Our "classic" guided tour. In one hour, we present the main topics of the Africa and Korea collections, the work of the St. Ottilien Missionary Benedictines and the museum's historical background.

This guided tour is available in English as well as in French and German.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Our 90 minute premium tour allows a detailed presentation of all topics in the Africa and Korea collections of the permanent exhibition. Interesting details as well as stories and anecdotes around the museum complete the tour. For any specific topic you want to focus on, get in touch with us.

This tour is available in English as well as in French and German.

Duration: 90 min
Fee

Whether you visit St. Ottilien on foot or by bike, a museum tour can be comfortably combined with a tour around the monastery's premises.

You visit the abbey church, the area around the agricultural workshops, school, historic train station and cemetery with individualized crosses, and hear many interesting facts about the main seat of the Missionary Benedictines and life in the monastery. After this outdoor tour, you visit the museum and get an overview of the permanent exhibition.

This tour is available in English as well as in French and German.

Duration: 120 min
Fee

Stored in the museum's depository, there are around 4.000 objects, which are not presented in the permanent exhibition; among them valuable pieces as well as curiosities connected with fantastic stories.

We bring out some "treasures" from these rooms which are not accessible for visitors and present them in detail.

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Starting from the museum's origin in 1887, there are many stories and anecdotes around the historic building, former museum directors and the collected objects. A missing chimney and a secret hide underneath innocent-looking animals or the Prince Regent's visit are only a few of them.

St. Ottilien's archive is a real treasure box for providing both funny and sad stories in connection to the museum.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

In times where color photography or digitization were not yet available, you had to rely on lifelike representations of animals. To create "stuffed animals" from hides and bird skins that were as realistic as possible was then and is still a great art.

We demonstrate on selected objects how taxidermy then and now works and take a look inside the specimens.

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

The term "mission" with its Latin origin has got a problematic connotation as a religious concept, the word "missionize" even more so.

In the museum, we discuss testimonies of St. Ottilien's mission history and reflect on the worldwide engagements of the present-day Missionary Benedictines.

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

The return of objects in the Mission Museum started years before the current discussion around restitution of cultural goods from European museums. In the context of cooperations, exhibits were given back to Korea as donations.

The tour presents scientific exploration and provenance research of the museum's inventory. We present our returns to South Korea as well as our restitution concept.
At the end of the tour, there is time for questions and discussion.

This tour is limited to 20 persons..

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Ethnological museums and missionary collections like ours are part of the social discussion about German colonial history. Objects acquired in the context of colonial structures are the starting point for the key question about the relationship between mission and colonialism.

Based on the end of 19th century religious concept and the self-conception of Christian Europeans for civil development of the indigenous population we follow a search for traces in the museum's permanent exhibition.

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

In 1908, the St. Ottilien Missionary Benedictines started their activities in Korea. During Japanese occupation until 1945, the old Korean culture was suppressed. Archabbot Norbert Weber (1870-1956) and his confreres bought many objects in order to prevent them from disappearance.

The permanent exhibition presents many examples of everyday culture and artwork from the Joseon period (1392-1897).

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

The original of the "Complete Map of the World" dates back to the 17th century. It was designed by a Flemish Jesuit who worked as an astronomer at the Chinese emperor's court. How came the map to Korea and what is the meaning of the Chinese inscriptions?

A travel around the world 350 years ago with fantastic stories about countries and people.

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

(Dr. Choung-Hi Lee-Kuhn, Tanja Holthausen)

The exhibits of our Korea collection demonstrate the end of an historical epoch, which definitely ended in 1910. However, in the last decades, South Korea developed from an agrarian society to one of Asia's leading economies.

Did the old traditions vanish with this development? The position of women, wedding traditions and ancestor worship, arts and house construction are some of the topics covered by this dialog between historic tradition and modernism.

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Besides Christianity, which is well integrated despite its short tradition, Buddhism and Shamanism also prevail in South Korea. In addition, the Confucianist system of values influences many aspects of today's society.

