South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology Bozen

The Iceman

The main attraction of the museum is Ötzi, the "Iceman". It is one of the most important mummies in the world and can be visited in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. It can be seen through a 40x30 cm wall hole, which allows a view into its cold store. Here Ötzi is preserved on precision scales at -6 degrees C and 98% humidity. The facility in which Ötzi is kept is extremely complex and also includes a laboratory and a computer station where measurements of the body are recorded. For emergencies there is an in-house alarm and security system.

The museum also sheds light on the circumstances of his find, shows what is so extraordinary about Ötzi, what he looked like and under what circumstances he probably died. You can also marvel at his clothing and equipment and learn interesting facts about the everyday life of Copper Age Alpine people. Three floors of the museum are dedicated to the permanent exhibition about Ötzi.

Special exhibitions

Special exhibitions on the archaeology of South Tyrol take place at regular intervals on the upper floor of the museum. The best way to find out in advance which topic is currently being dealt with is to visit the website of the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.

Archaeology multimedia

Just like the permanent exhibition about Ötzi, the special exhibitions are multimedia-based and bring history to life in the form of animations, videos, original exhibits and a modern concept. In the museum, for example, there is a table with an integrated screen on which Ötzi is shown life-size. The fingers can be moved over individual parts of the mummy's body and the corresponding part of the body can be displayed, for example, as an X-ray image or in the form of muscle fibres.

The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was opened in 1998, and before the annually changing special exhibitions moved into the attic of the museum, it housed a permanent exhibition on the archaeology of the southern Alpine arc.

By train:

You can take the train to Bozen. Since the main station is very central, you only have about 15 minutes to walk to the museum.

By bus:

From the main station you can also take the bus to the museum. It stops at Sparkassenstraße, from where it is only a few minutes' walk to the museum.

Coming from the district of Gries, you get off either in Rosministraße or in Spitalgasse and then you also have only a few minutes to the museum.

By plane:

The nearest airport is the Airport Bozen Dolomiten. From here you can continue by public transport.

By car:

You can reach Bolzano from the north and south via the SS12 state road or via the A22 Brenner-Modena toll motorway.

From the Resia Pass you take the state road SS38 and the motorway MeBo (Merano-Bolzano).

You can park in the city centre of Bolzano for a fee.