Museum Wilnsdorf

About the museum

The idea for the museum arose in the mid-1980s: for the commemorative book marking Wilnsdorf's 800th anniversary in 1985, a great deal of knowledge about the area's history had been gathered, which was meant to be preserved. After the anniversary, collecting began, in 1989 a friends' association was founded, and in 1993 the Volkskundliches Museum (folk culture museum) opened in a converted production hall of an industrial company that had used the site until the mid-1980s. Together with the festival hall, library, and music school, a cultural center was thus created in the middle of the village.

A second pillar was added when the municipality was able to take over the Dr. Albrecht collection, around 7,000 replicas of objects from over 100 museums worldwide. A new building was created for it, the Kulturgeschichtliche Begegnungsstätte, which since 2003 has invited visitors on a "Journey Through Time" from Earth's history to late antiquity. In 2004 the municipality and friends' association also established the foundation "Museum Wilnsdorf" to finance the museum.

Today the museum shows around 3,500 exhibits embedded in scenes of their historical setting: workshops and shops of a Siegerland village around 1900, tactile objects on cultural history, a natural history cabinet with insects of the Siegerland, and the mining and mineral collection of Günther Jung, taken over as a long-term loan. The museum also includes the winding tower in Niederdielfen, which recalls the centuries-old ore mining of the region.

Highlights

• Siegerland village life around 1900 with a grocery store, carpentry shop, bakery, and barber
• "Journey Through Time" with replicas from over 100 museums around the world
• Jung mineral and mining collection with a historic mining laboratory
• Virtual mine visit with VR headset in a real mine cart
• Winding tower at the Grimberg in Niederdielfen
• Escape room across all exhibition areas

Permanent exhibitions

• Volkskundliches Museum – Life and work in the villages of the southern Siegerland around 1900 with furnished workshops, shops, a living room, and a stable on two floors.
• Eine Reise durch die Zeit – Cultural-history tour from Earth's history through the Stone Age to the ancient advanced civilizations, with many tactile objects.
• Bergbau – Sammlung Jung – Tools, miners' lamps, a complete mining laboratory, and an extensive mineral collection from Siegerland ore mining.

Founded

1993

Operated by

Gemeinde Wilnsdorf

Director

Dr. Corinna Nauck

Admission & discounts

Different admission prices may apply during special exhibitions.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All exhibition levels reachable by elevator; loan wheelchair and walker available. Tactile objects throughout the "Journey Through Time," light floor strips and marked stair landings for orientation; tactile tours for blind and visually impaired guests by arrangement. Accessible parking spaces directly in front of the museum.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Kids’ birthday parties

Treasure hunts for kindergarten and school children of various ages, museum scavenger hunts, and children's birthday parties; hands-on station on the history of writing and a mine ride with a VR headset. The escape room is suitable for families, with children under 12 only accompanied by adults.

Getting there & parking

Via the A 45 (Sauerlandlinie), Wilnsdorf exit; the museum is signposted in the village.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Cafeteria with coffee and cake during opening hours, also without a museum visit; Siegerland Riewekooche (potato pancakes) by advance order. Museum shop with fossils, rocks, and books. Museum garden with over 100 native useful and medicinal plants.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 60 guests.

Civil wedding ceremonies in the Volkskundliches Museum in front of a restored Siegerland half-timbered house for up to 60 guests; concert grand piano available.

Plan your visit