Memory instead of store
As a scientifically guided museum, we collect tools, artefacts, original workshops and documents of the regional crafts and everyday culture from the 16th to the 20th century.
Collection & Research
Thousands of Objects.
Thousands of Objects.
One Memory.
We collect, preserve and research the crafts and everyday history of the Wesermarsch. 11,500 objects, open to all.
Our Mission
We see ourselves not merely as a store of the past, but as an active and inclusive memory of the community of Ovelgönne and the entire Wesermarsch.
Living instead of frozen
What we collect depends on the current state of research and the social questions of our time: our holdings are living, not frozen.
Open instead of locked away
We do not preserve these testimonies behind locked doors. Our goal is a lively dialogue about regional identity: yesterday, today and tomorrow. We make history comprehensible, experiential and accessible to all people.
Objects as witnesses of time
Crafts Museum Ovelgönne places great value on material-cultural and cultural-historical aspects.
Since our founding we have maintained a complete register of all objects. Every piece receives an inventory number and is catalogued by material, category and age. This digital documentation is the basis of our scientific work.
The Depot and the Coach House
Since 2018 we have been modernising our museum storage facilities. Improved air quality, effective light protection and stable temperatures ensure the long-term preservation of our sensitive collection: for all future generations.
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Core tasks of the museum
What guides us daily.
Four core tasks that make our collection more than a store of old things, based on the principles of the ICOM Code of Ethics.
Core task 01
We collect systematically: tools, artefacts, original workshops and everyday documents from the Wesermarsch, from the 15th to the early 20th century. Every addition to the collection follows scientific criteria and a clear research interest.
Core task 02
Climate-controlled storage, preventive restoration, complete digital inventory: every object receives an inventory number and is documented by material, category and age. The collection is thus permanently preserved, for future generations too.
Core task 03
We actively uncover what lies behind the objects: provenance, dating, craft techniques and regional significance are researched scientifically. As a teaching museum of the University of Oldenburg, genuine research projects take place here that deepen our knowledge of crafts in the Wesermarsch.
Core task 04
History you can touch: we make our collection experiential for all people through exhibitions, education programmes, scientific partnerships and digital access: not behind glass, but in the midst of life.
The Schusterkugel:
Physics Meets Craft
A glass sphere filled with water acts as a natural converging lens and simultaneously filters the heat from the lamp. Discover the principle, experience the simulator and test your knowledge.
Side View
Exhibition Context
Detail: Oil Lamp
Bird's Eye View
The History
Focusing light, filtering heat: a simple tool that became indispensable.
Cobblers, watchmakers and scientists used water-filled glass spheres to concentrate the faint light of oil or gas lamps into a bright, focused beam. The water acts as a converging lens and simultaneously filters out the heat radiation, so that sensitive materials such as leather were not damaged.
The development of large converging lenses by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and later electric light eventually displaced the Schusterkugel. Today it is a fascinating testament to craft engineering ingenuity.
Scientific Background
Water has a refractive index of 1.33 (air: 1.0). The round shape causes converging refraction: all incoming rays meet at the focal point on the worktable.
At the same time, water absorbs infrared radiation (heat). Craftsmen could thus work close to strong light sources without scorching their materials.
Experience interactively
Light Refraction Simulator
Drag the lamp, the water sphere and the workpiece. Here every light ray is calculated individually using the law of refraction. See how a glass flask of water focuses the light onto a seam while holding back the heat.
Drag the lamp, sphere or workpiece
Test rayHover over a light ray or tap it.
Angle of incidence θ₁–
Angle in water θ₂–
sin θ₁ ÷ sin θ₂–corresponds to the refractive index n
Move the sphere and watch how the light is focused.
Light source
Sphere filling
Light on the seam
Brilliantly bright
Light on the seam
×1
as bright as without the sphere
Heat on the seam
×1
as much heat as without the sphere (schematic)
Position of the focal point
on the table
Focal length from sphere centre
Help and guidance
Cannot find the right spot? The help calculates it and moves the sphere there. The demo shows what the sphere can do in seven steps.
Light distribution on the table
with spherewithout sphereHeat
Without the sphere the light spreads evenly across the table.
More about the physics
The law of refraction
n₁ · sin θ₁ = n₂ · sin θ₂ Light travels through the flask at about 225,000 km/s, in air at almost 300,000 km/s. Because it slows down, the ray bends towards the normal on entering.
Focal length of a sphere
f = n · R ÷ 2(n − 1) With n = 1.33 and R = 8 cm this gives 16.0 cm from the sphere centre. The focal point then lies 8.0 cm behind the sphere.
Why not an exact point?
Rays near the edge are refracted more strongly than rays near the centre and cross earlier. This lens defect is called spherical aberration. That is why a small patch of light forms.
The colour fringe
Blue light is refracted slightly more than red. For water, n is about 1.331 for red and 1.337 for blue. In the simulator the difference is exaggerated so that you can see it.
The heat filter
Water lets visible light pass almost unhindered but absorbs infrared radiation. That is why, with the Schusterkugel, the water heats up and not the leather.
The Principle in Four Steps
1
The Light Source
An oil or gas lamp emits diffuse light in all directions. For fine craft work it is far too weak and indistinct.
2
The Water Sphere
The water (refractive index 1.33) focuses all light rays like a large converging lens into a shared focal point.
