Vereinigte Museen im Wasserschloss Heerse

About the museum

The moated castle in Neuenheerse (Bad Driburg) was for centuries the seat of the abbesses of the Heerse women's foundation (Damenstift), whose origins are traced back to the year 868. In 1599, Abbess Ottilie von Fürstenberg had the complex rebuilt as a moated castle.

In 1989, the donor couple Manfred O. and Helga Schröder acquired the castle, which needed renovation, along with its outbuildings, restored it, and handed it over to the public together with their cultural foundation. Since then, several collections have been housed in the castle and the gatehouse. In June 2016, the "St. Hubertus Helga-Hallen" in the castle park were added as a separate museum building.

The natural history department displays several hundred mounted animals from around the world, including polar bears, walruses, lions and antelopes. The ethnographic museum focuses mainly on Africa (with an emphasis on Ghana), and also covers the South Seas, Australia and the Americas. The Museum of European Cultural Heritage, formerly the Gesamtdeutsches Heimatmuseum, documents rural life with workshops, living rooms and a schoolroom. There is also an exhibition on hunting culture, sections on colonial and Prussian history, and a picture gallery.

Highlights

• One of Germany's largest private collections of large mammals
• Africa exhibition with around 500 objects in the gatehouse, with a focus on Ghana
• Exhibition on hunting customs and hunting culture
• Museum of European Cultural Heritage with a shoemaker's workshop and living rooms
• Picture gallery and Indian art in the St. Hubertus Helga-Hallen

Permanent exhibitions

• Internationales Museum für Naturkunde – Several hundred mounted animals from around the world, including polar bears, walruses, lions and antelopes, along with information on nature and species protection.
• Ethnographisches Museum – Völkerkunde – Cultural objects from Africa (with a focus on Ghana), the South Seas, Australia and the Americas; around 500 African objects are on display in the gatehouse.
• Museum für Europäisches Kulturgut – The former Gesamtdeutsches Heimatmuseum shows farm and household tools, a shoemaker's workshop, living rooms, toys and musical instruments.

Operated by

Kulturstiftung Honorargeneralkonsul Manfred O. Schroeder und Helga Schroeder

Admission & discounts

Prices apply to the guided tour; visiting without a tour is not possible.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Family tours on the first Saturday of every month at 14:00, by registration.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 25 guests.

Civil weddings by the City of Bad Driburg registry office take place in the castle chapel (up to 25 guests, or up to 40 in good weather in front of the south side of the castle); flat fee €200.

Plan your visit