Category Archives: Museen

Spreewaldmuseum Lübbenau mit der Spreewaldbahn / Błośański muzej Lubnjow z błośańskeju zeleznicu

Spreewaldmuseum Lübbenau mit der Spreewaldbahn

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Characteristics

Freilandmuseum Lehde / Muzej pód gołym njebjom Lědow

Willkommen im 19. Jahrhundert!

Building / plot situation

Characteristics

Special exhibitions / accompanying offers

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.

Offers for children - With Kobi to the museum

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

Kobi offers:

Exploring the castle

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 start-up phase. The exhibition will be established in the premises of a building erected towards the end of the 19th century on a former three-sided farm in Neupetershain-Nord. In the coming years, an extension of the building is planned, as part of which a comprehensive renovation of the outer shell (roof, façade, windows) will be carried out. The museum is a project of the association "Grundschule für hochbegabte Kinder Neupetershain-Nord e. V.".

Characteristics

The planned permanent exhibition focusses on the development of children's literature since 1945. The collection includes picture books, children's books, books for young people, children's non-fiction books and school books. Special emphasis is placed on children's literature from the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1989, as well as special exhibitions on children's authors, literary themes and objects from children's everyday lives. The exhibition is designed in such a way that it is regularly reorganised, for example to present newly acquired exhibits.
 

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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.

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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!

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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.

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