Deutsches Schweinemuseum Ruhlsdorf

Description

In Ruhlsdorf, a district of Teltow in Brandenburg, the Deutsches Schweinemuseum occupies a special position among agricultural museums and concentrates on the pig as a farm animal.

The site dates back to an experimental farm for pig keeping, feeding and breeding established in Ruhlsdorf in 1918. The associated Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Tierzucht und Tierhaltung Ruhlsdorf/Groß Kreuz celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1993. In preparation for this jubilee, an interest group was formed in 1991, prompted by a visit to the Ungarischen Landwirtschaftsmuseum in Budapest. The first exhibition opened on 6 October 1993 in the former Ruhlsdorfer Musterbauwerkstatt; a permanent exhibition was officially opened on 3 December 1995.

A support association to back the museum was founded in 1997 and was entered in the register of associations in April 1998; it assumed sponsorship. Its members include associations from pig production and pig breeding. Also in 1998, the museum was placed under the responsibility of the Landesamts für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz.

As of 2010 the collection comprised around 3,900 exhibits. Among other items, the museum collects biographies of pig breeders, documents on pig breeding, and photographs of pedigree pigs, events and relevant figures in the industry. In recognition of the site's agricultural-historical significance, the museum received the designation Deutsches Agrarkulturerbe from the Gesellschaft für Agrargeschichte in 2010. By contrast, the Schweinemuseum in Stuttgart focuses on the art and cultural history of the pig.