Handwerksmuseum Suhlendorf

About the museum

The museum was established in 1974 as the International Mill Museum, founded by Horst Wrobel. The post windmill "Auguste" dates from that time; it stood in Alvesse near Braunschweig until 1973 and was rebuilt on the Mühlenberg in Suhlendorf, and is now over 200 years old. Because there was not enough space for expansion, Wrobel later built up the International Mill Museum in Gifhorn, which opened in 1980.

In Suhlendorf the focus shifted to traditional crafts, and since 1996 the museum has borne the name Handwerksmuseum (Crafts Museum). When the municipality could no longer fund the staff positions in 2007, closure loomed. In response, local citizens founded the Museumsverein Suhlendorf in November 2007, which took over operations in 2008 and has run the museum exclusively on a volunteer basis ever since.

In ten buildings on the open-air grounds, workshops of 26 crafts are set up as they operated between about 1900 and 1950. Panels and a free audio guide explain the trades, and on event days craftspeople demonstrate their techniques. The exhibition is complemented by, among other things, a veterinary practice, a watchmaker's workshop, a radio collection and an exhibition by the Heimatkreis Wollstein, which commemorates the flight of around 7,000 people from the Wollstein district to Suhlendorf in the winter of 1945.

Highlights

• Post windmill "Auguste", over 200 years old, with milling demonstrations
• Workshops of 26 crafts in ten buildings
• Craft demonstrations on event days
• Free audio guide to all workshops
• Exhibition on the flight from the Wollstein district in 1945

Permanent exhibitions

• Werkstätten von 26 Handwerksberufen – Furnished workshops and workplaces from the first half of the 20th century in ten buildings on the open-air grounds, with tools, machines and explanations of trades that hardly exist today.
• Bockwindmühle „Auguste“ – Post windmill over 200 years old from Alvesse, legacy of the former mill museum; milling demonstrations by arrangement.
• Wollsteiner Ausstellung – Exhibition by the Heimatkreis Wollstein on the flight of around 7,000 people from the Wollstein district, who reached Suhlendorf with carts and horses in spring 1945.

Founded

1974

Operated by

Museumsverein Suhlendorf e.V.

Admission & discounts

School classes: €4 per pupil with programme, €2 without programme. Audio guide free of charge.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• 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 describes itself as barrier-free and suitable for all visitors.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Tours and programmes for children, young people and school classes; hands-on craft workshops, especially during the holidays. The workshops are designed for touching and trying things out.

Getting there & parking

By car via the B71 from the direction of Uelzen or Salzwedel, from Bad Bodenteich via the L 265, from Wieren via the K 6; in Suhlendorf follow the signs.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Family celebrations, corporate events and seminars by arrangement. Civil wedding ceremonies in the craftsmen's barn through the registry office of the Samtgemeinde Rosche.

Plan your visit