LWL Open-Air Museum Detmold

Opened in 1971, the museum covers about ninety hectares with more than a hundred and twenty relocated buildings from across Westphalia, arranged not as a collection but as village groups with their fields, gardens, hedges and orchards, so the landscape is part of the exhibit. Historic crop varieties are grown and rare livestock breeds kept, including Bentheim black pied pigs and Westphalian horses. Buildings run from a sixteenth-century farmhouse to a 1960s prefabricated house and a petrol station, so the twentieth century is covered as well. Craft demonstrations, baking days and harvest events run through the season.

What you'll find

• The village groups - buildings arranged with their fields and gardens.
• The rare breeds - historic livestock kept in working conditions.
• The twentieth century - a 1960s prefab house and a period petrol station.
• The crafts - baking, smithing and seasonal work demonstrated.

When to go

April to October; the museum closes for winter, roughly November to March. Events and demonstrations are concentrated at weekends and holidays.

What to expect

It closes for several winter months. The site is very large with several kilometres of walking. Not all buildings are open on any day.

Nearby

The Externsteine lie south; Detmold town is close.

Key facts