Rococo Door Shines Again After Restoration.

On 5 December 2025 we ceremonially inaugurated our historic Rococo door. After more than four months of restoration work, it is once again gleaming in its original splendour.

Since 1773 it has been the calling card of our house. With its richly decorated Rococo forms, it is a genuine rarity in northern Germany. It is more than mere ornament on our building.

In Critical Condition

Over the years the door had suffered considerably. Earlier restoration attempts had left technical deficiencies: wrong materials, unsuitable paints, flaking varnish layers. Cracks and moisture had further weakened the wood structure.

The condition of the door before restoration: flaking paint, cracks and moisture had severely damaged the wood structure.

Careful Restoration

We commissioned the Bremen firm Kossann & Melching restaurieren, specialists in historic monument conservation. The work took four months: damaged wood was replaced, the paintwork renewed and linseed oil paints applied that correspond to the historic original and protect the door in the long term.

Exposed wood layers in detail: the restoration uncovered historic paintwork and areas of damage.

A 3D documentation secured every detail of the door before work began. The model will be displayed in future, allowing visitors to experience the restoration process up close.

Restorer from Kossann & Melching carefully at work on the door.

The 3D model of the door was created before restoration and documents every detail digitally.

The restored Rococo door from 1773 after completion of the work.

Inauguration on 5 December 2025 (from left): Museum Director Arman Džaferagić, Managing Director Rudi Schulenberg, Andreas Vollert (Regional Director at Landessparkasse zu Oldenburg), Uwe Karger (Board of the Museum), Uwe Meiners (President of the Oldenburgische Landschaft), Christoph Hartz (Bürgerstiftung Wesermarsch), Michael Folter (Board of the Museum).

A Heartfelt Thank You

Our warmest thanks go to the Oldenburgische Landschaft, the Wesermarsch-Stiftung and the LzO-Stiftung for their funding, and to the firm Kossann & Melching restaurieren for their careful and expert work. Our thanks also go to the entire team and all our volunteers.

The restoration completes a series of renovation works on the listed building. The windows were renewed in 2023, the house repainted in 2024. And now it stands once again: stable, richly coloured and ready for the next centuries.