Saxony-Anhalt's curious museums
Do you know the insider tips among our museums? We went in search of unusual collections. And we have found them! No insider tip: Train and bus will take you there.
Birds, chess pieces, planes: all over the country there are enthusiasts with very special collecting passions. Numerous private collections have given rise to extraordinary museums. Each one is worth discovering. If you want to go on a discovery tour, you should find out in advance about the opening hours and perhaps even make an appointment by phone. Because many of these museums are run by the collectors in their spare time. We present a selection.
In Halberstadt on the edge of the Harz Mountains, the Heineanum displays more than half of all birds known worldwide. Extinct species and bird specimens from famous collectors such as Christian Ludwig Brehm are on display. But dinosaur skeletons from the region are also on display. During the winter months, in addition to evening events
educational projects for children and young people are also planned. At the end of December, the "Bird of the Year 2020" will be presented.
In Löberitz near Bitterfeld, fans of the "royal game" go into raptures. The oldest chess club in the country maintains its chess museum here. The exhibition shows everything that has to do with chess and has a connection to the region: Pieces and game boards from four centuries, graphics, photos, paintings, a large chess clock collection. The library consists of about 3,600 chess books.
A half-timbered house in Blankenburg in the Harz Mountains housed a journeymen's hostel from 1884 to 1916. Today it houses Germany's only hostel museum. Entitled "Die Walz", it shows what it meant for journeymen to travel the world. It is a "living" museum, because even today up to 80 traveling journeymen and women pass through every year. Every year in September there is an open journeymen's meeting with participants from all over Europe.
www.blankenburg.de > Herbergsmuseum
In Eilsleben near Magdeburg, carpenter Rüdiger Timme has assembled an impressive collection related to his profession. In his carpentry museum, he presents woodworking trades, some of which are very old, such as wheelwright, carpenter, cooper, turner and mollenhauer. Among other things, special woodworking tools from all over the world, from ancient times to modern times, are on display. From wooden water pipes to table linen seals, there are many surprises for visitors young and old.
In Halle, a Nile crocodile hanging from the ceiling is now the trademark of an extraordinary collection. The Francke Foundations' Chamber of Art and Natural History, called the Crocoseum, is full of oddities. Where else can you admire a tattooed fish and a fakir shoe? The exhibition was created for educational purposes at the beginning of the 18th century. It gathered the whole cosmos of knowledge of the Baroque period and still amazes today. Children in particular get their money's worth, because the Crocoseum is a museum and creative center in one. In the morning, museum educators take children's groups and school classes on a discovery tour. In the afternoons, families can take part in the changing hands-on program.
www.francke-halle.de > Kinderkreativzentrum Krokoseum
In the little village of Wust in the idyllic Elb-Havel-Winkel, Gerhard Faller-Walzer presents a collection that fits perfectly into the landscape. In the attic of an old farm, he has set up his Muuuhseum, the only cow-related collection in Germany and perhaps even in Europe. Here he presents more than 2,000 exhibits - from A for trash can to Z for sugar bowl. A truly ""kuhrios"" conclusion for our museum tour. But there are many more unusual museums in the country. Have fun discovering them - and have a good journey to and from them by train and bus!