Musée Jean-Frédéric Oberlin

About the museum

The museum is devoted to Jean-Frédéric Oberlin (1740–1826), pastor of the Ban de la Roche at Waldersbach for 59 years. Oberlin was also an educator, a botanist and a champion of social progress. To improve the lives of the residents, he ran a programme of economic and social development, and in 1769 he created the first “knitting stoves” (poêles à tricoter), small schools run by women, which gave rise to nursery schools. A methodical collector, he classified and labelled his objects to share knowledge with children and visitors, rather like a cabinet of curiosities.

The museum gradually took shape in the presbytery built for Oberlin in 1787. Its existence has been documented since 1958, with the creation of a conservation committee. The buildings were entirely renovated and extended at a cost of five million euros, and the museum reopened in July 2002. Four buildings from different periods, linked by glazed galleries, now offer around 1,500 m² of exhibition space. The museum’s motto is “Apprendre à jouer ou jouer à apprendre” (learn to play or play to learn).

The visit invites you to look, listen, read, handle and experiment rather than simply contemplate. The permanent exhibition explains Oberlin’s life and teaching, with natural history collections, educational card files, optical toys and a lending library. The presbytery gardens and herbaria extend the route: plants used in the Ban de la Roche in the 18th century, an educational vegetable garden and an observation garden.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition on Oberlin’s life and teaching, to handle and experiment with
• Natural history collections and Oberlin’s herbarium (45 bundles)
• Presbytery gardens: plants of the past, educational vegetable garden and observation garden
• Original silhouettes, paintings and educational card files
• Free loan of smartphones and tablets for the visit

Permanent exhibitions

• Exposition permanente sur Jean-Frédéric Oberlin – A hands-on route through the personal project of Pastor Oberlin, with natural history collections, educational card files and optical toys.
• Les jardins et les herbiers – Presbytery gardens devoted to plants used in the 18th century, to education and to observing the stars, with an orchard and a meadow.

Founded

1958

Visitors per year

approx. 30,340

Admission & discounts

Free admission for children under 6, job seekers and recipients of social minimum benefits, tour guides, journalists, holders of the Pass Musées, the Pass Alsace or the guest card of the Bruche Valley (June to September), group companions and bus drivers. Smartphones and tablets are lent free of charge to individual visitors. During European Heritage Days, admission is free with guided tours.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum makes welcoming visitors with disabilities and their companions a priority; the mediation team tailors the visit on request.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Kids’ birthday parties

Family activities: a treasure hunt, “Enquête sur l'existence des merveilles”, to find natural history curiosities in the museum and its gardens (1 hour, during school holidays); the “Spectra” animation during the autumn holidays (Toussaint) is included in the ticket; knitting and weaving workshops in July and August; discovery trails in summer. Birthday parties for 6 to 10 children, from age 4, 14:00–17:00. The museum presents itself as a place where visitors handle and experiment.

Getting there & parking

The reduced “sustainable mobility” rate is granted to visitors who show a train ticket for the date of their visit or who arrive by bicycle.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The shop offers thematic publications issued by the museum, books and objects related to the collections, and gift ideas for younger visitors. The museum also has a library.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Room hire: €50 per day or €25 per half-day, plus a €60 institutional membership fee.

Plan your visit