Treasury Kemnade

The Schatzkammer Kemnade was a museum of money history housed in Haus Kemnade, a moated manor on the Ruhr near Hattingen. Operated by Sparkasse Bochum, it stood in a quiet riverside landscape where the river bends around the estate. The building itself dates from the 16th century and once belonged to the noble von Brabeck family. Its collection traced the evolution of saving from a 13th-century German money box to Venetian porcelain piggy banks and American cast-iron coin banks. Inflation notes from the 20th century formed another highlight, alongside silver and gold savings vessels. A working Bimbo-Box, familiar to many shoppers from the old Kaufhaus Kortum in Bochum, drew particular attention. Visitors walked through rooms arranged chronologically, each case showing how people stored and protected small sums over the centuries. The displays included colourful porcelain boxes, heavy iron tins and delicate gold caskets. Outside, the moat reflected the manor’s gabled façade while the Ruhr flowed past the garden terraces.