In the basement of the old Staufer Königspfalz (a temporary seat of power for the Holy Roman Emperor) the most important exhibition object is the building itself, the Staufer building. Visitors walk over a bridge through excavated walls, wells and canals and continue to the treasury where they will find crowns, sceptres and orbs. 

The kings left behind their portraits on Staufer pfennigs. Only the king was permitted to mint coins. Ceramic and metal vessels and a fireplace in the palace kitchen show how people cooked 800 years ago. The emblem of the Knobloch family – three knotted garlic plants – reminds us that the Saalhof was an important place for trade and for visitors of the trade fair. Jacob Knobloch acquired the Staufer building in the 14th century from King Louis  IV. From then on it was a port of call for cloth traders offering their goods.

It shows the Old Town at the time when the Saalhof emerged, around 1200. In an eight-minute-long animation, visitors learn about the expansion and changes of the city on the model.