Pilzkundliches Museum

An exhibition with 900 items on display about the world of mushrooms.

Various species are shown, most of them from the area around Bad Laasphe, as well as “exotic” mushrooms from other regions.

A large number of display panels and glass cases provide information about mushroom systems, ways of living, reproduction, species protection, and much more. Lesser known aspects of mushrooms, such as their role in religion and medicine or their use as dyeing agents, are also presented.

The museum also shows the collection of curiosities of one married couple, the Perschonkes, with humorous, useful or kitschy mushroom artefacts, as well as a series of panels from the “Erdenwesen” gallery of the Lichtbildwerkgemeinschaft Weiser Börstinghaus association.

It must surely only be possible to see such a comprehensive overview of all aspects of mushrooms in very few museums in the world. The museum in Germany therefore has a prominent role to play as a mycology centre.

As well as the permanent exhibition, special exhibitions or events on nature themes are occasionally shown, and fresh mushrooms are offered in the “main season”.

Unfortunately, very few people realise how important mushrooms are for every one of us and for nature as a whole.

For this reason, every year, weekend seminars are offered for interested beginners and more experienced learners at the mycology museum. There is also the opportunity to take an exam as a mycology expert at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Mykologie (the German Association of Mycology) training institute. Guided mushroom excursions can also be booked for groups.