Dat ole Huus

About the museum

The half-timbered hall house was built in 1742 in Hanstedt in the northern Lüneburg Heath; the Flett (open hearth area) is probably considerably older. In 1907 Bernhard Dageförde bought the building, had it moved to Wilsede and, together with the “heath pastor” Wilhelm Bode, founded a society that set up a heath museum inside it. Today the Verein Naturschutzpark (VNP) runs the house in the heart of the Lüneburger Heide nature reserve.

The thatched house with its half-hipped roof is a so-called smoke house without a chimney: cooking was done over an open hearth fire in the Flett, and the smoke escaped through the roof. People and livestock lived under one roof. The furnishings, with the threshing floor, stables, maids' chamber, farmhands' box bed and the retired farmers' parlor, convey life on a heath farm around 1850.

Nearby, an exhibition sheepfold on the Emhoff with changing exhibitions on the Lüneburg Heath and a staircase granary used as a “Naturspeicher” (nature storehouse) on the heath bog habitat round out the offering. Wilsede itself is car-free and can only be reached on foot, by bike or by horse-drawn carriage.

Highlights

• Smoke house from 1742 with an open hearth and no chimney
• Living quarters and stables of a heath farm around 1850
• Exhibition sheepfold on the Emhoff with changing exhibitions
• Naturspeicher on the heath bog habitat (free admission)
• Setting in the car-free heathland village of Wilsede

Permanent exhibitions

• Heidehof um 1850 – Furnished smoke house with hearth, threshing floor, chambers and stable area, showing the everyday life of a heath farming family.
• Naturspeicher – Lebensraum Heidemoor – Small exhibition with illuminated pictures of the animals and plants of the heath bogs, housed in a historic staircase granary on the Emhoff.

Founded

1907

Operated by

Verein Naturschutzpark e. V. (VNP)

Admission & discounts

Admission includes the exhibition sheepfold on the Emhoff; the Naturspeicher is free to enter.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

In the village, the Milchhalle and the VNP museum shop, as well as the inn "Zum Heidemuseum".

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit