Bronze Age Bavarian Museum Kranzberg has a new director: "It's a privilege"

Created: 01/23/2022, 08:00

By: Andreas Beschorner

There are many treasures in his new place of work, in addition to the Bernstorf gold find.

Michael Fritz also keeps an eye on the less spectacular things.

© Beschorner

Michael Fritz is the new director of the Bronze Age Bavaria Museum.

In his function, he wants to push anything but a quiet ball.

He has big plans.

Kranzberg

– It is a very nice museum, he considers it a “privilege” to be able to work there.

This is what Michael Fritz says about the Bronze Age Bavaria Museum in Kranzberg, for which he has been responsible as successor to Marion Mendel since January 1, 2022.

The new manager is a specialist

Fritz is a specialist: The 51-year-old, who lives in Zolling, studied Assyriology, as well as ethnology and semiotics, has a doctorate in ancient oriental studies and has always had a soft spot for the Bronze Age. And: Kranzberg and Bernstorf are well known to him. Fritz is a member of the Pantaleonsberg eV association and has closely followed the history of the museum above the roofs of Kranzberg ever since it was founded. Fritz is now responsible for running the museum. For example, he plans to bring more popular science lectures to the Pantaleonsberg as soon as the Corona situation allows it again. In doing so, he not only thinks of presentations about the Bronze Age, but also of events about archeology in general.In 2003 he himself gave a Sumerian course at the Freising Archaeological Society, which was probably unique, and 30 interested people took part.

Just not an academic museum

Fritz also has other ideas to bring a breath of fresh air into the museum.

But they still have to be agreed with the support association.

In any case, the following applies: “It would be the biggest mistake if it were an academic museum.” It was not designed as such, knows Fritz, who is definitely full of energy: “I don’t intend to have a quiet one here pushing the ball,” he assures.

He already has one project in mind for himself and his own passion for research: he found a folder with documents on the history of the find in Bernstorf.

And because he knows both Manfred Moosauer and especially Traudl Bachmaier, the two finders of the amber treasure, well, the processing of the documents and their publication are important to him.

No doubts about the authenticity of the gold finds

Because he knows Bachmaier and Moosauer, because he is also involved in his own scientific work and because he is now the man in charge of the Bronze Age Museum, Fritz has no doubts about the authenticity of the gold finds from Bernstorf. The sometimes questioned purity of the gold, which was allegedly not yet possible at that time, which is why the finds represented a forgery, can be refuted by Fritz simply by the fact that the fermentation process may have been used earlier in Babylon and also in Syria , as suggested by written sources. The problem: some research results, which should prove the finds to be fake, were published prematurely and unchecked in the media.

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

Maintaining the good reputation of the museum, increasing its attractiveness, getting more people interested in history and archeology - that's what Fritz is now responsible for.

And that naturally raises the question of Fritz's “favourite piece” in the museum.

His answer: not the gold finds, not the amber objects, no.

A rather inconspicuous shard of a clay vessel, which Alfons Berger unearthed and which represents the first find, on the basis of which the whole of Bernstorf could only be assigned to the Bronze Age.

You can tell: the expert is speaking.