Geschichtsmuseum Lüdenscheid

The Geschichtsmuseum der Stadt Lüdenscheid stands south of the town centre, close to the Wilhelmstraße shopping zone and the town hall. It occupies a converted old Amtshaus linked by a glass structure to a neighbouring villa. The museum focuses on the history of Lüdenscheid and the surrounding region. Its permanent displays include industrial and technical objects such as a historic light railway carriage, a steam current generator, Zeppelin models and fire brigade equipment. A notable collection of buttons from the Bronze Age to today recalls the town’s 19th-century role as a centre of button-making. Visitors can also see historic maps of the Grafschaft Mark, city models and the former Amtshaus council chamber with its Jugendstil fittings. The gallery shows post-1945 German art. Special exhibitions have ranged from regional themes like Prussian life in southern Westphalia to broader stories such as the history of the Haribo brand. The museum garden once featured a large horse-chestnut tree that had to be felled after storm damage. Inside, a newly renewed fire-alarm system helps protect the building and its collections.