Museum Alte Kulturen

Top choice in Swabian Alps Region


Housed in Tübingen's hilltop castle, this fascinating archaeology museum houses the 40,000-year-old Vogelherd figurines – the world’s oldest figurative artworks – which were recently awarded Unesco World Heritage status along with the Vogelherdhöhle caves in the Swabian Alps where they were discovered. Carved from mammoth ivory, the thumb-sized statuettes of horses and mammoths, plus jewellery, are nothing short of extraordinary. Neolithic ceramics and flints, ancient Babylonian cuneiform script tablets and the tomb of Tomb of Seshemnefer III from Giza are other highlights.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Swabian Alps Region attractions

1. Schloss Hohentübingen

0.02 MILES

On its perch above Tübingen, this turreted 16th-century castle has a terrace overlooking the Neckar River, the Altstadt’s triangular rooftops and the vine…

2. Rathaus

0.13 MILES

Drawing the gaze high above Am Markt, Tübingen's 15th-century Rathaus sports a riotous, exuberantly frescoed baroque facade and an astronomical clock.

3. Neptunbrunnen

0.14 MILES

Statues of four women representing the seasons grace the Neptunbrunnen, the centrepiece of Am Markt square.

4. Am Markt

0.15 MILES

Half-timbered townhouses frame the Altstadt’s main plaza Am Markt, a much-loved student hang-out. Rising above it is the 15th-century Rathaus (town hall),…

5. Platanenallee

0.2 MILES

Steps lead down from Eberhardsbrücke bridge to Platanenallee, a leafy islet on the Neckar River canopied by sycamore trees. From here, there are views up…

6. Cottahaus

0.22 MILES

The Cottahaus is the one-time home of Johann Friedrich Cotta, who first published the works of Schiller and Goethe. A bit of a lad, Goethe conducted…

7. Hölderlinturm

0.22 MILES

You can see how the dreamy Neckar views from this silver-turreted tower fired the imagination of Romantic poet Friedrich Hölderlin, resident here from…

8. Stiftskirche St Georg

0.25 MILES

The late-Gothic Stiftskirche shelters the tombs of the Württemberg dukes and some dazzling late-medieval stained-glass windows.