Hochdorf Chieftain’s Grave

I was also in the Celtic Museum. There is a beautiful vivid show where everything about the Fürstengrabhügel, the excavation, the findings and the time is explained. There does not have to be read. Also suitable for children and illiterates. 🙂

Around 550 BC, a man aged around 40 to 50 was buried here with princely pomp. A mighty burial mound, around 6 m high and 60 m in diameter, was built over the burial chamber. It was not until the 1970s that traces of this mighty grave monument were found again. The Baden-Württemberg State Monument Authority carried out excavations from 1978 to 1979. The result was and still is sensational: the burial chamber was found completely unrobbed. The dead man was lying on a bronze couch. The prince wore the typical large gold collar and his dagger as a badge of status. Golden funeral jewelry suggests that the body was laid out in a ceremonial manner. The many fragments of fabrics and other objects are of particular importance. In keeping with his status, his four-wheeled, iron-clad cart with yoke and decorated bridle was placed in the grave. A showpiece of bronzesmithing from the Mediterranean region is the large lion cauldron, which contained over 400 litres of mead.

Good in the fall and spring, when it is not so hot, because there is little shade, but great landscape views. Celtic Museum unsuitable for small children, as a lot of text to read, but very interesting, worth it.