Focke Museum

The Focke Museum is the museum of history and the history of art for the city and state of Bremen. It was formed in 1924 by the merger of a museum of industry and commerce and the previous historical museum, and is named for the founder of the latter, Johann Focke (1848–1922), a Bremen privy councillor (German: Senatssyndikus) and father of Henrich Focke. It is located in 4.5 hectares (11 acres) of grounds in the Riensberg neighbourhood of the city. In addition to a main building which opened in 1964 and was extended in 2002, the museum complex includes buildings dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

The museum is a merger of two institutions: a museum of industry and commerce (Gewerbe-Museum) which opened in 1884 and the former historical museum (Historisches Museum für bremische Altertümer) which was founded in 1900.

The museum of industry and commerce developed out of the Technical Institute for the Trades (Technische Anstalt für Gewerbetreibende), an institution with the mission of instructing Bremen's craftsmen in historical styles and design. It was intended to provide them with a collection of examples from all areas of craftsmanship. In 1884, the entire institution was renamed the Gewerbe-Museum. Its first two directors, August Heinrich Töpfer (1872–1903) and Emil Högg (1867–1954) were architects and designers.

The historical museum was founded by Johann Focke, initially as a private initiative. It opened in 1900 in the cloister and refectory of the former Monastery of St. Katherine in the centre of Bremen, with a collection of exhibits related to the history of the city which Focke had been assembling since 1880. Gifts from residents caused the collection to outgrow the available space, and in 1905 it was moved to an annexe of the Bremen Cathedral and then in 1913 to a Baroque building which had been an old people's home, in Großenstraße in the Stephaniviertel neighbourhood on the far west of the old city. It was renamed to the Focke Museum of Bremen Antiquities (Focke-Museum für bremische Altertümer) on the occasion of Focke's 70th birthday in 1918.

Combining the two museums was discussed for many years and finally occurred in 1924, with Ernst Grohne becoming president. The combined institution opened in 1927 in Großenstraße; it included an exposition of the history of Bremen and also emphasised regional styles in the crafts and styles departments. For the first time pre-historic and early historical items were added; Grohne himself collected some of these on archaeological digs beginning in 1931. The museum closed on 10 October 1939, a few days after the outbreak of the Second World War; most of the collection was placed in storage and thus survived the war, but the building was totally destroyed by fire as a result of bombing. In the 1950s, the Focke-Garten park was created on the site.

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