The fire broke out on Sunday morning around 4:30 a.m. in the so-called Kate von Bergenhusen. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, and cleanup work with an excavator continued. The museum remained closed on Sunday.
Curator Nils Kagel called the loss very regrettable. The cottage had been one of the more valuable exhibit houses. Originally from Bergenhusen, it had been rebuilt at the museum and was richly decorated with carvings and inscriptions. The gable bore the inscription that it was rebuilt in 1765 after having been destroyed by lightning once before. “There is a certain irony,” Kagel said. The gable is now to be secured.
The exact extent of the damage is still unclear. Kagel emphasized the high scientific and cultural value of the house. He expressed relief that the fire did not spread to the neighboring barn from Stapelholm, dating from around 1550 – the museum’s most valuable building, located only about 15 meters away. Unlike other thatched houses in the museum, the destroyed cottage had no lightning rod. Kagel sees this as a lesson for fire protection in museums.
Source: www.ndr.de
