Temporary exhibitions
In two or three temporary exhibitions per year we present social, political, or cultural historical processes that can be seen in the city. These are when we take a closer look at past events and consider the significance they have for the present day.
The series of small gallery exhibitions shows contemporary artists from the region and offers a forum for a variety of themes and experimental exhibition concepts.
Coming soon: „Heile Welt“ - Special exhibition on the 100th birthday of Vicco von Bülow (Loriot)
Vicco von Bülow would have turned 100 in 2023, but did you know that the artist known as Loriot was born here in Brandenburg an der Havel? He left the city with his parents as a toddler, only to rediscover his native city decades later, as a recognised humourist, and to feel closely connected to it until his death. In 2009, he became an honorary citizen of the city. To commemorate him and a very special chapter of his life, a special exhibition is currently being created entitled „Heile Welt“ („Ideal cozy World“)
Here, in close cooperation with the von Bülow family, the exhibition of his works shown in Brandenburg Cathedral in 1985 is being reconstructed, which was prepared and realised „under the radar“ of the state power thanks to the daring and committed preparation of the then director of the Cathedral Museum Gerda Arndt and many other people from the city and the church. The special exhibition also tells this story of crossing the border in a divided Germany, Vicco von Bülow's renewed acquaintance with the city and the region in the days around the opening in 1985, and the friendship with the people and the city that developed from this and lasted until his death.
The exhibition will open on Sunday, 12th of november 2023 at 1 pm at the City Museum in the Frey House and will be on display until the 31st of May 2024.
The project is sponsored by the Youth, Culture, Sports and Social Foundation of the Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse in Potsdam.
„Toys from Brandenburg an der Havel“
The permanent exhibition in the Frey House
The new presentation in the main building celebrates over 100 years of toy tradition in Brandenburg an der Havel. Discover the historical tin toys from the „Patentwerk Ernst Paul Lehmann“ and the plastic toys from the successor company „Mechanische Spielwaren Brandenburg“ from the production in the GDR. Tin toys from around 1900 are presented in more detail, which were created at that time as a reaction to the Boxer Rebellion in China. The events surrounding the Boxer Rebellion were also actively followed in Brandenburg an der Havel. This is illustrated by a private postcard collection - a correspondence between Martha Paul (employee at the Brandenburg department store Conitzer) and the soldier August Hinze, who was stationed in the Chinese port city of Tianjin.
Two other rooms are dedicated to the LINEOL animals of the Oskar Wiederholz company, and its artistic director Albert Caasmann. Bauhau furniture from his private apartment is presented together with artworks resulting from his freelance work, allowing a personal view of the sculptor who contributed significantly to the international success of the LINEOL figures.
„Disappointment Hope Longing“
Temporary exhibition in the Frey-Haus from 22.02.2022
The end of the First World War, the November Revolution, the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, the German Democratic Republic and finally the fall of the Berlin Wall: The exhibition takes a look back at the 20th century in Brandenburg an der Havel and presents biographies of Brandenburger *innen whose lives were influenced, and in some cases overrun, by the events. And it introduces people who themselves tried to influence the events.
The epochal upheavals of the 20th century meant massive changes on the political, economic, and cultural levels as well as in private life. Courageous women and men fought for and won Germany's first democracy under extremely difficult conditions. What role did people like the mayor Franz Schleusener or the head of the city council Otto Sidow play in Brandenburg an der Havel? And what kind of person was Else Fisch - one of the women elected to the first city council under universal, equal, secret and direct suffrage in 1919?
On the basis of the fate of Charlotte Grupa, née Henschel and her brother Fritz Henschel, the lives of politically active people in two dictatorships are presented. In addition, members of the peace work group of the Protestant church report on their fight against rearmament and for peace in the 1980s.
Pupils of the von Saldern-Gymnasium will participate in the exhibition in 2019 as part of their subject „Life in two dictatorships“.
Click here to go to the external page of the online exhibition „Disappointment Hope Longing“
„Alchemy and everyday life“
The permanent exhibition in the Gotisches Haus
The exhibition presents highlights of the excavation finds that came to light during extensive archaeological investigations of the property and the cellar in 2013 to 2014. On display is the sensational find of an almost completely preserved apothecary set-up with retorts for distillation, numerous crucibles and vials, as well as a cross-section of typical baroque household furnishings from the 18th century. Remains of tiled stoves, simple tableware, but also luxury goods of that time are staged here. The exhibited skeleton of a horse dates back to the Middle Ages. Dead animals were hastily buried in so-called „Schindergruben“ in the narrow courtyards, so as not to have to dispose of them at great expense.
The main exhibit, however, is the cellar itself, which must have once been the private office of a wealthy merchant, as it was extremely elaborately fitted with niches and a floor insulating against damp and cold.
Access through the staff of the Cultural Office, entrance via the backyard of the building Johanniskirchplatz 4.
Click here to go to the Digital City Museum with a tour of the exhibition
„City history and Havel shipping“
The permanent exhibition in the Steintorturm
Its location on the Havel has been and is formative to the development of Brandenburg an der Havel, although the river in the inner city now is hardly used for anything more than tourism, because commercial shipping has bypassed the city via the Silo Canal for the last almost 100 years.
The exhibits bring to life the story of Havel boatmen and boatmakers in the 19th and 20th centuries. At 31.5 metres in height, the Steintorturm also offers fantastic views over the canal and the Havel.
During the winter months the Steintorturm is closed, open 01.04.-31.10.
Click here to go to the Digital City Museum with a tour of the stone gate tower