Mennonite Heritage Village is a museum in

Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eas ...

, Canada telling the story of the

Russian Mennonite The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for abo ...

s in Canada. The museum contains both an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

open seasonally, and indoor galleries open year-round. Opened in 1967 and expanded significantly since then, the Mennonite Heritage Village is a major tourist attraction in the area and officially designated as a Manitoba Signature Museum and Star Attraction. Approximately 47,000 visitors visit the museum each year.

History

The impetus for the museum began in the early 1960s after the destruction of a number of historic buildings in the area. Retired teacher John C. Reimer began to collect artifacts and established the Reimer Store museum on Main Street in Steinbach, a building that was later moved to the current museum. A

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

was established in 1964 and the museum, originally called Mennonite Village Museum was opened to the public in 1967. The museum changed its name to Mennonite Heritage Village in 1987. A major expansion of the indoor galleries was completed in 1990.

Collections and galleries

The village features a large collection of original Mennonite

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, including

housebarn A housebarn (also house-barn or house barn) is a building that is a combination of a house and a barn under the same roof. Most types of housebarn also have room for livestock quarters. If the living quarters are only combined whith a byre, where ...

s, churches, schools, stores, a sod hut (or semlin) and other buildings, some of which date back to the 1800s. Including the village and indoor galleries, the museum's collection contains more than 16,000 artifacts. The indoor facility documents the history of Mennonites from their origins in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and focuses on the Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites who came to Western Canada. The permanent collection includes images, videos, and numerous historic artifacts, including those connected to

Klaas Reimer Klaas Reimer (1770–1837) was the founder of the Kleine Gemeinde, a Mennonite denomination that still exists in Latin America, but underwent radical changes in Canada where it is now called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Ethnic Mennonite rem ...

and other important Anabaptist figures. Temporary exhibits, also open year-round, are held in the Gerhard Enns Gallery. The museum collection also includes antique

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

and transportation buildings. The museum is famous for its Dutch

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

, a replica of the original windmill built in Steinbach in the 1880s. The first replica was burned down by arsonists in 2000, but was later rebuilt. The outdoor village also displays a section of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, the original sawmill used by Mennonite

Conscientious Objectors A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

during their Alternative Service in World War II, and two important monuments originally erected in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

to commemorate the centennial of

Chortitza Chortitza Colony was a volost Yekaterinoslav Governorate granted to Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonite for colonization northwest of Khortytsia Island and is now part of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Chortitza was founded in 1789 by Mennonite set ...

and honour the two Mennonite leaders,

Jacob Hoeppner Jacob Hoeppner (1748–1826) was one of two delegates selected by the Mennonite community in Danzig, Prussia, to travel to South Russia and evaluate land along the Dnieper River near Chortitza as a possible settlement. The Mennonites were recruited ...

and Johann Bartsch, who chose the site and accompanied the first colonists. In 2018, a statue of

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

martyr

Dirk Willems Dirk Willems (died 16 May 1569; also spelled Durk Willems) was a Dutch martyred Anabaptist who is most famous for escaping from prison but then turning back to rescue his pursuer—who had fallen through thin ice while chasing Willems—to then ...

by sculptor

Peter Sawatzky Peter Sawatzky, (1951 – ) is a Canadian sculptor from Sommerfeld, Manitoba. He is known for his large-scale work in bronze, many of animals. Career Peter Sawatzky grew up on his family's farm in the Mennonite village of Sommerfeld and attend ...

was unveiled on the grounds of the museum. The museum holds numerous special events and festivals, including the Pioneer Days festival each August and Fall on the Farm each Labour Day. The museum also has a restaurant that serves Russian Mennonite food (open seasonally) and a bookstore and gift shop (open year-round).

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with the

Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; french: Association des musées canadiens, ''ACM''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internat ...

, the

Canadian Heritage Information Network , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Logo of Canadian Heritage Information Network.png , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = ...

and

Virtual Museum of Canada The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...

Gallery

File:DENT(1881) 1.378 MANITOBA; RAT RIVER MENNONITE RESERVATION.jpg, Drawing of a Mennonite settlement (Steinbach?) in Manitoba File:Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1 (3).JPG, Main building File:Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1 (6).JPG, Tribute to women Image:Tructor Show in Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1 (4).JPG, Very old tractor Image:Tructor Show in Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1 (5).JPG, Old tractor Image:Semlin in Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 3.JPG, Semlin Image:Semlin in Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 2.JPG, Semlin Image:Quilt in Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1.JPG,

Quilt A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, a ...

making Image:Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1 (14).JPG, Entrance Image:Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1 (10).JPG Image:Mennonite Heritage Village Steinbach Manitoba Canada 1 (5).JPG,

Barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...

References

External links