Töpfereimuseum

Description

In the townscape of Langerwehe in the district of Düren (North Rhine-Westphalia), the Pottery Museum illustrates the regional ceramic tradition. The potters’ craft remains alive here to this day; several pottery workshops continue to operate in the municipality.

The historic complex of buildings goes back to the old parsonage, which the municipality acquired in the 1930s to display the Josef Schwarz collection. Construction work was interrupted by the Second World War and was not resumed until 1950. When the project was taken up again, a workshop and a lecture hall were installed in addition to the exhibition. After a lengthy period of voluntary management, the museum’s administration was taken over in 1975 for the first time by full-time academic supervision.

The displays address, among other things, the hazardous underground extraction of clay and the risky firing processes in stoneware kilns. Across eight exhibition rooms the range of products and the diverse techniques of clay working and processing are explained.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum regularly stages public events, for example the potters’ market. The municipality also uses the venue’s special atmosphere for civil wedding ceremonies.