Oderbruch Museum Altranft
Museum of the Oderbruch cultural landscape in Schloss Altranft, with a village tour to a farm, forge, fisherman's house and patronage church.
About the museum
The beginnings go back to the late 1970s: the Council of the Frankfurt (Oder) District then had plans developed for an open-air museum that was to show a typical Brandenburg estate-farm village right on site. In the 1980s Altranft thus became a museum village; after 1990 the focus was on interior exhibitions and event days on historic country life.
After the turn of the millennium the museum fell into difficulties, and in 2015 closure was even discussed. With funding from the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation), it reinvented itself from 2016 to 2020 – as a "workshop for rural culture" that considers the past and present of the Oderbruch together. The operator is the Museumsverein Altranft e.V., and basic funding comes from the district of Märkisch-Oderland.
The central exhibition building is the manor house, called Schloss, whose baroque core dates from around 1670 and which received a large extension in 1876. The tour also includes the Berg-Schmidt-Hof, built after a village fire in 1829, an old farmworker's house, the forge farmstead, the fire engine house and the patronage church. Each year the museum devotes itself to a yearly theme; exhibitions, salon talks and workshop books arise from conversations with people of the region.
The museum coordinates the initiative "Kulturerbe Oderbruch," with which the region received the European Heritage Label in 2022.
Highlights
- Oderbruch-Gespinst (Oderbruch Web) by Antje Scholz on topography and the ditch system
- Large marble run on the water system of the northern Oderbruch
- Village tour with farmhouse, forge, fisherman's house and patronage church
- Installation "Ein Zauber von Arbeit" with historic blacksmith tools
- Audio walk "Talk Walk" with voices from Altranft
Permanent exhibitions
- Das Oderbruch – Tour of the Schloss on the water system, agriculture, building culture, people and nature of the region – with photographs, films, listening stations and the room-filling Gespinst by Antje Scholz.
- Altranft in zehn Kapiteln – The village history from fishing village through estate-farm village to open-air museum, told in the upper foyer of the Schloss.
- Ein Zauber von Arbeit – Installation made of numerous forged craft tools in the fieldstone barn of the Berg-Schmidt-Hof.
- Founded
- 1970
- Operated by
- Museumsverein Altranft e.V.
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €10 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €7Trainees, students and people with severe disabilities |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 18 · Children and teenagers up to 18 years have free admission. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €7Reduced admission with a severe disability ID (Schwerbehindertenausweis), also for the companion. |
| Students & apprentices | €7Also for trainees |
| Groups | –Guided tours: admission per person plus €30 per group (maximum 25 people). |
Tickets are valid as a season pass. Residents of Altranft have free admission. Separate prices apply for events.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: not available
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking
- 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
Accessible side entrance with a stair lift operated by staff (please register in advance at 03344 333911). Only the first floor is accessible without steps, the other levels are not. Accessible restroom with an emergency call button on the first floor, but without a turning circle. Plenty of seating; paths in the village partly unpaved with gravel and cobblestones.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 18 |
|---|
- Family tours & workshops
- Hands-on stations
- Kids’ birthday parties
The museum workshop for painting and crafting is always open; on program days there are open workshops (12:00–16:00, by donation, recommended from age 7). Children's birthday parties in the workshop (€10 per child, minimum €60, from age 7). During the holidays free workshops, such as stop-motion film from age 8. Playful stations such as the marble run on the tour.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Altranft (Bahnhof) · 1.1 km
RB60 (Eberswalde–Wriezen) to Altranft station, hourly, every two hours on weekends; from Bad Freienwalde station bus lines 875, 885, 886, 889 and 958.
By car
Free parking
Plenty of free parking and two accessible parking spaces directly in front of the museum; after registration you can drive up to the museum to get out.
- Accessible parking
By car from Berlin via the B158 and B167. The nearest bus stop is about 700 m from the museum. Paths partly unpaved with gravel and cobblestones.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café
- Museum shop
- Lockers
- Wi-Fi
Cafeteria in the Schloss (Thu–Sun 11:00–17:00) with coffee, cake, cold drinks and savory snacks; seating in the Schloss, on the terrace and in the park. Museum publications and postcards at the reception.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Guided tours by arrangement for groups of up to 25 people. For school classes, tours of about 45 minutes on three topics, can be combined with three-hour group workshops (Thu and Fri by registration). Audio walk "Talk Walk" through the village (approx. 4.7 km, 20 stations) via QR code or with a loanable MP3 player. Information material in German and English. |
