The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Gesellschaft e. V. and the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. are showing from March 19, 2026 Exhibition „Paths to Peace: Consequences of War and Peace Processes“ in the Jahn Hall of Honor in Freyburg (Unstrut).
The occasion is the Democracy History Day, who at March 18, 2026 for the first time nationwide under the patronage of the Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier takes place. With the exhibition, the Jahn Museum follows the call of the Federal President to the places of democratic history to participate in this day with their own events.
More information at: https://www.demokratie-geschichte.de/index.php/12842/18-maerz-tag-der-demokratiegeschichte-2026/
Since 2019, the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Museum in Freyburg (Unstrut) part of the initiative „Places of the history of democracy“In this capacity, the museum sees itself not only as a memorial to a historical figure, but also as a forum for engaging with democratic developments, ruptures, and challenges. The history of democracy is closely linked to questions of war, violence, peace treaties, and societal restructuring – it is also a history of the struggle for freedom, participation, and the rule of law.
The by the People's Association for German War Graves. The developed traveling exhibition addresses these connections. In light of increasing instability and armed conflicts in Europe and worldwide, it illuminates historical and current peace processes. It shows which steps, prerequisites, and societal forces are necessary to develop sustainable peace orders from conflicts. In doing so, it directly builds upon the democratic history work of the Jahn Museum.
As a participatory component of the event, on March 18th a Peace Monument Workshop with students from the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Secondary School Freyburg. The young people create so-called „peace tiles,“ which are then presented as part of the exhibition.
The exhibition is supplemented by six panels from the exhibition „Exhibition Name" shown in 2013 at the Leipzig Museum of City History.„The Great Leap. Sports Legends Luz Long and Jesse Owens“It addresses one of the most famous sports friendships in history: the encounter between Germany's Luz Long and American athlete Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. In an era of National Socialist racial ideology, Long's fairness towards Owens set an example of humanity and athletic integrity. Long died in the war in Sicily in 1943.
This also highlights the peacemaking power of sports. Sporting encounters facilitate understanding across political and cultural boundaries and promote values such as fairness, respect, and mutual recognition – ideas that go back to the origins of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn demonstrate the substantiated turn toward sport and show that sport can still contribute to peace today.

The exhibition is from March 19 to an estimated May 9, 2026 to see.

Ort:
Jahn-Ehrenhalle
Schützenstraße 17
06632 Freyburg (Unstrut)

Opening hours:
Thursday and Friday, 10 AM - 4 PM
as well as every second Saturday (March 21st; April 4th; April 18th; May 2nd; May 9th) from 10 AM to 4 PM

Admission is free. Donations for the new permanent exhibition at the Jahn Museum and for the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V. (German War Graves Commission) are welcome.

The exhibition is dedicated to the Member of Parliament who unexpectedly passed away in January Rüdiger Erben (1967–2026) dedicated. As state chairman of the People's Association for War Grave Care and a long-time supporter of the Jahn Museum, he had initiated the exhibition in the Jahn Hall of Honor on the occasion of the Day of Democratic History.

Press release as PDF for download

Exhibition poster as a PDF for download

The 46-year-old archaeologist took over as museum director from Ms. Kristina Kuhn (until September 2023) and Ms. Manuela Dietz (until May 2023). In the position of Managing Director, she succeeds Ms. Stephanie Kaps, who has been managing the Jahn-Gesellschaft on an interim basis since November 2023.

Henkel has extensive experience in strategic public relations work in the cultural and museum sector. After studying archaeology in Halle (Saale), she has worked in various positions in the press department, editorial office and on the staff of the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeology with the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle since 2006. During this time, she has accompanied numerous exhibitions and scientific or cultural tourism projects as well as coordinating various book projects and specialist conferences. For the most part, she worked in parallel on her dissertation on the Neolithic circular ditch complex at Goseck in the Burgenland district, which she successfully completed in 2016. Most recently, as a research assistant in the "GOLEHM Initiative for Earthen Building and Sustainable Circular Economy", she was responsible for the public relations work of the research alliance and gained experience in the renovation of listed buildings.

This experience will now also be put to good use at Henkel's future place of work: from 2026, the former home of the "gymnastics father" will be renovated in line with its listed status. At the end of 2024, the town of Freyburg received the funding decision for 3.3 million euros from the "National Urban Development Projects" investment program of the Federal Ministry of Building (BMWSB). The museum will be completely cleared out by the end of 2025 and the collection of around 17,000 objects, the library collection of almost 7,000 titles and the offices will be housed in alternative premises in Freyburg. The museum is set to reopen in 2028 with a newly designed permanent exhibition. During the renovation work, the museum will continue to operate in the form of an interim exhibition in the Jahn-Ehrenhalle in the town of Freyburg.

The press release with additional interview can be found here as pdf for download.

Are you looking to enter the world of work, would you like to reorient yourself professionally or are you already retired? Are you looking for a useful and fulfilling job and social contacts? The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Museum in Freyburg is offering a position as soon as possible for the Federal Volunteer Service (m/f/d) to.

For 12 months (or at least 6 and up to 18 months) you can support us, for example, with

• the organization of events
• the processing of the collection
• the daily tasks of the museum staff (cash desk, visitor support)

The exact job description will be jointly agreed on the basis of interest and skills. We offer you an interesting job with a wide range of experience, regular working hours and vacation as well as a monthly allowance with social security contributions.

We look forward to receiving your application at info@jahn-museum.de. For further information please call: 034464-27426."

The new "Jahn-Report" is here: The new issue was published at the beginning of the year, the 59th edition since July 1994. The brochure is an impressive 64 pages long. The first part deals once again with the 100th Jahn gymnastics festival, which took place in Freyburg an der Unstrut in mid-August: reviews from different perspectives illustrate the pleasingly diverse range of events. The new brochure focuses on: the future of the Jahn memorial in Hasenheide, the development of the gymnastics movement in southwest Germany (Gustav von Struve's work), the symposium in Hanau in autumn 2024 (175 years of the DTB) and an appreciation of the fact that sports science has existed in Halle for 100 years.

Information: Email: info@jahn-museum.de or tel. 034464/27426.

Hansgeorg Kling

All further information on the event can be found in the flyer here.

In order to put the future of the Jahn Museum on a solid footing, the museum needs better staffing. We hope to achieve this goal together with the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the not too distant future!

The banner of the German Gymnastics Association donated by Frankfurt women on the occasion of the 5th German Gymnastics Festival in Frankfurt in 1880 is one of the most valuable objects in the museum and therefore requires special care. The Jahn Society has therefore applied to the East German Savings Bank Foundation for funds to restore the flagpole and the monstrance. For exhibition purposes - also outside Freyburg – a replica on a scale of 1:2 is also to be made.

In recent weeks and months, several film teams from various television stations have visited the Jahn Museum to gather material for reports and other features. Politicians such as Norbert Walter-Borjans or Manuela Hartung most recently visited the museum to get an impression of this special institution.

From the liquid assets of the defunct Swiss Sports Museum in Basel, the Jahn Society acquired for the museum a bundle of valuable historical objects. The purchase of these cultural assets was made possible by donations from members of the Jahn Society.

The senior sports group of the TSG Freyburg (Unstrut), which was founded in the 1950s, has handed over to the museum an extensive documentation which documents its diverse activities over more than six decades.

All important information for a visit of the Jahn-Museum can be found on our homepage.

If you are still looking for a "gymnastic" Christmas present, you might find it in the museum shop:

https://jahn-museum.de/museumsshop/

Just take a look...

You can find the full speech here: Microsoft Word – 2021-10-08_Places-Democracy-History.END.docx (bundespraesident.de)