The Hunting Museum August von Spiess (Muzeul de Vânătoare August von Spiess) is a small specialist museum housed in the former residence of hunter and royal game director August von Spiess in Sibiu.
The museum opened in 1966 and moved into Spiess’s former villa in 1981, bringing the collection into the house of the man whose name it now carries. August von Spiess (1864-1953) had settled in Sibiu during his military career and, after World War I, was appointed Director of the Royal Hunts by King Ferdinand in 1921, a position he held until 1939. His interest in hunting extended far beyond sport: he wrote on wildlife and hunting in the Carpathians, served on nature-protection bodies and assembled a collection of more than 1,000 trophies and related objects that was acquired by the Brukenthal Museum in 1963.
Much of the collection consists of mounted animals, skulls, antlers, skins and historic firearms, with displays moving between hunting history and natural history. Information panels introduce the species as well as hunting traditions in Transylvania, while the rooms of the former villa give the exhibition a more personal setting. The African trophies and historic weapons are among the most distinctive parts of the collection.
The building and exhibition were restored and reorganized in 2006-2007, after which the museum reopened under the August von Spiess name. Today it remains part of the Brukenthal National Museum and is one of the more unusual specialist museums in Sibiu, especially for visitors interested in wildlife, hunting history, firearms or the life of Spiess himself.
