German Agricultural Museum

A branch of the German Agricultural Museum is based in the surroundings of the castle of Blankenhain in Saxony, together with its home farm. The grand complex with towers and mansard roofs stands next to a former moat. The present buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries and the castle installed the latest technology, including a steam engine, between 1860 and 1914. It became the base for the museum in 1981. It demonstrates changing technology in agriculture and rural transport through exhibitions and preserved artefacts. Technology manufactured in eastern Germany and the former GDR features strongly, such as a caterpillar tractor made in Berlin, as well as tractors from the former Soviet Bloc. The museum claims the world’s largest collection of self-built tractors. A working threshing machine, ploughs and other equipment are also on display. Domestic reconstructions show everyday living conditions between the 18th century and the 1990s.