DDR-Museum Thale

About the museum

The DDR-Museum Thale opened on May 1, 2011 – with a parade through the town and a meeting of GDR vehicles. The initiative came from the family behind the Möbelhaus Müller furniture store, which has been housed since 2000 in a former administration building of the Eisen- und Hüttenwerk Thale ironworks. The museum is privately operated and is financed without public funding.

The building dates from 1973. On the upper floors there was once a laboratory where research on enamel was carried out for the ironworks' tank and apparatus construction. After the works closed in the early 1990s, the rooms remained largely unchanged; in places the original wallpaper is still preserved.

In terms of content, the exhibition concentrates on home culture and everyday life in the GDR. The objects are arranged as a journey through time: the further you go through the rooms, the further the tour leads back to the founding of the state in 1949. Information panels explain the political history and individual topics; the operators explicitly do not see the house as a scholarly museum, but as a place of remembrance for contemporary witnesses and an insight for younger guests.

Highlights

• Tour as a timeline back to the founding of the GDR in 1949
• Furnished living rooms and kitchens from several decades
• Original rooms of a former enamel laboratory of the ironworks
• Audio guide for your own smartphone
• Annual Ostmobile meeting on May 1

Permanent exhibitions

• Wohn- und Alltagskultur in der DDR – Furnished rooms, household appliances, and everyday objects lead chronologically through four decades of the GDR. Panels put politics and living conditions in context.

Founded

2011

Operated by

Privat (Möbel Müller Thale)

Admission & discounts

Free admission with a valid HarzCard; reduced with many spa guest cards of the region.

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

The museum is located above the Möbelhaus Müller furniture store, which is signposted in Thale; alternatively, drive toward the town center. Overnight guests ride local buses free of charge with the Harzer Urlaubsticket (HATIX).

Amenities & dining

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

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit