Stadtmuseum Gehrden

About the museum

The foundation was laid in 1941 by the deputy headmaster and later honorary citizen August Kageler, who set up a town archive in a room of the old town hall. Later the holdings were moved to the Rittergut Franzburg, where parts were lost in the mid-1960s through burglary and vandalism. In 1975 the town of Gehrden rented the old brewhouse and set up the Stadtmuseum there; after the former hop loft in the attic was converted in 1982/83, the exhibition received its present scope in April 1984.

The solid brewhouse with sandstone-framed corners and windows was built after a predecessor building burned down in 1665, on what was then the edge of the village near the Suerser Tor. It is regarded as the third-oldest preserved building in the town and is a protected monument.

Since 1999 a group from the Heimatbund Gehrden has looked after the museum on a voluntary basis; the town is the sponsor. From 2020 the building remained closed for several years, first because of the pandemic, later because of high energy costs and the death of the volunteer manager. In 2025 it reopened on a small scale; the Bürgerstiftung Gehrden, to which the owner transferred the building in 2026, plans a comprehensive renovation.

Around 1000 exhibits span from Cretaceous fossils and prehistoric finds through town and legal history to school, associations and trade. The focus is on grave goods from Merovingian-era burials discovered in 1997 at the Burgberg, a find of Roman silver coins as well as a complete smithy, a carpenter's and wheelwright's workshop and a shoemaker's workshop.

Highlights

• Grave goods from Merovingian graves at the Burgberg (6th/7th century)
• Find of Roman silver coins
• Complete smithy from Everloh (around 1870–1890)
• Carpenter's, wheelwright's and shoemaker's workshop
• Listed old brewhouse

Permanent exhibitions

• Vor- und Frühgeschichte – Fossils, traces of the first settlement, the castle complex on the Burgberg and the grave finds from the Merovingian period tell of Gehrden's early history.
• Stadtgeschichte und Lebensbereiche – Rooms on town, legal and military history, on school, church, inns and associations as well as on the life and work of the musician Justus Wilhelm Lyra.
• Handwerk und Landwirtschaft – On the upper floor there is a complete smithy, a carpenter's and wheelwright's workshop, a shoemaker's workshop and tools from farm life.

Founded

1975

Operated by

Stadt Gehrden (ehrenamtlich betreut vom Heimatbund Gehrden)

Admission & discounts

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

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• 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 exhibition rooms on the main floor and in the converted attic can be reached only by stairs; a lift is not planned in the listed building.

Kids & families

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

Getting there & parking

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

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.