Category Archives: Museen

Hornow Castle / grod Lěšće

Listed manor house with an eventful history

Building / plot situation

Hornow Castle essentially took on its present form in 1862, when it was converted into the stately home of the Wilkins family. Reconstruction plans from 1790 that have been found prove that parts of the castle are considerably older. The representative design of the ground plan as well as the exterior façade indicate that it was built in the era of late Baroque or early Classicism. Changes in ownership and new stylistic influences were accompanied by structural changes to the building. The tower, for example, was completely demolished after it was damaged in fighting at the end of the Second World War. The castle was declared a monument as early as 1982, and in 1998 it was added to the list of monuments in the state of Brandenburg as a "manor house with park and hereditary burial ground".

Characteristics

The Hornow estate was first mentioned in a document around 1436. It changed hands several times, including Prince Pückler, until it passed to the Wilkins family in 1862. With the ownership of, among other things, a coal mine and several plantations in western Usambara, the then Spremberg district administrator and church patron Dr. jur. Erwin Wilkins came into wealth, with which he converted the manor house into a castle in 1903 and considerably expanded the park. In 1944, a department of the Swedish Embassy was moved from Berlin to Hornow, and a year later it was occupied by Soviet soldiers. After the end of the war, the Wilkins family was expropriated. Subsequently, displaced persons were housed in the castle in 1946 until a hospital ward and a kindergarten were established two years later. Between 1997 and 2009, the interior and exterior of the castle were renovated and today it is a meeting place for cultural exchange. The history of the building and the castle park will be shown in an exhibition from September 2022. The castle itself will also be the "exhibition object" with its unique ceiling painting by Max Rabes, one of the most recognised German painters of his time, its special parquet floors, some of which have been preserved in their original state, the original window darkening option in the so-called Empire Hall and many more highlights.

Special exhibitions/ accompanying offers

Hornow Castle regularly becomes a centre of culture. Concerts, readings, theatre, cabaret, cinema, art exhibitions and much more take place here. The cultural association participates in the museum nights of the Spree-Neiße district.

Children's Book Museum Petershain (in foundation) / Muzej za źiśece knigły wiki (w załoženju)

German-language children's books after 1945

Building / plot situation

The Children's Book Museum is still in the process of being founded. The exhibition will move into the rooms of a building erected at the end of the 19th century on a former three-sided farm in Neupetershain-Nord. The building will be extended over the next few years and the outer shell (roof / façade / windows) will be completely renovated. The museum is a project of the association "Grundschule für hoch Begabte Neupetershain-Nord e.V.".

Characteristics

The planned permanent exhibition will focus on the development of children's literature since 1945. It will include picture books, children's books, books for young people, non-fiction books for children and school books. A special focus will be on children's literature in the GDR from 1949 to 1989. Special exhibitions will be devoted to children's book authors, literary themes and objects from children's everyday lives. The exhibition is to be redesigned regularly, for example to show newly acquired exhibits.

Gallery

Evangelical Church St. Martin Hornow / Ewangelska cerkwja St. Martin Lěšće

Choir window in the rare luce floreo technique

Building / plot situation

A first church building in Hornow was already mentioned in the Meissen bishopric articles from 1346. The present village church of St. Martin was built at the beginning of the 15th century as a rectangular hall with mixed masonry of fieldstone and brick. The rectangular church tower was added in 1902. To the north of the church building is a sacristy with a baroque-style lodge.
The oak tree on the north side of the church next to the burial house of a former landowning family is about 800 years old. With a trunk circumference of 7.50 m, it is not only one of the oldest, but also one of the mightiest trees in Lower Lusatia.
There is also a restored 17th century bakehouse and a military cemetery on the grounds.

Characteristics

The content focuses on the history of the church, the church tower and the church furnishings. The altar is an architectural structure with ironwork decoration and lateral columns from 1588. Three paintings of the Last Supper, the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection are arranged on top of each other on the altar. In the side niches are paintings of the Annunciation and the Nativity. Halved eagles serve as altar cheeks. They are similar to those in the Kreuzkirche in Spremberg.
The baroque wooden baptismal font comes from the village church of Wolkenberg, which was razed to the ground. The wooden baptismal angel from 1736 is a listed building. It was reworked in 2007.
On the north and south sides of the church there is an 18th century gallery. The organ builder Wilhelm Sauer from Frankfurt (Oder) made the organ in 1883.
Of particular importance are the choir windows, which were made in the rare luce floreo technique.

Gallery

Holländermühle Turnow / Holandaŕski młyn Turnow

A mill without wings, but with a grain silo

Building / plot situation

The mill in Turnow-Preilack is located on the so-called Galgenberg in the district of Turnow. At its core, it is a Dutch windmill from 1858, which was converted into a motorised mill in 1936. The characteristic windmill blades were dismantled. Unique in the region is the addition of the grain silo with five chambers from 1939. The silo was used to store grain. Until 1976, flour for baking bread was also ground in the mill for surrounding villages.

Characteristics

Visitors learn interesting facts about the history and function of a mill here. The Turnow mill is an example of the transition from windmill technology to motor-driven operation. The interesting old mill technology and the over 100-year-old functioning lift can be seen.

Events

Cultural events take place in the mill several times a year. On the occasion of the German Mill Day, the Holländermühle Turnow opens its doors. Two millers will guide visitors through the mill on both Whitsun days. The old grinding technology with its five floors offers many interesting things for young and old.

Gallery

Museum "Am Pulverturm" Peitz / Muzej "Pśi pulbjerowem tormje" Picnjo

Gallery | Exhibitions | Offers for children

A tour through the history of the town and fortress of Peitz

Building / plot situation

The museum, a town house built at the beginning of the 19th century, is located in the historic centre of the town of Peitz. This area includes the terrain of the former citadel and the former moat and rampart area of the town fortifications. In recent years, members of the Historical Society of Peitz have renovated the building to make it a listed building and set up a museum on the history of the town and fortress of Peitz.

Characteristics

The presentation is essentially divided into five thematic areas:

• Bronze Age: Visitors learn how the people of Lusatia lived about 4000 years ago.
• Germanic period: Hardly anyone knows that the Germanic tribe of Burgundians once settled in the area of the Lusatian Neisse.
• Middle Ages: Guests can explore here how people lived in Peitz in the Middle Ages and what torture methods were common at that time.
• Guardroom: Here you can gain interesting insights into a lansquenet guardroom of the 30 Years' War.
• Fortress era: Interested visitors are transported back to the 16th century, when the Peitz fortress was built between 1559 and 1562. The 2 x 2 metre model of the fortress from 1758, which is true to the original, can be admired.

Special exhibitions / accompanying offers

• On request, museum educational programmes with a wide variety of themes are offered for schoolchildren.
• Members of the association in historical garb take their guests on an exciting and entertaining guided tour through the history of the town and fortress of Peitz.

Offers for children - With Kobi to the museum

Kobi - the little house ghost - is at home in the museum. There he lives in the slipper under the stove. At midnight he eavesdrops on the old museum pieces when they tell stories about the past. He tells these exciting stories to the museum staff, who then pass them on to the children - stories from the old, old days.

Kobi offers: none

Gallery

Photos: Christoph Malcherowitz

Open-air area "Stary lud" / Wobceŕk pód gołym njebjom "stary lud"

Stary lud - An encounter with the ancient people

Zmakanje ze starym ludom

Characteristics

Slavs settled in Lusatia 1000 years ago. The open-air site "Stary lud" takes its visitors back to this time. It was the Lusitzi and Milzen people who settled here. Historical evidence shows that they lived in earth pit houses. The five faithfully recreated dwellings give the impression that their owners still reside there. It seems to the visitor that the weaver has just clamped the loom and hung dyed wool to dry. The visitor sees a clay pot at work and can discover small offerings in the sacred grove. On some days you can see glass beads being made in a pit. The blacksmith's workplace can also be seen. Weapons are safely stored in the warrior's house. Through the vivid objects in the small settlement, visitors succeed in recreating the life of 1000 years ago.

Location and architecture

The open-air facility is located at the back of the local history museum and the Dissen church. The open-air facility was opened as a project of the Dissen Museum of Local History in May 2013.

Events

At the opening of the season in mid-May, at the end of the season and at Whitsun, residents temporarily move into all the earth pit houses. Actors who organise festivals pitch their tents. Participants in the "Festival of the Slavic Middle Ages" and the "Warriors' Weekend" come not only from Germany but from all over Europe.

The open-air site is part of the Dissen local history museum. Various projects are offered. Old handicraft techniques such as dyeing with natural dyes, weaving techniques, blacksmithing, jewellery design and more can be learned here.

Gallery

Senftenberg Castle and Fortress / Grod a twardnica Zły Komorow

Conquer Saxony's fortress in Brandenburg!

Building / plot situation

Characteristics

Special exhibitions / accompanying offers

Mühlenverein "Hornower Mühle e.V." / Młyńske towaristwo "Lěšćański młyn z.t."

Motor mill with technology of the 50s

Building / plot situation

The mill in Hornow (Spree-Neiße) is a special specimen - at its core a trestle windmill from 1787, which was converted into a motorised mill in 1929/30. During the years of standstill, the owners always managed to procure the necessary materials and funds to maintain the mill structure. The mill shell was completely renovated in 2010 along with windows and doors.

