Alsfeld remembers!Opening of the first museum in the wine house

Following the sale and removal from the city of the inn sign from the guild hostel “Zum wilden Mann,” several Alsfeld citizens, concerned about the increasing sell-off of cultural assets, placed an advertisement in the Alsfelder Kreisblatt on September 7, 1897. They called for the “preservation and collection of the city’s antiquities and the formation of a society for this purpose.”

This society was founded on September 9 under the name “History and Antiquities Society of the City of Alsfeld” and immediately began its work to “collect and preserve all the ancient treasures of our city and make them accessible to a wider public.” In addition to press and information work, the society petitioned the city board to designate a suitable room in a municipal building for the display of these antiquities. On October 28, the city board decided to offer the society the upper hall of the Weinhaus.

By 1902, the society had already issued its first scientific publications. Between 1905 and 1909, it reviewed, organized, and cataloged all archival records, handing them over to the city the following year. The museum remained in the Weinhaus until 1913, after which it moved to the Hochzeitshaus. (MNic)