Spreewald-Museum Lübbenau

About the museum

The Spreewald Museum was founded in Lübbenau in 1899; among the initiators was the local historian Paul Fahlisch, who later also headed the museum. The collection was first housed at Kirchplatz and from the 1950s moved into the Alte Kanzlei (Old Chancery) of Lübbenau Castle, where the holdings of the castle museum of the zu Lynar family were added. Under museum director Gerhard Krüger, the open-air museum in Lehde was established in 1957 as a branch.

Since 1999 the museum has been located in the Torhaus (gatehouse) at the Topfmarkt. The three-story brick building of 1850 forms, with its archway, the western entrance to the old town and formerly served as town hall, royal district court, prison, and police station. In the archway hangs the lower jawbone of a Greenland whale from the 18th century. Today the building belongs to the museum of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district.

The exhibition is designed as a museum department store: a grocery shop, butcher shop, bakery, furrier's, shoemaker's, and linen weaver's workshop, a clothing shop with traditional costumes and blueprint fabric, and a pub tell of the everyday life of a Spreewald town around 1900. In a new building, the steam locomotive 99 5703 of the Spreewaldbahn, which carried passengers from 1898 to 1970, and a combined passenger and baggage car are displayed one above the other.

Highlights

• Museum department store with original shops and workshops around 1900
• Steam locomotive 99 5703 of the Spreewaldbahn with a walk-in driver's cab
• Passenger and baggage car with "wooden class"
• Spreewald traditional costumes and blueprint fabric
• Historic Torhaus of 1850 with a whale bone in the archway

Permanent exhibitions

• Museumskaufhaus – Staged shops and craft workshops of a Spreewald town around 1900 – from the grocery shop through the bakery and furrier's to the costume shop and the pub.
• Faszination Spreewaldbahn – The last locomotive of the Spreewaldbahn and a passenger and baggage car, experienced one above the other in the new museum building – with a driver's cab and wooden class to try out.

Founded

1899

Operated by

Landkreis Oberspreewald-Lausitz (Museum des Landkreises Oberspreewald-Lausitz)

Director

Stefan Heinz

Admission & discounts

Uniform prices for all museums of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district (valid from January 1, 2026). Guided tour fee for groups €50 plus admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• 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

Largely accessible; all floors reachable by elevator. For step-free access, a second entrance is opened – please contact the museum ticket desk (+49 3573 8702420). Accessible restroom on the ground floor. Tours are adapted to groups with disabilities.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Kids’ birthday parties

At activity stations, children can knead dough at the baker's, weigh goods in the grocery shop, work at the small loom, or take over the driver's cab. The characters "Klara Kasse" and "Guste, die Spreewaldbahn" guide visitors through text panels and a family companion booklet; a museum game for families (ages 6 and up, €2.50) is available without registration. Vacation programs and children's birthday parties are offered.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located at the Topfmarkt on the western edge of the old town; the archway of the museum building is the western entrance to the old town.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit