Romano-Germanic Central Museum (Mainz)
| Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum | |
The Electoral Palace, site of 3 divisions of the Romano-Germanic Central Museum
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| Established | 1852 |
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| Location | Mainz, Germany |
| Collection size | The Old World and its contact zones from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages |
| Director | Falko Daim |
| Website | http://web.rgzm.de/ |
The Romano-Germanic Central Museum (German: Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM)) is an archaeological and historical research institution for pre-history and early history headquartered in Mainz. It is supported by the Federal Republic of Germany and its states and is a member of the Leibniz Association of German research institutions.
The institution studies the Old World and its contact zones from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages. It consists of several divisions, and in addition maintains a permanent collection and through this and its numerous publications and conferences, disseminates the findings of recent research to the public.
The Romano-Germanic Central Museum was founded in 1852 by Ludwig Lindenschmit the Elder, after the decision was taken at the 16–19 August Versammlung deutscher Geschichts- und Alterthumsforscher (Assembly of German Researchers in History and Classical Studies) in Dresden that a "central museum for Germanic and Roman artifacts" should be founded in Mainz and a "Germanic museum" should be founded in Nuremberg (the Germanisches Nationalmuseum). It was no accident that the museum was established in the city of Mainz, with its high importance in the Middle Ages, and housed in the Electoral Palace; rather these decisions symbolised the museum's national aspirations in the era of the German Confederation.
In the early years of its existence, the museum faced considerable financial and organisational problems: the support which had been promised by the historical association failed to materialise, and instead the Nuremberg museum was promised exclusivity and the governing board of the Mainz museum were pressured to amalgamate with it. Only after the foundation of the German Empire in 1871 did the museum receive an annual budget, which also made it possible for Lindenschmit to make his work there his primary pursuit; until then, he had also worked as a drawing teacher. After his death, his son Ludwig Lindenschmit the Younger took over the leadership.
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