Int. Feuerwehrmuseum Schwerin e.V.

Description

The Internationales Feuerwehrmuseum Schwerin presents the history of firefighting in its technical, political and social dimensions. The focus is on firefighting operations and the work of firefighters, as well as the development of their equipment and organizational structures.

The museum is housed in the Halle am Fernsehturm in the Neu Zippendorf district of the state capital Schwerin and is located directly at the Fernsehturm. The hall itself was built in 1977 as a multipurpose venue and, prior to the museum’s use, served among other things as a location for concerts, trade fairs and conferences.

The museum opened in April 2009. Its collection traces back to the former Landesfeuerwehrmuseum Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Meetzen (a district of Holdorf near Schwerin); the exhibits were transferred to the Halle am Fernsehturm in spring 2009.

The exhibition, covering more than 4,500 m², comprises over 15,000 objects, including 112 vehicles, trailers and large pieces of equipment. The displays are organized into chronological, thematic and national sections and clearly illustrate work and technology. The vehicle collection contains numerous East German makes such as Ernst Grube Werdau, Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau and Robur, complemented by models from Mercedes-Benz, Opel, VW, Hanomag, Ford and Magirus-Deutz, including rare variants and prototypes. The museum’s own collection areas include around 700 nozzles, approximately 450 helmets and caps, some 3,000 model cars in showcases and dioramas, over 2,000 respiratory protection items including a historical training facility, about 1,000 medals and badges and more than 1,200 philatelic items. Internationally oriented national displays present firefighting equipment from England, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, the USSR and Austria. Since 2014 a three-room permanent exhibition with around 1,000 clothes irons has been explaining the cultural history of fire.