Schulze-Delitzsch-Haus – Deutsches Genossenschaftsmuseum

About the museum

In the fall of 1849, the Delitzsch lawyer and politician Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch and 57 shoemakers founded a raw materials association that is considered the first successful trade cooperative of the modern era. The idea of self-help through joint purchasing, credit and sales spread rapidly and later shaped cooperative banks (Volksbanken), craft cooperatives and consumer cooperatives worldwide.

The museum is housed in a half-timbered building in Kreuzgasse that is almost 400 years old – the historic site where the cooperative was founded. After a long period of decay, the house was secured and renovated in 1991/92 and opened as a museum in 1992. It is run by the Deutsche Hermann-Schulze-Delitzsch-Gesellschaft e. V.; a friends' association founded in 1998 helped keep the house going through financially difficult times.

In 2010 the permanent exhibition was given a new concept, and in 2019/20 the first floor was redesigned with a meeting room, a world map of cooperatives and media stations. One reason for this was the inclusion of the cooperative idea in UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. The exhibition presents the life and work of Schulze-Delitzsch and links them to the economic and social history of the 19th century. There is also a specialist library, the discussion series "Delitzscher Gespräche" and an app with a town walk to places from the life of the cooperative's founder.

Highlights

• Historic founding site of the first trade cooperative (1849)
• Exhibition on the life of Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch
• World map of cooperatives and media stations on the first floor
• The cooperative idea as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
• App-based town walk to Schulze-Delitzsch sites in Delitzsch

Permanent exhibitions

• Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch und die Genossenschaftsidee – The permanent exhibition traces the life and work of the cooperative's founder and shows how the idea of self-help spread worldwide from Delitzsch – with audio stations, text cubes and interactive elements.

Founded

1992

Operated by

Deutsche Hermann-Schulze-Delitzsch-Gesellschaft e. V.

Director

Thomas Keiderling (Leitender Kurator)

Admission & discounts

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