RELíGIO - Westfälisches Museum für religiöse Kultur

About the museum

The foundation was laid in 1934 by Paul Engelmeier, who set up a Heimathaus (local heritage house) with changing exhibitions in a former parish barn in Telgte. In the very first year he showed contemporary Christmas nativity scenes, the beginning of the Telgte nativity exhibition that still takes place every year. In 1937 an extension followed to plans by Dominikus Böhm.

Since 1974 the house has been run as a non-profit limited company, in which the Warendorf district, the Diocese of Münster, the towns of Telgte and Münster and the Münster Chamber of Crafts participate. After an extension in the 1980s, a new building by Josef Paul Kleihues made of sandstone with a large window front opened in 1994, which initially housed a nativity museum of its own.

In 2011 the Museum Heimathaus Münsterland and the nativity museum were merged under the name RELíGIO; the name combines region and religion. After a new concept and a further extension for the Telgte Hunger Cloth, the museum has shown religious practice in Westphalia from prehistory to the present since 2012 on around 1,500 square meters, from the Lenten cloth from the Thirty Years' War through pilgrimage and life celebrations to the dialogue of the world religions.

Highlights

• Telgte Hunger Cloth of 1623
• Table of Religions with media stations
• Nativity scene collection and annual nativity exhibition
• Section on Cardinal von Galen
• Architecture by Dominikus Böhm and Josef Paul Kleihues

Permanent exhibitions

• Das Telgter Hungertuch – The large-format Lenten cloth of 1623 was created during the Thirty Years' War and is among the most significant of its kind in Germany.
• Religiöse Vielfalt heute – der Tisch der Religionen – Objects of the great world religions and media stations with personal accounts of faith invite comparison and dialogue.
• Feste im Jahres- und Lebenslauf – Rituals from birth to death and the religious festivals of the year, including the history of Christmas with numerous nativity scenes.

Founded

1934

Operated by

RELíGIO – Westfälisches Museum für religiöse Kultur GmbH (Kreis Warendorf, Bistum Münster, Stadt Telgte, Stadt Münster, Handwerkskammer Münster)

Director

Dr. Anja Schöne

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Every last Saturday of the month (except November to January)

Tickets are valid all day, and the museum can be left in between. Group tours: 60 minutes €50, 90 minutes €70, highlights tour (30 minutes) €25, each plus admission, up to 20 people; school tours €30.

Accessibility

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

The exhibition rooms are accessible; in the old building there are two lifts operated by staff. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms and lockers in the basement via elevator. Accessible parking spaces at Knickenbergplatz (about 5 minutes by wheelchair); accompanied wheelchair users can be dropped off directly in front of the museum. Folding chairs in every foyer. Tours for blind and visually impaired visitors, programs for people with dementia.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

For children's groups there are dedicated tours such as the museum memory game or the highlights tour "Museumsschätze und Schätzchen" (Museum Treasures and Little Treasures), plus workshops for daycare and elementary school groups.

Getting there & parking

Herrenstraße is a dead end.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Lockers

Museum shop with catalogs, literature and postcards. Lockers in the basement (€1 coin).

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

The Herdfeuerraum (hearth room) can be rented for weddings, and a lecture room with equipment for conferences and workshops.

Plan your visit