Freilichtmuseum Klockenhagen

About the museum

The impetus came from the house researcher Karl Baumgarten, who came across the old farm of the farmer Heinrich Peters in Klockenhagen in the early 1960s. In years of conversations, he persuaded the owner to hand over his property to the town of Ribnitz-Damgarten as a heritage farm. The heritage farm (Denkmalhof) was created in 1970; the Peters farmstead remains the core of the museum to this day.

Under museum directors Hans Erichson and Heiner Morgenroth, it grew into a village within a village: buildings worth preserving from all over Mecklenburg were dismantled and re-erected in Klockenhagen. Today 20 buildings stand on about five hectares – farmhouses, cottages, barns, bakehouses, a smithy, a village church and a post windmill. The oldest building is a barn from 1642; the half-timbered house from Strassen from 1671 now houses the restaurant.

The permanent exhibition shows the building and living culture of the past three centuries, especially the Low German hall house. In recent years, the nonprofit museum association, which runs the museum with the support of the town, has focused on a lively museum farm with field cultivation, animal husbandry, craft demonstrations and festivals from Easter to the harvest festival.

Highlights

• Groß Bengerstorf barn from 1642, the museum's oldest building
• Strassen half-timbered house (1671) with museum restaurant
• Groß Ernsthof post windmill, restored in 2020
• Dargelütz village church
• Museum bakery with wood-fired oven in the Hanstorf bakehouse
• 360-degree panorama with photographs by Karl Eschenburg in the horse-gin barn

Permanent exhibitions

• Mecklenburger Bau- und Lebenskultur – 20 relocated or reconstructed buildings on five hectares show living, working, crafts and agriculture in the countryside over the past 300 years.

Founded

1970

Operated by

Museumsverein Klockenhagen e.V.

Admission & discounts

In April and October, adults pay €10.50. Holders of a resort or guest card of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst and Graal-Müritz region as well as residents of Ribnitz-Damgarten receive €1 off the full price. Wood-fired oven bread baking available for an extra charge.

Accessibility

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

The grounds are partly low-barrier; a visit with a wheelchair or walking aid is possible, but thresholds must be negotiated at some historic buildings and some houses are quite dark. The paths are partly unpaved (meadows, slopes of up to about 10%). Renovated, low-barrier restrooms are available. Dogs are allowed on a leash.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area

Three outdoor playgrounds, a water playground and a play floor with a slide in the Lütten Klein farmhouse; raft and Schipperteich pond, stilts, hobby horses, high-wheel bikes and children's bicycles, marble runs (marbles available at the museum) and farm animals. Puzzle tour by smartphone, storytelling hour in summer, hand carts to borrow.

Getting there & parking

By car from Graal-Müritz via the L22, from Dierhagen via the L21, from Ribnitz-Damgarten via Klockenhäger Straße and from Gelbensande via the B105 and L21. Bike paths lead through the Rostock Heath, among other places.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Museum restaurant "Up dei Däl" in the Strassen half-timbered house (up to 80 seats, summer terrace) with Mecklenburg cuisine and coffee; museum bakery in the Hanstorf bakehouse (in season Tue–Sun from 8:00); village shop in the Rövershagen fire-engine house with ceramics and traditional goods (from 12:00). Hand carts available to borrow.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 80 guests.

Family celebrations in the museum restaurant (up to 80 people, inquiries to the tenant). Civil weddings in the horse-gin barn, in the Selmsdorf farmhouse or at the museum pond, church weddings in the Dargelütz village church; wedding receptions in the restaurant for up to 50 guests.

Plan your visit