Museum Friedland

What Museum Friedland does

Museum Friedland is a state-run historical-political museum located in the historic Bahnhofsgebäude (train station) at the active Grenzdurchgangslager Friedland border transit camp in Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 2016 following a 2006 cross-party resolution of the Lower Saxony state parliament, the museum documents 80+ years of German migration history from 1945 to the present, anchored to the only such transit camp still in continuous operation. Its core offerings include the permanent exhibition "Fluchtpunkt Friedland," the SHELTER exhibition (opened 2024 in a reconstructed Nissen hut), and a planned expansion building (Neubau) opening at the end of October 2026 that will extend the narrative to migration since 2011. The museum is also building a digital platform — comprising the FRIEDLAND in_sight website with 3D reconstructions, the FRIEDLAND in_motion mobile app, a virtual tour, the "Perspektiven" podcast, and multilingual online guides — to extend access beyond the physical site.

Underlying the museum is a content and research infrastructure of several thousand objects, 200+ video interviews with eyewitnesses, and approximately 170 biographical audio/video testimonies, curated by a 12-person staff led by a Scientific Director and supported by a Kuratorium, Wissenschaftlicher Beirat, and local Arbeitskreis. The business model is a hybrid of small earned revenue (admission: €6 adult / €4 reduced / €3 special exhibition; guided tours €2–€3; free entry for many groups) and substantial institutional funding from the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, the Bundesbeauftragte für Kultur und Medien, the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, VGH-Stiftung, Lotto-Sport-Stiftung, and Commerzbank-Stiftung. Its audience spans schools and youth groups, university students and adults, families, intercultural groups (including current and former transit camp residents), and Zeitzeug:innen (eyewitnesses), with programming delivered in German, English, Russian, Arabic, French, Farsi, and Turkish.

Name

Museum Friedland

Legal name

Museum Friedland

Website

https://museum-friedland.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

State-run historical-political museum at the active Grenzdurchgangslager Friedland in Lower Saxony, Germany, documenting 80+ years of German migration history through permanent and temporary exhibitions, a 200+ video oral history archive, multilingual digital platforms, and educational programs for schools, families, and intercultural audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historical Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC), History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN)

Keywords

• Historical museum
• Migration history
• Cultural education
• Museum exhibitions
• Oral history archive

Headquarters

HQ city

Friedland

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees and Tour Bookings: The museum generates revenue through admission fees for the permanent exhibition, special exhibitions, and guided tours. Revenue model is primarily ticketed admissions with additional revenue from group bookings and special tours.
2. Government Funding: As a publicly funded museum under the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, the museum receives government funding for operations, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Museum Friedland operates a historical-political museum in Friedland, Germany, documenting nearly 80 years of German migration history through permanent and special exhibitions (e.g., "Fluchtpunkt Friedland" and "SHELTER"). It offers multilingual digital products (virtual tours, the FRIEDLAND in_sight/in_motion platform, a podcast) and educational programs for schools, adults, families, and intercultural groups, supported by a collection of personal objects and over 200 video interviews with eyewitnesses.

Product overview

Museum Friedland is a historically-political museum located in the historic train station building of Friedland, Germany. The museum operates as a single institution offering multiple interconnected exhibitions, digital products, and educational services unified by the theme of migration history. Its core offering is the permanent exhibition 'Fluchtpunkt Friedland' in the historic building, complemented by the temporary SHELTER exhibition in a Nissen hut. Digital products include the FRIEDLAND in_sight website and FRIEDLAND in_motion app for exploring the camp's history, the Perspektiven podcast, and the Migration bewegt mich online guides. Educational services encompass workshops and programs for schools, adults, families, and intercultural groups. The museum is undergoing expansion with a new building (Haus 2) opening in 2026 to extend its contemporary migration focus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Perspektiven - Museum Friedland Podcast: The museum's podcast series exploring aspects of the museum's theme world of flight and migration
• FRIEDLAND in_motion
• FRIEDLAND in_sight
• CAMPus FRIEDLAND

