The collection of the Gründerzeit Museum was put together by Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (1928-2002). In 1960, she opened a museum in the manor house built around 1815 in the East Berlin district of Mahlsdorf. In 1997, she moved to Sweden with a large part of the collection, which was returned to Berlin after her death.

The tour leads through eleven fully furnished rooms from the period between 1870 and 1900. The collection's appeal lies in the fact that it includes many small everyday objects in addition to the impressive, already industrially manufactured period furniture, cast-iron stoves, grandfather clocks and mirrors.

In the kitchen, for example, in addition to the stove and refrigerator, there are all the kitchen utensils commonly used around 1900. A special collection area of the trained museum curator Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was music automatons. On display are music boxes, phonographs, gramophones, self-playing pianolas and precursors of the jukebox.

The interior of the legendary "Mulackritze" pub from the barn quarter has been reconstructed in the basement. The manor house also includes a beautiful park that has been restored to its 1880s state.