History of Rüderdorf

From prehistoric days to the present

In the Rüdersdorf Museumspark, the most diverse storylines converge in one single location. Due to Rüdersdorf's geological uniqueness, the stories told here even date back to the Mesozoic: roughly 245 million years ago, the site was covered by a shallow prehistoric sea, belonging to the Tethys Ocean. The sediments from then prepared the fundament of what followed much later, in the Holocene: a long mining tradition, scientific breakthroughs, industrial history and the development of building materials, accompanied by sociopolitical upheavals. Finally, the site resembles a textbook on environmental history.

Find out more on site – whether on a historical tour, or in our permanent exhibitions .

to the tours

You have further questions?

Please feel free to contact us:

kasse@museumspark.de

History of the Museum-Park

The Rüdersdorf Museumspark opened its gates in 1994 and has since offered its visitors a very special mix of an industrial museum and a local recreational area.

Pic x Kreuzbrückenspalte historisch ca 8

Geology

Rüdersdorf's geology is truely unique: thanks to the limestone outcrop, only here in northern Brandenburg a long mining tradition and an active open-cast mine can be found.

The long history of the open-cast mining

From the medieval times to the present day, limestone has been mined in Rüdersdorf – in Brandenburg's only limestone quarry.

History of Science

A less known fact is that Rüdersdorf has contributed significantly to the History of Science, especially in the fields of geology, climate, and palaeobiology: Thanks to the traces of glaciers in the limestone, the glaciation of Central Europe during the ice ages was proven here 150 years ago (in 1875).

The history of the Industrial landscape and building materials

At the very entrance, the visitors will spot the impressive monuments from the pre- and early industrial period: witnesses to a particularly long history of industry and building materials in Rüdersdorf.

Society and politics

The Museumspark Rüdersdorf and its permanent exhibitions are mirrors of the area's diverse social, cultural and political history.

Historical Tour

There is much to discover in the 17-hectare big Museumspark: at every corner, you can see monuments and remnants of a long-gone industrial history that originated here in Rüdersdorf over 750 years ago.

Pic x zementierter Maschendrahtzaun_edit

Environmental history

Back in the 1980s, Rüdersdorf was known as place with the highest share of fine dust pollution in the GDR. Today, the museum-park and the surrounding area are a green, well-maintained, partly even renaturated area.

Geo-Tour

Our geological tours start with a short, scientific introduction in the 'Otto Torell House' and its permanent exhibition followed by the most exciting part: together with our expert guides, we'll head into the active open-cast mine of Rüdersdorf!

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