Products and services

• Dauerausstellung Fluchtpunkt Friedland (Permanent Exhibition) The permanent exhibition housed in the historic Bahnhof (train station) building tells the history of the Grenzdurchgangslager Friedland from 1945 to the present through multimedia installations, documents, photographs, and personal memorabilia contributed by contemporary witnesses. Aimed at general public visitors and tourists interested in German migration history.
• Ausstellung SHELTER. Vom Leben im Dazwischen (SHELTER Exhibition) Special exhibition located in a reconstructed Nissen hut on the camp grounds, presenting personal experiences of former and current shelter residents with oral testimonies and interactive elements. Visitors can contribute their own memories. Designed for the general public and intercultural audiences.
• Virtueller Rundgang (Virtual Tour) Virtual tour of the museum allowing visitors to explore museum rooms independently from any location at any time. Targeted at remote visitors, researchers, and anyone unable to visit in person.
• FRIEDLAND in_sight Website-based digital exploration tool offering 3D reconstructions, 360-degree photos, and images covering nearly 80 years of migration history to Germany. Includes an interactive map with 18 explorable spots, available in German, English, Russian, and Arabic. Targeted at remote visitors and researchers worldwide.
• FRIEDLAND in_motion App Interactive mobile app for on-site use that guides visitors to selected spots around the border transit camp to make migration history tangible. Available free of charge in German, English, Russian, and Arabic; activation codes provided at museum reception. Targeted at on-site museum visitors.
• Perspektiven Podcast Museum knowledge podcast in German covering topics from the museum's thematic world of flight and migration in an accessible format. Available on the museum website and all major streaming platforms. Targeted at general public listeners and educators.
• Migration bewegt mich (Online Guides) Online guide series presenting special people, objects, and topics from the permanent exhibition for those who cannot visit in person. Features stories about individual migrants and exhibition objects. Targeted at remote audiences and educational use.
• Bildungs- und Vermittlungsangebote (Educational Programs) Educational programs including workshops, guided tours, and curriculum-aligned learning offerings for schools, students, adults, families, and intercultural groups. Topics cover flight, persecution, migration, democracy, and tolerance. Offered both on-site and as digital formats. Targeted at schools, youth groups, and adult learners.
• Open Space (Community Encounter Program) Weekly multilingual community encounter format featuring language cafés, creative workshops, music sessions, and garden activities at FriedlandGarten to promote dialogue among people of all origins. Targeted at the general public, intercultural groups, and camp residents.
• Guided Tours (Public and Group) Public and group guided tours through the exhibition and the border transit camp grounds. Available in multiple languages (German, English, French, Russian, Arabic, Farsi). Targeted at general public visitors and organized groups including schools.
• Sammlung (Collection) Museum collection of testimonies, objects, photographs, and documents from the history and present of the border transit camp Friedland. Contains several thousand items and over 200 video interviews with contemporary witnesses. Available for scientific research and educational reference.
• Lebensgeschichten (Life Stories Collection) Biographical interview collection documenting life stories from 1945 to the present. Approximately 170 audio and video interviews are available for scientific research and educational use. Targeted at researchers, educators, and exhibition development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4 million people have passed through Friedland border transit camp since 1945, representing all major migration waves to Germany.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Stiftung KrzyżowacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025
• FIEF (Foyer International d'Études Françaises)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025
• IB Freiwilligendienste GöttingencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025
• Deutsch-Französisches Jugendwerk (DFJW)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025
• Impuls DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024
• KZ-Gedenkstätte MoringenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021
• KZ-Gedenkstätte Mittelbau-DoraminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021
• Grenzlandmuseum EichsfeldminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021
• Museumsverband Niedersachsen Bremen e.V.minorOthers · 1 January 2021
• Deutscher Museumsbund e.V.minorOthers · 1 January 2021

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Deutsches Auswandererhaus: German Emigration Center in Bremerhaven covering 300 years of German emigration and immigration history. The closest thematic peer to Museum Friedland; both focus on German migration history with permanent and special exhibitions, educational programs, and multilingual offerings. Differentiator: Deutsches Auswandererhaus operates at a historical, non-active site, while Museum Friedland sits at an active border transit camp.
• KZ-Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen: Lower Saxony memorial site at the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, documenting persecution, forced displacement and postwar DP camps. Comparable as a publicly funded memorial/museum in Lower Saxony addressing forced migration and postwar arrivals; also a documented partner of Museum Friedland.
• Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung: Berlin-based foundation and documentation center on flight, expulsion and reconciliation, with a permanent exhibition on 20th-century forced migration in Europe. Directly comparable subject matter (Flucht und Vertreibung) and educational mission, making it the most thematically aligned peer in Germany alongside Museum Friedland.
• Jüdisches Museum Berlin: Berlin museum covering German-Jewish history, migration, and persecution, including themes of flight, displacement and new beginnings in Germany. Comparable thematic focus on migration-as-experience, multilingual exhibitions, educational programs, and a major digital/digital-tour offering.
• Red Star Line Museum: Antwerp museum at the historic Red Star Line shipping terminal documenting transatlantic migration from Europe (including German, Eastern European and Jewish emigration). Closely comparable museum model at a historic transit/arrival site with multilingual exhibitions and educational programs.
• Dokumentationszentrum NS-Zwangsarbeit: Documentation center on Nazi forced labor in Berlin, covering forced displacement and coerced migration into wartime Germany. Comparable subject matter (forced migration, displacement, oral history) and museum/educational programming model.
• BallinStadt Emigrationsmuseum Hamburg: Hamburg migration museum on the historic BallinStadt emigration halls, focused on German and European emigration history. Comparable museum model with permanent exhibitions, educational programs and family offerings, addressing overlapping migration-history subject matter.

Regional players

• Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration: France's national immigration history museum at the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris. Closest international peer: publicly funded museum dedicated to immigration history with permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, and educational programming. Comparable mission and operational model, distinct geography.

Broad incumbents

• Anne Frank House: Amsterdam museum and memorial at the site of Anne Frank's hiding place, covering persecution, flight and the Holocaust with a globally recognized brand. Comparable as a history museum at a historically significant site with strong educational programming, a global digital reach, and substantial foundation/visitor revenue.
• Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Federal German history museum in Bonn covering post-1945 German history broadly. Comparable as a publicly funded German history museum with permanent exhibitions, educational programming and significant visitor traffic; broader scope but overlaps on postwar German history and refugee/expulsion themes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MuseumFriedland
• Instagraminstagram.com/museum_friedland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/museum-friedland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Museum Friedland