Thüringer Bauernhäuser

About the museum

The Thüringer Bauernhäuser are considered Germany's oldest open-air museum. In 1914/15 the Unterhaseler and Birkenheider houses were dismantled from their original locations and rebuilt in today's Heinrich-Heine-Park in Rudolstadt. Locally committed citizens saved the half-timbered buildings from demolition, supported by the Marie-Richter-Stiftung of the Rudolstadt manufacturing family Richter (makers of Anker building blocks). Despite World War I, the reconstruction including the furnishings was completed in just over a year, and the museum opened in May 1915.

Volunteers of the Verein für Rudolstädter Geschichte und Heimatschutz furnished the houses with rustic furniture, household and work tools, and textile folk art from the region. Over 1,000 individual items came together, from spoons to a child's cradle. The Unterhaseler house of 1667 was the home of a prosperous middle farmer; the Birkenheider house, from around 1700, comes from a settlement on the Saalfelder Höhe and shows the simpler world of forest workers and craftsmen, with a furnished country pharmacy from Rohrbach.

In 1939 the city of Rudolstadt took over the museum; in 1964 it became a branch of the Staatliche Museen Heidecksburg. Since 2006 the city has again operated the site, while the inventory belongs to the Thüringer Landesmuseum Heidecksburg. The ensemble also includes a barn, a cottage garden with herbs, and a dance linden.

Highlights

• Unterhaseler house of 1667 as a middle farmer's house
• Birkenheider house from around 1700 with Laborantenapotheke (country pharmacy)
• Over 1,000 objects of rural folk art and household items
• Cottage garden with medicinal and culinary herbs
• Themed tours on the farm kitchen and the Buckelapotheker (itinerant apothecary)

Permanent exhibitions

• Unterhaseler Haus – Two-storey living-and-stable house from 1667 with a farm kitchen, parlors, a weaving and spinning room, retirement quarters (Altenteil) and the best room (Gute Stube) of a prosperous middle farmer.
• Birkenheider Haus – Single-storey living-and-stable house from around 1700 with a slate stove, a simple parlor and sleeping chamber, as well as the Laborantenapotheke (country pharmacy) from Rohrbach.

Founded

1915

Operated by

Stadt Rudolstadt

Director

Silke Pohl

Admission & discounts

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The children's tour "Lirum, Larum, Löffelstiel" explores the life of a farming family with all the senses, for example where people and animals slept and what was cooked in the farm kitchen. The courtyard and garden invite visitors to linger.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located in the Heinrich-Heine-Park in Rudolstadt (Kleiner Damm 12).

Amenities & dining

• Café

Small food and drink offer in the courtyard and garden during opening hours: coffee specialties, homemade cake, ice cream, soft drinks, beer and wine.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit