Iserlohner Museum für Handwerk und Postgeschichte

About the museum

The half-timbered house was built in 1819 as a two-family home for the families of mining officials. In 1840 the entrepreneur Franz Maste moved it to its current site by the old cemetery, adding a cellar level and a converted attic in the process. The house later changed hands several times among Iserlohn families.

In 1979 the City of Iserlohn acquired the building; that same year, committed local residents founded the Förderkreis Iserlohner Museen e. V. (a friends' association) to collect evidence of Iserlohn's trade and industrial history. In 1995 the house passed to the association, which carried out an extensive restoration with the help of local craft businesses.

In 1999 the postal history collection, previously displayed in a restaurant, moved in, followed in 2000 by the crafts section. Since 2017 there has also been a room on the history of the Iserlohner Bürger-Schützen-Verein (the town's historic marksmen's club). The association runs the museum on a volunteer basis, has published its own book series since 1980 and organizes talks such as the series “Mittwochs im Museum” (Wednesdays at the Museum).

The postal section includes the counters and equipment of a 1950s post office, letters, stamps, telephones, radio and telegraph technology, and a working manual telephone switchboard. The crafts section shows fully furnished workshops of a shoemaker, goldsmith, tailor, carpenter and barber, historic bathroom fittings, and a large collection of coffee grinders made by the Iserlohn company Kissing & Möllmann.

Highlights

• 1950s post office with counters and equipment
• Working historic manual telephone switchboard
• Fully furnished craftsmen's workshops
• Coffee grinders by Kissing & Möllmann
• Heritage room of the Iserlohner Bürger-Schützen-Verein

Permanent exhibitions

• Postgeschichte – Six rooms on mail delivery, the post office and telecommunications, from the days of the mail coach to early mobile phones.
• Handwerk – Reconstructed workshops of traditional crafts, along with household appliances and coffee grinders made in Iserlohn.
• IBSV-Zimmer – Heritage room of the Iserlohner Bürger-Schützen-Verein with kings' chains, crowns and gifts from the Prussian era.

Founded

1999

Operated by

Förderkreis Iserlohner Museen e. V.

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission; donations welcome.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

By car via the B233 or the A46 (exit Iserlohn-Zentrum).

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit