The “School (Hi)-stories” exhibition provides an overview of the history of school education in Magdeburg.
The first mention of schools in Magdeburg dates back to the 10th century. The first Protestant town school was founded in 1524, and a public school system was established almost 300 years later. The exhibition traces this change and its protagonists using original objects, exemplary biographies and interactive stations.
The exhibition shows that schools are about more than just teaching and imparting knowledge. They were and are also places for rituals, shared experiences, friendships and disappointments. The reconstruction of a historic classroom from the beginning of the last century and an interactive area are designed to encourage visitors to reflect on their own school days. As a participatory element, they can thus get directly involved in the exhibition across the generations, reflect on their personal school experiences and jointly design an ideal dream school for the future.
The new permanent exhibit, which opened in 2023, is based on an external collection that was put together in 2007 and transferred to the Cultural History Museum in 2015. The city of Magdeburg provided special funds for the new exhibit, which was largely supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the Kloster Bergeschen Foundation. The renovation of the rooms was made possible by an EFRE measure of the European Union.
If you would like the museum’s educational programmes department to accompany your visit, please call them in advance on 0391-540 35 01. You can find more information here: Museum education – school in days gone by
