Heimat- und Handwerksmuseum Wahlstedt

About the museum

The museum tells how the small farming and crafts village of Wahlstedt, with about 750 residents, became a town. The turning point came in 1936, when a naval artillery arsenal was built in the nearby forest; during the war it employed several thousand people from the area. After 1945 most buildings survived; refugees and the first businesses used the empty halls, and Wahlstedt grew into an industrial town with town rights since 1967.

The exhibition is on the third floor of the meeting center of the Volkshochschule (VHS, adult education center). Anyone who walks under the oak beam at the entrance enters the village of 1850 to 1935: old workshops and displays show, among other things, a blacksmith, a weaver, a school, a hairdresser, a shopkeeper and a dairy. A large model of the arsenal leads to the postwar period, with food ration cards and a map of the British occupation zone. There are also collections of cameras, radios, typewriters, scales and toys.

The museum is run by volunteers and a friends' and support association with more than 50 members. The site also includes a stone bread oven modeled on historic examples, and an information and documentation center in the listed water works bunker, which deepens the history of the arsenal and ties in with the 13 stations of the history trail.

Highlights

• Village of 1850–1935 with blacksmith, weaving, school and hairdresser
• Large model of the naval artillery arsenal
• Collections of radios, cameras, typewriters and toys
• Stone bread oven, with bread sold on the first Thursday of each month
• History trail with 13 stations on the former arsenal

Permanent exhibitions

• Wahlstedt vom Dorf zur Stadt – Village life from 1850 to 1935 with workshops and a schoolroom, an arsenal model and the postwar period.
• Info- und Dokumentationszentrum Marineartilleriearsenal – Documentation on the history of the arsenal in the listed water works bunker; visits by appointment only.

Operated by

Volkshochschule Wahlstedt e.V.

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• 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 is accessible by elevator. Two designated parking spaces for visitors with a disability ID are directly next to the museum. Someone is always present in the museum to accompany visitors and give explanations; for years there has been group work with wheelchair users from the care homes in Wahlstedt.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

For kindergartens and school classes there are programs such as old trades, school in the past, household life in earlier days, storytime, a town rally and old children's games; in good weather, the "Grünes Klassenzimmer" (green classroom) is available outdoors. Appointments by arrangement at the VHS office.

Getting there & parking

The museum entrance is at the roundabout in the town center that connects Segeberger Straße and Neumünsterstraße.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

On Thursdays there is coffee and homemade butter cake (not for takeaway); on the first Thursday of each month, bread from the stone oven is sold in the museum. Museum shop with postcards, books and miscellaneous items.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 30 guests.

Weddings by arrangement with the Wahlstedt registry office, room for about 30 guests, for a fee; museum staff take care of the sparkling wine reception after the ceremony.

Plan your visit