Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte

The State Museum of Prehistory is the most important reason most archaeology-minded travellers come to Halle. The collections cover central German prehistory from the Palaeolithic onwards, with star pieces including Stone Age burials from the Goseck circle, Bronze Age hoards, and — above all — the Nebra Sky Disc.

The disc has its own darkened room and is well worth the trip on its own. The wider permanent exhibition is large, well-lit, and ambitious; allow at least two hours. Labels include thorough English summaries.

things to do museum
A story
The Nebra Sky Disc, the bronze plate inlaid with gold sun, moon and stars that the museum displays in a dimmed central room, is the oldest concrete depiction of the cosmos yet found anywhere in the world — about 3,600 years old. It was looted from a hilltop east of Halle in 1999 and recovered in a sting operation in a hotel in Basel in 2002.