The first major special exhibition in the new Forum, about four building materials and their cultural history, featuring among other things Le Corbusier's original drawing for the Maison Dom-Ino.
Om museet
In 1960 the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL, Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association) decided to establish an open-air museum for all of Westphalia in Detmold. After a good ten years of construction, the LWL-Freilichtmuseum Detmold opened its gates in July 1971 on the edge of the town, toward the Teutoburg Forest.
Since then, around 120 historic buildings from all regions of Westphalia-Lippe have been dismantled and faithfully re-erected on some 90 hectares – farmsteads, mills, workshops and an entire village. The building groups are arranged by region: farms from the Osnabrück and Minden areas in the north, the Paderborn village in the east, the Sauerland village and Siegerland hamlet in the south, and Münsterland farms in the west. Together they illustrate around 500 years of rural living, working and farming.
Since the 1980s the museum has placed great emphasis on landscape ecology, with historic gardens, fields and old breeds of domestic animals; since 2001 it has bred the rare Senner horse.
With the opening of a new entrance and exhibition building, the Forum, in July 2026, the museum was renamed LWL-Museum Hellerlecht. The Low German term means roughly "in broad daylight." Since then the museum has been open year-round and presents major changing special exhibitions in the Forum.
Højdepunkter
Around 120 historic buildings on some 90 hectares
Paderborn village with church, school and craft workshops
New Forum (2026) built sustainably with clay and timber
Breeding of old domestic breeds such as the Senner horse and Lippe goose
Horse-drawn carriage rides across the grounds
Permanente udstillinger
Freilichtgelände – 500 Jahre westfälische Alltagsgeschichte – Around 120 historic buildings, grouped by the regions of Westphalia, show rural life from the 16th to the 20th century. 2026 season: March 28 – October 31.
Senner Pferde – Exhibition on the oldest German horse breed, which the museum has bred since 2001.
Grundlagt
1971
Ejer
Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL)
Ledelse
Marie Luisa Allemeyer
Entrépriser & rabatter
Voksne
12 €
Nedsat pris
6 €School students, university students and apprentices up to age 30, volunteer service participants, people with a severe disability rating (GdB) of 50 or more, social benefit recipients
Børn og unge
gratisgratis til og med 17 år · Children and teens under 18 free
Pensionister
–No senior discount listed
Personer med handicap
6 €ledsager gratis · Reduced for a disability rating (GdB) of 50 or more
Studerende og elever
6 €Up to age 30
Grupper (fra 16 pers.)
9 € pr. personAdult groups; up to 2 accompanying adults for school classes free
Familier
–No family ticket; children under 18 free
Winter rate (November–March)
8 €Reduced €4
LWL-MuseumsCard (annual pass for all LWL museums)
50 €Reduced €15
Carriage ride
4 €Children €2, cash only
Handcart rental
2 €
Gratis entré:Free admission days 2026: March 28, May 17, July 3–5, August 7, September 4, October 2, November 6.
Prices apply during the open-air season; reduced rate in winter. Special exhibition MATERIA included in admission.
Tilgængelighed
Delvis kørestolsvenlig
Elevator
Handicaptoilet
Handicapparkering
Servicehunde tilladt
Taktile tilbud
Rundvisninger på tegnsprog
Letlæste tilbud
Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger
Free loaner wheelchairs at the entrance building; the Forum is mostly at ground level (elevator occasionally out of service, in which case the upper floor cannot be reached). The grounds partly have gravel, cobblestones and slopes; carriage rides are an alternative. Accessible restrooms at four locations, tactile guidance system, tours in German Sign Language (DGS) and for visually impaired people, drop-off zone at the entrance.
Børn og familie
Velegnet til børn og familier
Besøgets varighed
ca. 5 t.
Entré for børn
gratis til og med 17 år
Familieomvisninger & workshops
Opgavehæfte, skattejagt eller audioguide for børn
Interaktive stationer
Barnevognsvenlig
Legeplads / legehjørne
Spielescheune (indoor play barn, up to age 12, separate area for little ones) and a natural play area with a stream and soccer field in the Paderborn village; hands-on house and mill workshop; rally in the museum app. Handcart rental for a small fee, carriage rides.
Transport & parkering
Med offentlig transport
Friedenstal
From Detmold station, bus line 701 (toward Berlebeck) or 782 (toward Bad Meinberg) to "Friedenstal", then a few minutes on foot.
I bil
Gratis parkering
Free parking lot right at the entrance; when it is full, overflow parking at Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 15. Accessible parking spaces at the entrance and behind the Paderborn village. Tour buses are not allowed in the museum parking lot (bus bay at the Freilichtmuseum stop, Paderborner Straße).
Bistro Hellerlecht in the Forum, inns Tiergartenkrug, Im Weißen Ross and Hase & Igel, museum bakery; picnics allowed.
Arrangementer & udlejning
Lokaler til leje
Bryllupper / vielser
Op til 35 personer.
Civil weddings (branch of the Detmold registry office) in the Scheune Kroll (Kroll barn) and Haus Schwenger in the Paderborn village, each for up to 35 guests, flat fee €300; celebrations in the museum's restaurants.