Monday, May 12, 1924, was museum weather: At 15 degrees and rain, district mayor Martin Stritte opened the Spandau local history museum in the large parterre room of the town hall. In the decades that followed, the museum not only moved several times until it was able to develop properly in the citadel. It also grew with its tasks, which it shares with all museums - collecting, preserving, researching, exhibiting and communicating. The collection and exhibition space grew steadily, as did the variety of topics and the demands on the communication of history.

In 2024, we are not only celebrating a milestone birthday, but also the development from a museum of local history, which today certainly seems dusty, to a unique space for exchanging ideas about origins and the future, cultural assets and life stories, new discoveries and new stories to be told.

However, the exhibition provides more than just an insight into the last 100 years of museum work in Spandau. It tells an intense story of the political influence on local history research - completely perverted from 1933 to 1945, but not entirely free of it in other decades either.

But the objects, pictures and quotes also bear witness to the dreams, wishes and realities of the people of Spandau.

The opportunities for a direct exchange of opinions, ideas and wishes for the future of a historical museum are and remain important in this exhibition. A playful approach with interactive stations invites visitors to engage with the exploration of valuable or even strange things, to make decisions about preservation and to think about concepts such as tradition and home.

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Due to the Gauklerfestival from 3 - 6 October, only the Commander's House and the Juliusturm, as well as the Exerzierhalle will be open from 10 am - 5 pm.

The ZAK - Centre for Contemporary Art, Archaeological Window, Zeughaus, Schaudepot, Show depot and the Proviantmagazin are unfortunately closed on these days.

The organiser's admission prices apply.