Photo: Michael Schmalenstroer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Heimatmuseum Ahlen

Municipal local history museum in the Peters'scher Hof, a 16th-century four-post house in Ahlen's old town, on the history of the town.

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Limited operations. Currently open only for special openings (e.g. exhibitions); guided tours for school classes and weddings by arrangement.

About the museum

The Heimatmuseum of the town of Ahlen is housed in the so-called Peters'scher Hof on Wilhelmstraße, a 16th-century four-post house in the middle of the old town. The building was probably built as the residence of a patrician or tenant farmer on the grounds of the noble Oershof and was converted for agricultural use in the 19th century. It is regarded as a vivid example of Münsterland arable-farming townsfolk culture.

After the town acquired the house, it has been used as a local history museum since 1966. The exhibition focuses on the development of the town: from Stone Age finds in the Ahlen area through early traces of settlement and the medieval town to industrialisation.

In the special exhibition room "Alte Deele", changing exhibitions on the town's history are shown, and a museum education room serves school classes as an out-of-school learning venue. The historic Flett kitchen with its open fireplace is also used for civil wedding ceremonies. At present the museum opens only for exhibitions and special occasions.