3
The Focal Point
The focused light strikes the worktable brightly and precisely. The finest stitches were thus possible even in deep twilight.
4
The Heat Filter
Water absorbs infrared radiation. Valuable leather and other sensitive materials were not damaged by the lamp's heat.
Test Your Knowledge
0 / 3
Question 1 of 3
Why fill the glass sphere with water rather than air?
Correct! Water refracts light at index 1.33, significantly more than air (1.0), making it an effective converging lens.
The answer lies in physics: water (refractive index 1.33) bends light much more strongly than air (1.0) and focuses it precisely.
Question 2 of 3
What second important effect did the water filling have for craftsmen?
Exactly! Water absorbs infrared radiation. Leather and sensitive materials could be worked close to strong light sources.
The heat filter effect: water absorbs infrared radiation and protects temperature-sensitive materials from lamp heat.
Question 3 of 3
What ultimately replaced the Schusterkugel in the workshop?
Correct! First large converging lenses (incl. Tschirnhaus) replaced the Schusterkugel, then electric light made it completely obsolete.
Two developments: first giant converging lenses, then electric light. Without electricity the Schusterkugel would likely have remained in use longer.
🏆
Collection Specialist!
Object documentation according to ICOM Code of Ethics · Crafts Museum Ovelgönne · Inv. No. HMO-O/1620 · Collection: Leather Crafts
From our collection
Our Collection Focus Areas
We do not collect everything, but we collect systematically. Our holdings are divided into historic core areas that reflect life in the Wesermarsch from past to present.
These areas are also the working field of our teaching museum: students of the University of Oldenburg catalogue the holdings, research them and make them visible. Without a collection there would be no museum; without people who question it, it would remain silent.
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Area 01Organisation & Training
From the traditional guild to the modern trade association: how the training system developed and how crafts were organised and passed on in former times.
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Area 02History of Technology
The development of production techniques and the relationship between rural crafts and the emerging industrialisation in the Wesermarsch.
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Area 03Women in the Crafts
The important role of women in historic trades, often beyond the official master certificates and chronicles, but indispensable to the complete picture.
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Area 04Structural History
Change in village and rural spaces: illustrated by the barber-surgeon and the colonial goods store, showing how life in the countryside transformed.
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Area 05Regional Biographies
Personal stories of craftswomen and craftsmen as well as important personalities from the community: biographies showing how people shaped and managed their everyday lives.
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Area 06Leisure & Culture
Photography, the historic choral room and bourgeois hobbies: how art and culture became increasingly important even in rural communities.
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Area 07Everyday History
The lives of ordinary people in the Wesermarsch: housing, food, work and festivities. Objects of daily life tell stories that appear in no school book.
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Area 08Local History of Ovelgönne
The history of the community of Ovelgönne as a mirror of the region: from the formation of settlements to the formative events of the 20th century.
11,500Objects in the collection
8Collection areas
650Years of crafts and everyday history
A unique feature in the Wesermarsch
Official Teaching Museum of the University of Oldenburg
We are the only official teaching museum of the Institute for Material Culture at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg in the Wesermarsch. Students research, curate and work directly with us, not at the university but with real objects in real rooms.
Educational programme
- Scientific Practice Days Students on the Master's programme Museum and Exhibition work actively on concrete projects with us for a full semester and experience real museum operations from the inside.
- The Teaching Museum Project Students conceive, curate and realise fully independent exhibitions directly within our historic premises, with scientific support from the institute.
- The Museum Internship We integrate interns as professional equals into all scientific, curatorial and organisational areas, as full members of our team.
The degree programme
Partnerships & Associations
Partnerships that strengthen us
We collaborate with science, associations and national and international networks, so that our work and collection receive the quality they deserve.
Science
Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
We are an official teaching museum of the Institute for Material Culture and one of the cooperation museums of the Master's programme Museum and Exhibition.
To the cooperation museums
Regional network
Museum Association Wesermarsch
We are a founding member of the museum association. The network strengthens the regional museum landscape and connects us with institutions across the region.
To the member museums
State association
Museum Association for Lower Saxony and Bremen
We are also a member of the Museum Association for Lower Saxony and Bremen (MVNB), which networks the museums of both states.
Our MVNB entry
Our compass
ICOM Code of Ethics
and the recommendations of the German Museums Association
All of our museum work, collecting, preserving, documenting and exhibiting, is guided by the recommendations of the German Museums Association and the ICOM Code of Ethics, the internationally recognised ethical professional standard for museums. This ensures that our work meets international quality standards.
Your Story Counts.
Three ways you can actively shape our living collection.
Your Memory belongs here.
History isn't only written by books. On our Digital Participation Board you share photos, memories and knowledge about the Wesermarsch, comment on others' contributions and discover new perspectives. Every contribution makes our collection more alive.
To the Digital Participation BoardDo you have an object for us?
Many undiscovered treasures still lie in attics. If you have historic tools, artefacts, documents or photographs connected to Ovelgönne or the Wesermarsch, please do get in touch. We carefully examine every donation request for its historic significance.
Submit donation enquiryKnowledge & Research
Researching regional crafts or everyday history? Or do you have questions about a specific object in our exhibition? We are happy to help: with detailed information from our archive.
Get in touch