With over 60 mummies, both human and animal, from all over the world as well as numerous precious objects used in rituals, the exhibition offers an insight into mummification from the time of the dinosaurs until today.

The mummies come from 27 different important collections and museums around Europe. Some of them have undergone natural mummification, for example in deserts, peat bogs or ice, whilst others have been mummified artificially by human intervention.

The Iceman, also known as Otzi, is one of the most important mummies in the world and so is the core of the exhibition.

All of the exhibits, from the bog bodies of northern Europe and the Egyptian mummy complete with its splendid sarcophagus, to the mummies of Asia, Oceania and South America, as well as the everyday objects found in salt mines, are presented with the most up-to-date scientific findings in the areas of anthropology, genetics, biochemistry, pathology and medicine. Multimedia fixtures around the museum also provide information on living conditions, nutrition and illnesses.

The museum offers guided tours on different themes, scientific workshops and educational sessions for single visitors, families and school groups.

The exhibition program Mummies. The dream of everlasting life has been developed in cooperation with the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museums in Mannheim (GER).