Museum der Stadt Lennestadt

Description

The Museum of the City of Lennestadt shapes the cultural offerings in the Grevenbrück district and is dedicated to regional history and everyday culture.

The building that now houses the museum was erected in 1910 as the “Königlich Preußisches Katasteramt Förde” in the Kreis Olpe. From 1939 the building served for more than three decades as the administrative seat of the Amt Bilstein; after the municipal reform of 1969 it accommodated the city administration for a further 15 years. From 1985 the city archive and the regional studies library moved in, and in 1993 the Museum of the City of Lennestadt was founded. In 2014 the museum’s offering was expanded to include part of the renovated station building in Grevenbrück, providing space for temporary exhibitions and events. Thanks to funding from the “Heimat‑Zeugnis” programme, a flexibly designed permanent exhibition on the Ruhr‑Sieg line and the transformation of mobility was created in the KulturBahnhof in autumn 2020, addressing the history of the line and current issues in public transport.

Within the same funding programme, in May 2020 funds of €1.173 million were approved for the conversion of the Alten Amtshaus Mittel (covering 60 percent of the costs). From the beginning of 2021 a comprehensive renovation took place: a 1950s extension was removed, the archive and library were relocated, new exhibition rooms and a generous outdoor area were created, and a passenger lift was installed. Building on the previous permanent exhibition “Moderne Zeiten. Vom Leben im Sauerland 1850–1955,” a new exhibition concept was developed; in May 2024 the new permanent exhibition “43/1 – Einheit in Vielfalt” opened.

The museum preserves finds from the excavations at the medieval Peperburg near Förde‑Grevenbrück (excavations 1980–1986 under the scientific direction of the Westfälisches Museum für Archäologie, Zweigstelle Olpe, today LWL‑Museum für Archäologie und Kultur) and displayed key finds in a so‑called “treasure chamber.” The collection includes a small fossil collection prepared for educational use by a late teacher. An originally preserved classroom with exhibits from the 1910s to the 1950s remains an important part of the museum’s educational programme and serves as an out‑of‑school learning venue.

The museum’s artistic holdings include works by the local painter Reinhold Bicher (1895–1975), whose motifs frequently depict Lennestadt, industry and religious life; some of these works are also featured in the new permanent exhibition. In addition, a special exhibition commemorates the painter Peter Dommes (born 1903) and his watercolours. The series “Exponat des Monats” tells short object stories about everyday items from loans or donations, thereby offering insights into past ways of life.

Since the end of 1989 there has been a sponsorship agreement between the City of Lennestadt and the Heimat‑ und Verkehrsverein Grevenbrück e. V.; the municipality provides premises and material resources, while the association organises the volunteer stewarding and the expansion of the collection.