first Stone Age farmers settled in the area and had to create open cultivated areas for farming and livestock breeding. Since then, the Erlauf region has been shaped by people from different cultures and the traces of their lives. The ground on which we stand is a comprehensive historical archive.

The collection of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History Wieselburg includes finds from the early Neolithic period to the end of the Early Middle Ages. The collection of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History Wieselburg includes finds from the early Neolithic period to the end of the Early Middle Ages. The oldest objects are stone axes and arrowheads from farmers and hunters. Rare copper axes herald the material change to the Bronze Age. Many finds, such as a ceramic vessel with the inscription "Mercator" ("merchant") and a coin with the image of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, prove that business and trade also took place in the Wieselburg area in Roman times. The glass bead necklace of a Slavic woman from the early Middle Ages is one of the most recent finds.

An almost 2,500-year-old Celtic sword and a sword scabbard decorated with two dragons were discovered during excavation work in Wieselburg. It was a sensation in 1966: an almost 2,500-year-old Celtic sword and a sword scabbard decorated with two dragons were discovered during excavation work in Wieselburg. This and other finds from past centuries tell of the life and death of people in the Erlauf region. They are the cultural heritage of an entire region. The Wieselburg Museum of Prehistory and Early History preserves these traces, which are being deciphered step by step by scientists. This makes the fascinating past come alive and tangible for the people of today.