The museum in its current form was opened in 1995 in the historic building complex of the Kurmainzer Amtshof. Forerunners were the Folklore Museum Bergstraße-Odenwald-Ried, established in 1958, and the Local History Museum founded in 1987.
 
With the amalgamation of the two museums, the redesign of the permanent exhibition began in 1990, changing the Museum into the ‘Museum of local History and Folklore’ with new rooms and with a new didactic approach.
 
A program with a variety of special exhibitions, lectures, readings, film screenings, cabaret, and days of action complements and broadens the museum's cultural offerings.
 
School classes, groups of children and youth groups can use the museum with its diverse offers as a place to learn and work.
 
Private individuals, companies and associations can use the museum's premises for receptions, presentations, and meetings in a sophisticated atmosphere. A visit to the Elector's Hall in the State Hall with its Gothic angel fresco and wall paintings from the Renaissance is also possible via prior arrangement.