MUSEUM PETERSBERG

Description

In the townscape of Petersberg (Saalekreis) the Museum Petersberg plays a central role in conveying regional history. It presents local development and culture in the context of the northern Saalekreis in Sachsen-Anhalt.

The museum is housed in a restored four-sided farmstead that formerly served as a royal Prussian forester’s house. Parts of the buildings date from 1752, were largely reconstructed and are now listed as historic monuments. The institution is supported by the Förderverein Erholungsgebiet Petersberg e.V., which also operates an animal park directly on the Petersberg.

In the main building a permanent exhibition provides information about the former Augustinian canonry on the Petersberg and about Konrad von Wettin, the ancestor and founder of the Saxon royal house. A central exhibit is a model of the collegiate church and other buildings as they stood around 1200. The display is supplemented by originals and replicas of contemporary documents and seals, as well as household items and clothing that illustrate the rise and decline of the canonry. In addition, a permanent presentation shows rural crafts in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and highlights the economic diversity of the region.

In the former service buildings an exhibition addresses the cultural and social history of the 19th century. The straw and hayloft of the stables serves as an exhibition space for the political, economic and social development in the northern Saalekreis for the years 1945 to 1990. A historically reconstructed bakehouse hosts traditional wood-fired oven bread baking on special occasions.

Since 24 September 2016 a permanent exhibition on long-term loan has showcased the tin toy factory Josef Kraus & Co. from Nürnberg (Kraus Fandor) with around 350 exhibits. The presentation, designed like a production hall, features operable display cases styled after early industrial machines, so that, for example, toy trains can not only be seen but also set in motion.