LWL Museum Brickworks Lage — Museum Festival with Ring Kiln Firing

Museum Festival Brickworks Lage — Industrial Culture to Touch

The LWL Industrial Museum Brickworks Lage in Ostwestfalen-Lippe (Lippe district) is one of Germany's most unusual museums — a completely preserved 19th-century brickworks where historic machines, the ring kiln, drying sheds, and chimneys make the heritage of an entire industry visible. Once a year, the museum opens its doors for its Museum Festival with a real ring kiln firing — in 2026 on Sunday, May 17, as part of International Museum Day. Admission: free.

The Ring Kiln Firing — The Centerpiece

The historic ring kiln at the Lage brickworks is one of the few still functional industrial monuments of its kind in Germany. A few days before the museum festival, the firing is prepared and ignited:

• Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 11:00 AM — Ignition of the ring kiln (public)
• Thursday/Friday/Saturday — Firing runs continuously, the fire moves through the kiln chambers
• Sunday, May 17, 2026 — Museum festival with the ring kiln firing at its peak

Anyone who wants to experience the firing live should definitely take a look into the ring kiln — the heat radiation, the smell of burning coal, and the archaic red glow of the embers are impressive sensory impressions.

Festival Program Sunday, May 17, 2026 — 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

• 11:00 AM — Music with duo “Die schiefe Bahn”
• 12:30 PM — Magic with “Belu”
• 1:30 PM — Children's circus “Sauresani” (morning show)
• 2:30 PM — Magic with “Samoti”
• 3:30 PM — Children's circus “Sauresani” (afternoon show)

Also running all day: Museum rally for children, creative stations (clay modeling, sand painting), and guided tours of the historic facilities. Food and drinks available with bratwurst, coffee, and cake from the museum café.

International Museum Day

International Museum Day (always the Sunday around May 18) is a worldwide initiative by ICOM (International Council of Museums). Museums open their doors, often with special programs and free admission. The Lage brickworks uses the occasion for its major annual festival — a perfect opportunity to visit the museum for the first time.

The LWL Industrial Museum as a Location Network

The Lage brickworks is one of eight locations of the LWL Industrial Museum (Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe) — alongside Zollern (Dortmund), Henrichshütte (Hattingen), Schiffshebewerk Henrichenburg (Waltrop), Hennebadt (Bochum), TextilWerk (Bocholt), Schiffshebewerk (Datteln), and Glashütte (Gernheim). Together they document the industrial history of Westphalia.

Lage — Transition from Teutoburg Forest to Senne

Lage is located in the Lippe district, at the transition from the Teutoburg Forest to the Senne. The town — with just under 35,000 inhabitants — has been an important center for brick production since the late 19th century. The Lage brickworks itself was built in 1907, closed as the region's last ring kiln brickworks in 1979, and developed into a museum starting in the 1980s.