History

With the establishment of an Extraordinariate for Classical Archaeology in Münster in the winter semester of 1883/84, it was simultaneously decided to found a museum and to begin building up a collection. At the beginning of the 20th century, the museum already had holdings that could be made accessible to the public. The collection was lost during the Second World War and was not rebuilt until the early 1960s. In 1995, the display collection moved from the former bicycle cellar of the Fürstenberghaus to the Lothar-Zelz-Saal, which was newly furnished by the university.In 2007/2008, far-reaching changes took place: With the move into Nienkamp 60, all the holdings of the cast collection of antique sculptures and the model collection of antique monuments, sites and shrines can now finally be presented. The Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb des Landes NRW, the University of Münster and the Friends of the EMU made it possible to create the new entrance area and equip it with display cases and a new exhibition design.
In 2018/2019, the museum was significantly expanded, so that an area of 550m² is now available.