Characteristics

The Hornow mill is one of the very rare examples of a completely preserved plant from the early period of the transition from the artisanal windmill to motor-driven operation. On display is a motorised mill with technology from the 1950s for grain processing as a two-passage system. All the machines and equipment have been almost completely preserved, e.g. the device for cleaning the grain, the millstones, the roller mills, the elevators and the plansifter.

Gallery

Exhibition Gubener Tuch und Chemiefasern / Gubinske sukna a chemiske nitki

Exhibitions | Offers for children

History of the Guben Clothiers and the Former Man-Made Fibre Factory

Building / plot situation

Right next to the City and Industry Museum, in the other wing of the listed factory building, is the exhibition on the history of the Guben clothiers and the former chemical fibre factory.

Characteristics

Thanks to the commitment of the members of the "Gubener Tuche und Chemiefasern e.V." association and with the support of the city of Guben, a museum gem has been created. The exhibition embodies important traditions of Guben's economic development.

Here you can learn interesting facts about the history of the cloth-making trade in Guben from the 11th/12th century until its decline in 1997. Among the exhibits, for example, is a sample collection of cloth from 1873 to 1990. The exhibition offers industrial history at your fingertips.

Special exhibitions / accompanying offers

The active development work of the association "Gubener Tuche und Chemiefasern e.V." continuously opens up innovations to the exhibition, which are presented to visitors in special exhibitions, among other things. Special events and anniversaries with thematically coordinated programmes are highlights of the museum's activities, as are the meetings of former textile workers and man-made fibre workers.

Offers for children - With Kobi to the museum

Kobi - the little house ghost - is at home in the museum. He lives there in a slipper under the stove. At midnight, he eavesdrops on the old museum pieces when they tell stories about the past. He tells these exciting stories to the museum staff, who then pass them on to the children - stories from the old, old days.

Kobi offer:

Museum rally (getting to know the museum in a playful way)

A museum rally is designed to make a visit to the Guben Cloth and Man-Made Fibres exhibition a special experience for children and young people. After an insight into the history of the Guben clothiers and the former man-made fibre factory, the pupils are given questionnaires and can now explore the exhibition independently. Through an attentive visit, all questions can be solved and the sustainability of the visit is promoted.
Afterwards, the questionnaires will be evaluated together with the museum staff and a small "award ceremony" will follow (prizes and certificates will be provided by the museum). Afterwards, there will be a small photo shoot with coats made from Guben wool. The CFG's means of transport, the lizard, is also gladly used for a nice photo.

The offer takes place indoors and is aimed at pupils in grades 5 to 7.
Dates: by arrangement
Pre-registration: at least 2 weeks in advance
Duration: approx. 1.5 to 2 hours
Group size: 5 to 20 people

Gallery

Slawenburg Raddusch / Słowjańske groźišćo Raduš

Gallery | Exhibitions | Offers for children
SlawenburgRaddusch©Oe_Grafik_sk

130,000 years of history in Lower Lusatia

Building / plot situation

Since the 9th century, in the early Middle Ages, the Slavs settled here. The Lusizi tribe built around 30 refuge and storage castles on the edge of the Spreewald. The Raddusch circular rampart had a diameter of 57 metres, was over 10 metres wide and up to 9 metres high.

Today's "Slawenburg Raddusch" is a reminder of the culture of the Slavs in the Spreewald. It was created as an external ideal reconstruction of a Slavic castle of the 9th/10th century. Not only were the excavation results from Raddusch itself taken into account, but also the results of investigations of other ramparts in Lower Lusatia, Saxony and Poland. The construction consists of a hollow concrete ring that accommodates all the necessary rooms from the exhibition with castle shop to the café and a cladding of oak wood and clay that imitates the presumed original exterior.

The spacious outdoor area offers plenty of room to discover and romp around. The "Zeitsteg" with its landscape islands leads the visitor through 12 000 years of plant life.
Picnic areas invite you to pause and enjoy the species-rich meadows with their many herbs and trees. A monumental wooden bull characterises the play area at the edge of the main path. The bull pulls a thick oak trunk towards the castle. The sculpture and other installations invite visitors to play and linger.

Characteristics

Inside the castle wall is one of the most modern archaeological exhibitions in Germany, spanning an arc from the earliest settlements in the Stone Age to the Slavic Middle Ages. The permanent exhibition mainly presents results and finds from the diverse archaeological excavations that took place in the Lower Lusatian open-cast mining areas before lignite mining. Important original finds - on loan from various museums and institutions in Brandenburg, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - tell the story of Lower Lusatia.

Special exhibitions / accompanying offers

Child- and family-friendly but also curatorial guided tours with lots of background information as well as hands-on activities offer visitors an insight into the everyday life of the Slavs in the Middle Ages.

Offers for children

Gallery