Museum Soltau
City and local history museum of the Heimatbund Soltau in an old superintendent's house, including on the Soltau prisoner-of-war camp in World War I.
About the museum
The museum goes back to the Heimatbund Soltau (local heritage society), whose founder, middle school principal Karl Baurichter, secured a first exhibition room on the first floor of the old superintendent's house on Poststraße in 1966. The building had been constructed in 1830 by Pastor Daniel Friedrich Wolde as the parsonage of the Protestant Johannis congregation. At first the museum shared the house with a local heritage room for expellees and the tourist office; gradually the Heimatbund was able to use all floors for the museum.
The first two decades were shaped by the volunteer museum director Georg Crone, who together with his wife, the art historian Margarete Crone, set up the exhibitions on city history, the farming townspeople (Ackerbürger), and crafts and household. In 1974 the former parish hall in the rear part of the property was added, housing prehistory and early history, geology, and the storage. Both buildings were renovated and redesigned in 1988/89 and 2002 respectively; however, the Heimatbund returned the rear building to the parish in 2019.
Today the main building shows the life of Soltau's farming townspeople in the 19th century with a furnished kitchen and living room, customs and club life, medieval finds from the town center, and historic craft workshops under the roof. One focus is the Soltau prisoner-of-war camp, one of the largest camps of World War I, with works by prisoners and the furnishings of the camp churches. Changing exhibitions take place on the first floor.
Highlights
- Exhibition on the Soltau prisoner-of-war camp in World War I
- Furnishings of the Orthodox and Catholic camp churches
- Kitchen and living room of a farming townsperson's house in the 19th century
- Historic craft workshops in the attic
- Medieval finds from Soltau's town center
Permanent exhibitions
- Stadt- und Heimatgeschichte Soltaus – Tour through the life of the farming townspeople in the 19th century, customs, club life, and old craft workshops, supplemented by archaeological finds from the town center and church history.
- Kriegsgefangenenlager Soltau – Handicrafts by prisoners, letters and drawings, and the furnishings of the camp churches recall the large camp of World War I, including works by the Belgian artist Georges Goffart.
- Founded
- 1966
- Operated by
- Heimatbund Soltau e. V.
Admission & discounts
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Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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