LVR Industrial Museum, Industry museum network in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
The LVR Industrial Museum is a decentralized museum with six locations in the Rhineland: Oberhausen, Ratingen, Solingen, Bergisch Gladbach, Engelskirchen and Euskirchen. Each site occupies an original factory building, such as the Zinkfabrik Altenberg in Oberhausen or the Textilfabrik Cromford in Ratingen, and focuses on a different industry: textiles, paper, metal or electricity. The central depot is housed in the Peter-Behrens-Bau in Oberhausen, built 1921–1925.
The Landschaftsverband Rheinland founded the museum on 10 May 1984 as the Rheinisches Industriemuseum, a name it kept until October 2008. Planning had begun in the 1970s through the Rhineland heritage and museum offices, with support from the NRW state government, the participating cities and local friends' associations. Its subtitle is "Rheinisches Landesmuseum für Industrie- und Sozialgeschichte".
The museum's slogan, "One museum, eight places", points to the Oberhausen cluster: besides the Altenberg zinc factory, it takes in the St.-Antony-Hütte, the Eisenheim estate — the Ruhr's oldest workers' settlement — and an industrial archaeology park. The museum also co-publishes the quarterly journal Industriekultur with the Westphalian LWL museum.
Because the seven locations are spread across the region, it is worth deciding in advance which site best matches your interests before making the trip. Some locations are easier to reach by public transport than others, and guided tours are available at most sites for those who want more context.
At the Solingen site, a drop forge is still in operation and run by craftspeople who make scissors and blades using the same methods as over 100 years ago. Visitors can watch the forging process up close in the original workshop, which sets this location apart from a typical museum visit.
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