Status: 04/03/2023 11:21 am
Pomeranian geese are the first to await visitors behind the entrance to the museum near Hamburg. The tour, which leads past numerous old buildings, is also lively.
The farms on the 12-hectare outdoor area vividly show rural life in the Lüneburg Heath and the Winsener Elbmarsch 200 years ago. The so-called Agrarium also provides information about agriculture yesterday and today. Here everyone can slip into the role of the farmer and understand the path from agricultural product to food in the supermarket.
How do I move water?
The water adventure trail stretches across the entire site and is fun for children.
Right at the beginning of the tour, children can get active at the first station on the water adventure trail. As in the old days, water is pumped into buckets with a hand pump. Most children enthusiastically drag these to a water pipe made of boards, through which the cool water is passed on. The stations of the water adventure trail stretch across the entire exhibition grounds and are intended to show earlier ways of water supply as well as irrigation and drainage.
Nissenhütte: Witness of the post-war period
Past the Agrarium, the path first leads to a Nissen hut from 1950. It illustrates the hardship of the post-war period, when the corrugated iron huts served as emergency shelters, and is part of a museum section that illuminates the typical architecture from 1945 to the 1970s. The section also includes a semi-detached house and a gas station from the 1950s.
While the path continues on one side to the water playground, the circular path leads to a brick factory. This is followed by a former precast concrete plant and a forge, from which loud hammering can be heard. A blacksmith regularly gives courses in this historic craft. In this section of the museum, the early industrial era in the village comes to life.
Humans and animals in a confined space
The preservation of ancient domestic animal breeds is one of the aims of the museum. Bentheim pigs and Ramelslohe chickens populate the gardens and stables of the historic farms. Younger visitors in particular are astonished by the close quarters of people and animals in one building.
In the heath, people and animals used to live together in a very small space.
The sparse furnishings, simple fireplaces and wash troughs convey an impression of the harshness and simplicity of rural life in the Lüneburg Heath. Life was different for the residents of a farm in the fertile Winsener Marsch: Tiles or wallpaper on the walls and a clearer separation of living and stable areas testify to greater prosperity.
The hands-on path lets you experience farm life
Curious visitors can also learn about historical techniques and working methods at the eleven stations along the hands-on path. Weaving baskets, filing wood, smoothing laundry or recognizing food supplies by their smell – trying it out for yourself is fun and shows how time-consuming and exhausting these activities were.
The tour ends at “Stoof Mudders Kroog”, a restaurant with a secluded garden. The museum shows changing exhibitions in the entrance building, where there is also a farm shop with products from the museum gardens.
Magnet for children: the water playground
Rafting, muddling around, building waterways: the water playground magically attracts children.
A must is a visit to the water playground, which attracts many visitors, especially on hot days. The focus is on a raft on which the children can pull themselves across a pool of water using a rope. If you want to stay dry, this is the wrong place. A mushroom kiosk from the 1950s provides food, and picnic benches invite you to take a break.
Milking cows in the Agrarium
The Agrarium presents interesting facts about nutrition and agriculture. Lovers of old agricultural machines in particular will get their money’s worth here. A highlight for children is the life-size plush cow waiting to be milked. It is at the center of the area about milk production and processing. The combine harvester simulator in the basement is also popular with the younger generation.
Am I eating right?
Can I properly compose a meal according to my energy needs? When is which vegetable in season? How much sugar is in gummy bears? The exhibition answers these and many other questions very clearly. For further information, however, the visitor often has to read longer texts. Interested parties are therefore recommended to pay a separate visit to the Agrarium.
A hands-on museum
When the museum was founded in 1953, the honey store was the first historic building. Today, visitors can cook, bake, do handicrafts, celebrate in the historic dance hall, paint or hold conferences in the midst of almost 40 old buildings. Participation is very important at Kiekeberg. Courses, markets and festivals take place regularly. Hobby gardeners get inspiration in one of the historic kitchen gardens, for example in the garden at Pringens Hof or at the Fischerhaus. A branch of the museum in Moisburg shows a fully operational water mill with the technical status of 1930.
Map: This is where the Kiekeberg Museum is located
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