Pompejanum (Pompeiian House)

A Roman house on the river Main, painted yellow with a red base and a vineyard below: the Pompejanum in Aschaffenburg looks as if someone had moved a piece of Pompeii to Lower Franconia. That was exactly the idea. King Ludwig I of Bavaria had the villa built from 1840, modelled on a house excavated in Pompeii, so that art lovers in Germany could study ancient domestic life without travelling to Italy. Today you can walk through its richly painted rooms and see genuine Roman art along the way.

History: Ludwig's teaching house of antiquity

The model was the Casa dei Dioscuri in Pompeii. Court architect Friedrich von Gärtner drew up the plans, and the villa was built between 1840 and 1848, never as a royal residence but as a walk-in study piece, a product of the 19th-century passion for antiquity. Concessions to the site were made: a viewing pavilion upstairs, an outside staircase with portico, and a glass roof over the atrium for the northern climate.

Badly damaged in the Second World War and looted afterwards, the house was rebuilt in stages from 1960. A Roman bust, probably of Sextus Pompeius, resurfaced in Texas in 2018 and was returned in 2023. Since 1994 the Pompejanum has displayed original Roman works from Munich's State Antiquities Collections and Glyptothek.

What to see

• Atrium and garden court: Ground-floor rooms are grouped around the atrium with its pool and a planted courtyard; light comes from inside, not from windows.
• Wall paintings and mosaics: Copied or adapted from ancient models; the summer triclinium, the dining room, is a highlight.
• Antiquities: Roman marble sculpture, small bronzes, glass and two rare marble thrones of the gods, plus a bronze military diploma granting Roman citizenship to a soldier named Octavius in AD 78.
• Upper floor: Bedrooms and the lady of the house's room, with everyday objects in showcases.

Each year brings a special exhibition; in 2026 it is about the hybrid creatures of ancient myth.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

28–31 March 10:00–16:00, April to 3 October 9:00–18:00, 4–31 October 10:00–16:00; closed Mondays (except some public holidays) and from November to 27 March. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Admission €7, reduced €6; combined ticket with Johannisburg Palace €10; under-18s free. Cash only at the ticket desk.

Getting there

Pompejanumstraße 5, in the palace gardens a few minutes' walk from Johannisburg Palace and the old town. Take the bus to "Stadthalle" or use the car parks in the centre.

Tripto tip

Combine it with Johannisburg Palace. Allow 45 to 60 minutes for the villa, then walk down through the gardens to the riverbank for the classic view of the Pompejanum above its little vineyard. Children can follow a free smartphone tour.