The Historical Museum of the Prince Bishopric of Paderborn, along with the Wewelsburg 1933-1945 Memorial Museum, is the second mainstay of the Wewelsburg District Museum. Today, it consists of 29 showrooms with a total of almost 1,500 square meters of exhibition space. The museum considers itself to be a local history museum which aims to inform visitors about the Wewelsburg Castle as a hallmark of the region, as well as about the Paderborn Land’s local history in the borders of the former Prince-Bishopric from the time of the first human settlement in the area up to the period of secularization.
Our successful collaboration with the museum, begun in 1997, continues with our current modernization of its permanent collection. Our films give new and exciting insights into Paderborn’s ecclesiastical history. Experts Professor Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger from the University of Münster and Professor Christiane Aka from the University of Oldenburg comment and explain historical events and developments based on the current state of research. Restorer Jochen Winkelbach demonstrates the complicated restoration of sacred artifacts and offers an insight into the exceptional works of the 17th century sculptress Gertrud Gröninger – an extraordinary woman and artist of her time.
Themes of the museum’s films:
- Catholic piety
- Jesuits
- Dietrich von Fürstenberg – belief and sovereignty
- Monastic life – from the Middle Ages to recatholicization
- Sacred art and restoration
- Gertrud Gröninger – a Westphalian sculptress
- Friedrich Spee and the witch hunt
For more information: Historisches Museum des Hochstifts Paderborn, Kreismuseum Wewelsburg