This journey through the epocs of Korean history from the 4th century to the present time shows the wide variety of religions in Korea.

This tour is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

This tour focusses on the first activities of the St. Ottilien Missionary Benedictines in today's Tanzania and the new start After World War II in South Africa.

The objects in our permanent exhibition demonstrate impressively the local people's way of living and the eventful mission history in the colonial area of former German East Africa.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Animal hides and plants were included from the start in the collecting activities of the St. Ottilien Missionary Benedictines.

While the well preserved skins were mounted to "stuffed animals", the botanical collection suffered severe losses.

Entries in the museum's inventory book give more details for some of the objects. The tour shows our zoological and botanical highlights and offers interesting background information.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

"Safari" is a word from the East African Swahili language; it stands for any kind of travel, especially on foot. The word was also used by the former German and English colonial rulers for hunting expeditions.

Our "safari" is "targeted" at the specialities in the African dioramas and in the museum's great bird showcase.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

As a school teacher or manager of a kindergarten group with interest in a guided tour, please contact us via e-mail.

You can choose from the tours in our program or suggest suitable topics. For school classes we provide individual tours connected to curriculum focusses of all grades, especially in subjects as history, religion and art.

The duration of the tour is flexible to your needs.

Fee

Kangas are colorful pieces of cloth, which are used as clothing and for many other purposes. They show a pattern and a banderole in Swahili. Often the texts represent proverbs or good wishes. In everyday life, both friendly messages and inconvenient truths can be conveyed with a kanga.

The event is accompanied by a short film and many concrete examples of modern kangas. And of course you can try on a kanga!

This event is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Although drumming is common all over the globe, no other continent has a comparable variety of drums like Africa. Beating the drums served originally as a means for transferring messages, supported acts of war and accompanied rituals for celebrations and festivities of all kinds. So it is not surprising that the drum became the most important instrument in the Christian church service.

In the museum, we see diferent old drums among other musical instruments; moreover, we will try some newer drums ourselves.

This event is limited to 20 Persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Bark cloth ist the oldest textile fabric of mankind. The peeled off bark from certain trees was processed into cloth in Uganda, Tanzania and other countries. At the end of the 19th century, bark cloth was replaced by imported cotton fabric. Today, African fashion designers use bark cloth anew for their collections.

You will see the museum's bark cloth exhibits and learn about the time-consuming production of this fabric in a short film. Material samples show how soft cloth is made from rough bark.

This event is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

The wealth of African fairytales and fables represents the wildlife of the savannah; not only the protagonists differ from our well-known stories: the intelligent spider, the smart hare, the greedy hyaena or the wise turtle often have to fight against stronger animals like lions. During the storytelling, drums are speaking. An experience of listening and participating.

This event is limited to 20 persons.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

The long nights of the winter months are a good opportunity to experience the museum exclusively in a smalll group. In the beam of the flashlights, some of the mounted animals seem to come alive, and details become prominent that would go without notice in daylight.

Participation from age 6 and above. Children must be accompanied by adults. Please bring your own flashlight.

This event is limited to 20 persons.

The tours take place from the beginning of November to the end of February. The start depends on the time of sunset.
November: from 6.30 p.m.
December: from 5.30 p.m.
January: from 6 p.m.
February: from 6.30 p.m.

Duration: 60 min
Fee

Baboon Nyani is the victim of a robbery - somebody stole his coconut!

Together with the children, he starts a nighttime tour in the savannah to different animals which give him hints about the mysterious thief; and together the solve this thrilling criminal case.

Participation from age 6 and above. Children must be accompanied by adults. Please bring your own flashlight.

This event is limited to 20 persons.

The tours take place from the beginning of November to the end of February. The start depends on the time of sunset.
November: from 6.30 p.m.
December: from 5.30 p.m.
January: from 6 p.m.
February: from 6.30 p.m.

Duration: 60 min
Fee