Bảo tàng lịch sử Quốc gia

The Westphalian Museum of Archaeology in Herne is the central showcase for archaeology in Westphalia. It invites the public to get to know the most important discoveries of almost 200 years of archaeological research in Westphalia.

Excavation has been chosen as a basic element of design for the museum at its new location in Herne. The architecture adopts this image by locating all exhibition areas under ground as this is the place where archaeologists have to go to encounter the trace of the past. This theme is logically developed in the design of the permanent exhibition which resembles one gigantic excavation site. Walking through the museum, the visitor experiences Westphalian history from the Ice Age to World War II, taking the view of an archaeologist. Pictures and objects on and in the outside walls connect Westphalia with the rest of the world.

However, the archaeologists do not only intend to attract the visitors to the excavation site. They also show us what comes before and after it. Nowadays, excavation is no longer the sole task of archaeology. The examination of the discovery site and the findings made there lead all too often to questions which cannot be answered on the spot. Here, the advances made by the science offer an increasing number of possibilities to answer those questions.

The relocation of the archaeological Landesmuseum from Münster to Herne has opened a new chapter in the history of the largest exhibited of archaeological collection in Westphalia. It is now almost 200 years old. The museum offers a variety of events to members of the public, curious about the way the picture drawn of our history constantly changes.

At its present location in the Ruhr area – Europe’s third largest conurbation – the museum looks consciously beyond its borders and deals with the global and future dimensions of archaeology and research.

The Library of Vietnam National Museum of History (No. 25 Tong Dan Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) would like to present to readers!

Mai An