Ziegelei Lage

About the museum

Gustav Beermann founded the brickworks in 1909 together with the Sylbach building contractor Friedrich Bobe and had a ring kiln built. Like many brickworks owners in Lippe, the family also ran a farm on the side. In 1922 production was switched to machine operation, and the company villa was built in the same year. In the early 1960s, the sons Friedel and Erich took over the family business, which was shut down in 1979 after some seventy years.

Since 2001 the site has been a branch of the LWL-Industriemuseum, showing how bricks were made and how brickmakers in Lippe lived – from hand molding through the machine brickworks to firing in the ring kiln. One focus is on the migrant brickmakers of Lippe, who worked far from home during the summer months while their families stayed behind; a brickmaker's house from 1730, Haus Riesenberg, illustrates their everyday life. In 2003 the Landschaftsverband acquired the Villa Beermann and converted it for an exhibition on the history of the family and the company.

On March 20, 2026, the new permanent exhibition "Von Babylon bis zum Mond" (From Babylon to the Moon) opened in the main building. It presents six brick buildings from different eras – from the temple tower of Babylon to a cooperative housing estate in Bielefeld – each with its own game, and asks what building will look like in the future. At the same time, themed stations were set up on the outdoor grounds at the original production sites; a digital media guide accompanies the tour.

Highlights

• Ring kiln and machine brickworks at the original production site
• Play-based permanent exhibition "Von Babylon bis zum Mond" (since March 2026)
• Haus Riesenberg, a brickmaker's cottage from 1730, on the history of Lippe's migrant brickmakers
• Villa Beermann with family and company history
• Narrow-gauge railway rides around the former clay pit (May–September on the first Sunday of the month)
• Mold your own brick (mid-April to mid-October)

Permanent exhibitions

• Von Babylon bis zum Mond – Play-based exhibition in the main building: six brick buildings from antiquity to the 20th century are explored through their own games; a section on future trends changes every two years.
• Villa Beermann – Familie und Firma – In the former home of the company founder, the focus is on the life and work of the brickmaking family, the workforce, and the closure of the business in 1979.

Founded

2001

Operated by

Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL-Museen für Industriekultur)

Admission & discounts

Free admission with the LWL-MuseumsCard or LVR-Museumskarte, and for members of the Deutscher Museumsbund and ICOM. The Sunday guided tour is included in admission.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

Certified under "Reisen für Alle" (Travel for All). Two accessible parking spaces in front of the main building, wheelchair-accessible restrooms in the main building and outdoors, tactile model of the grounds, short guide in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache), and museum app with content in German Sign Language. Because of the historic fabric of the buildings, not all areas are accessible; adapted tours by arrangement (at least four weeks' notice).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

Children's trail with the character "Ziegel Toni" and models to try out (e.g., edge-runner mill, extrusion press), brick molding from mid-April to mid-October, field railway rides, parent-child workshops (ages 1–3), workshops from age 7, and children's birthday parties. Playground next to the café terrace.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café

Café and bistro "Tichlerstoben" with a sun terrace (Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00; closed until September 10, 2026), serving, among other things, Lippischer Pickert.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 200 guests.

Civil wedding ceremonies in the brickmaker's cottage Haus Riesenberg on the second Saturday of the months May to September (max. 35 people, room rental €120). Family, company, and club celebrations as well as conferences are organized by the museum restaurant, in a hall for up to 200 people; outside catering is not permitted.

Plan your visit