Mendig Lava Dome

The Lava Dome in Mendig

The Lava Dome - German Volcano Museum Mendig is a museum in Mendig , which opened on July 30, 2005 and shows volcanism in the region around the Laacher See - volcano . The museum is one of the central facilities of the volcanic park , which extends over the entire eastern Vulkaneifel and the left bank of the Middle Rhine basin . In addition to information on the history of volcanism and the geological history of the region, the Lava Dome also offers a science center. There, visitors can research geological and volcanological phenomena themselves. The museum is located in the Niedermendig district.

Exhibition areas

The exhibition area is 700 square meters in total and includes three exhibition areas: the land of volcanoes , the volcano workshop and the time of the volcanoes . The exhibition of the Lava Dome was designed by the scenographers Milla & Partner from Stuttgart, with advice from the German Vulcanological Society and the Mayen Research Center of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz.

Exhibition area "Vulkanwerkstatt"

In the land of volcanoes , a multimedia show tells the story of two large volcanic eruptions that had an enormous impact on the landscape of the Vulkaneifel: the eruption of the basaltic ( Tephritic ) Wingertsberg volcano , on whose lava flow the city of Mendig and the museum stands, and that of the phonolithic - trachytic volcano Laacher See volcano. A large volcano model recreates a volcanic eruption, which is accompanied by images, sounds and projections to provide an intense impression of such an event.

The volcanic workshop on the upper floor of the museum is a small volcanological science center. At ten interactive test and experimental stations, every visitor can understand how volcanic eruptions arise and gain an impression of what is happening inside the earth.

In the area of ​​the time of the volcanoes “speaking stones” are installed which, when touched, depict four large volcanic eruptions of bygone days. Current seismological data on volcanic eruptions and earthquakes as well as current images from webcams all over the world can be accessed via the Internet. A stylized research camp is intended to give an impression of the methods scientists use to study volcanoes. A fictional news broadcast about another eruption of the Laacher See volcano is running in a round cinema .

Exterior of the museum

The lava cellars 32 m below Mendig

In the museum foyer, a large circular landscape provides information about other sights in the region. Two of them are outside the museum and are in the immediate vicinity. They can be reached on foot in just a few minutes: The lava cellars of Mendig with an area of ​​three square kilometers, which for safety reasons can only be visited with a guide, and the Museumslay , an open-air exhibition in which old working methods of natural stone processing are presented.

literature

• Wilhelm Meyer and Karl-Heinz Schumacher: Out and about in the volcano park. The Mendig Association. A geological, botanical and cultural historical foray through Mendig, Bell, Rieden, Thür and Volkesfeld. Koblenz 2004, ISBN 3-935690-37-1 .
• Karl-Heinz Schumacher and Wilhelm Meyer: Geopark Vulkanland Eifel. Lava dome and lava cellar in Mendig. Editor: Karl Peter Wiemer. Rhenish Association for Monument Preservation and Landscape Protection , Cologne 2006 (Rhenish Landscapes, issue 57).

Web links

Commons : Lava-Dome Mendig  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the Lava Dome in Mendig
• German Vulcanological Society eV, Mendig
• The lava dome in the volcano park

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lava Dome in Mendig - a world of experience in a class of its own . Lava Dome, German Volcano Museum Mendig. Retrieved August 8, 2013.

Coordinates: 50 ° 22 ′ 32.8 "  N , 7 ° 16 ′ 57.8"  E