Heimatmuseum Ockenheim

About the museum

The local history museum goes back to the private collection of Guido Olschowka, a former primary school headmaster from Ockenheim. In 1982 he founded the association Heimatfreunde 1982 Ockenheim e.V., which still runs the museum today and continues to expand the collection. It is housed in the old school building on Mainzer Straße and in a second building; both can be reached from the schoolyard.

The house shows life and work in the 19th and 20th centuries in a wine-growing village in Rhenish Hesse. Two fully furnished apartments with kitchen and living room, one from around 1900 and one from the 1950s, a classroom with old benches, slate boards and a typewriter, and workshops of a carpenter, cooper, blacksmith, shoemaker, tailor, hairdresser and midwife invite visitors to try things out. Farm and wine-growing tools and a laundry room complete the tour.

Finds from the Celtic and Roman periods, a model of a Frankish settlement and figures in Frankish dress lead into the village's history, up to the first mention of Ockenheim in 823. In 2022, “Johannas und Simons Küchenkabinett” (kitchen cabinet), with kitchen utensils from various stylistic periods, was added; in 2025 the exhibition “Technik für Wissen und Unterhaltung” followed.

Highlights

• Two furnished apartments from around 1900 and the 1950s
• Classroom to try out (slate boards, abacus, typewriter)
• Workshops of carpenter, cooper, blacksmith, shoemaker and midwife
• Farm and wine-growing tools, laundry room
• Finds from the Celtic, Roman and Frankish periods
• Exhibition “Technik für Wissen und Unterhaltung”

Permanent exhibitions

• Wohnwelten um 1900 und in den 1950er Jahren – Two fully furnished apartments with kitchen and living room show everyday life in the imperial era and the 1950s; cupboards and drawers may be opened.
• Schulraum und Handwerksberufe – A recreated classroom to try out, plus workshops of carpenter, cooper, blacksmith, shoemaker, tailor, hairdresser and midwife.
• Technik für Wissen und Unterhaltung – A journey through the history of technology, opened at the local history museum in April 2025.

Operated by

Heimatfreunde 1982 Ockenheim e.V.

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission; donations are welcome.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• 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 is not barrier-free.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations

A museum to touch: in the classroom, visitors may sit on the old school benches, write on slate boards with a stylus, calculate with an abacus and try out a mechanical typewriter. There are programs for kindergartens and schools.

Getting there & parking

Access is via the schoolyard, Mainzer Straße 67. Ockenheim railway station is about 1,400 m away.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit