Museumshaus Stralsund

About the museum

The house at Mönchstraße 38 was built around 1320 as the residence and trading house of a merchant. The building spans seven floors, from the low cellar to the attic, where a Gothic hoist wheel for lifting loads survives, one of the oldest in Northern Europe. The house was lived in until the 1970s; at times up to seven tenant households lived there, and the black kitchen was still in use until 1979.

After the Wende (the political change), the dilapidated house was close to demolition. The Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz (German Foundation for Monument Protection) intervened in 1993, acquired it, and had it comprehensively restored between 1996 and 1999. Rather than reconstructing a single original state, parlors, kitchens, and layers of wallpaper and paint from later occupants were left visible and are presented as part of the history.

Today the Stralsund Museum operates the house as a branch. It is less a site with display cases than the museum's largest exhibit: visitors explore the entrance hall, counting room, parlors, black kitchen and cellar, and learn how merchants of the Hanseatic period and later ordinary families lived and worked here.

Highlights

• Gothic hoist wheel under the roof, one of the oldest in Northern Europe
• Black kitchen with original stove, in use until 1979
• Attractive parlor with a Baroque wall unit
• Uncovered wall paintings and wallpaper layers from several centuries
• Cellar with supports and beams from the original construction around 1320

Permanent exhibition

• Museumshaus – sieben Etagen Hansezeit und Wohnalltag – The house itself is the exhibition: from the cellar through the entrance hall, counting room and parlors up to the hoist wheel in the roof, it shows how merchants and later tenants lived, from the Middle Ages until the 1970s.

Founded

1999

Operated by

Stralsund Museum (Hansestadt Stralsund)

Admission & discounts

Tickets are sold directly at the box office on site.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• 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 historic house spans seven floors; the cellar can only be entered stooping. The museum adapts guided tours to the special needs of groups.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Workshops for school classes and kindergarten groups (e.g. "In the Old Merchant's House" with a museum workshop, approx. 2 hours) and holiday programs for families.

Getting there & parking

By car via the A 20 and the B 96n Rügen feeder road to the Altstadt/Franken exit.

Amenities & dining

On the first floor there are a bookshop and a clothing store.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit