An Interview with Dr. Rüdiger Kelm (by Gijs Klompmaker, Borger, The Netherlands, 25. 2. 2015)
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What is your main expertise?
As a director of the Museum in Albersdorf, our Stone Age park, my main focus lies on develop our
Archaeological Ecological Centre, but also the museum. When you start a study, you don’t know what will come out of it. But my experiences helped me a lot in this function. We have our Archaeological museum since ten years, witch I’m responsible for. This means more Classical and Traditional
Museum work, with special exhibitions . With a focus not only on the stone-age, but also on bronzeage and medieval times. So it’s a lot and all very interesting.
How does Alberdorf participate in the Open Arch Project?
We are one of the partners of the Open Arch-project. We work here together with the museum of
Modena and we are responsible for the theme: The dialogue with skills, handicraft and techniques.
We made workshops, about wood, stone, bronze casting and food. For our educators and colleagues, they should learn of the knowledge of each other and spread it. Learn for the experience of the others. But also for the visitors, to get an idea of life back then, to fascinate them.
Why are you visiting Borger?
We have a cooperation with the Hunebedcentre. Started about ten years ago. We are close to each other, we have the same archaeological background, but we are not similar. Here in Borger it started with the biggest Hunebed, an expertise Hunebedcentre and now they go outside with an open air area. We started with the open air landscape, we tried to redevelop the landscape, used it in the ways it was used in the prehistory. For example cattle grazing and slash and burn techniques. How did it look 5000 years ago. It is a kind of big open air experiment. The second step was the open air museum. Reconstructions of Neolithic house-structures, from 4000 B.C. till 2000 B.C. In this houses we want to show the range of different structures and developments in this period. And then the third step was the museum. We started for the other side. Borger has an opposite development. We work closely together, in a way as friends I can say. I’m here for exchange of experience, a staffexchange within the Open Arch Project as well as to talk about the future plans of Megalithic routes.
What’s the biggest strength of Albersdorf?
The wide space, the big area. With the forest, the Neolithic village, with bring you directly into the past. And we educate our visitors, with workshops, activities. The educators pull the visitors into the

prehistoric life. We have a big space, a living atmosphere with direct contact.
In the beginning we didn’t have prehistoric clothing. Of course no one knows exactly how prehistoric people where dressed. The only example is the iceman Ötzi. So we tried to incorporate some stations where people living the prehistoric live, and we have guided tours with modern persons. It’s not a theatre, but it is a contribution in a vivid experience for the visitors. A museum is not only a scientific exhibition, then I can read a book. We have to fascinate the visitors, tickle there curiosity.
What is your opinion about the Hunebedcentre?
At first I think the Hunebedcentre is a fantastic museum, with very good educational fascination for the prehistoric themes. They have 90.000 visitors, that’s huge. We have 30.000.
It’s a logical step that the Hunebedcentre is going outside and making reconstructions of houses. If you would like to develop your institution, this seems inevitable. We have a lot of experience on that matter, but we are trying to realise a bigger exhibition-house and that’s where the Hunebedcentre has a lot of experience. Our cooperation is great. We work with the same themes and the same ages, but we have different perspectives. So we learn a lot and can help to develop each other. We are no concurrence at all, we are 400 kilometres a part. We have the same topics and themes. We have good ideas and can share our knowledge. No tourist will go from our museum to Borger in one day.
Where lies the future of cultural centres and museums?
A museum has to be relevant. Also in the social context. It has to tell what we can learn from people who lived 5000 years ago. How did they used the food supplies, hoe did they build their houses? A museum has to connect with the questions of nowadays. For example sustainability questions, but also demographic changes. We are getting older. So we have to be a friendly place for elderly people, a meeting place and a place where elderly people voluntarily and meaningful can work. So a museum also has social relevance.
The Open Arch Project end this years. How do you see the future?
The project will remain. The results will be published. On internet and in print we will publish our proceedings-book about our conference in 2013 in Albersdorf. The cooperation with some of the partners will remain. Perhaps we will see new projects in the future. In the cooperation with the
Hunebedcentre we develop our megalithic routes-project. Megalithic Routes are certified as an official cultural route of the Council of Europe in august 2013. We have partners in Sweden, Denmark,
Netherlands and Germany. On our annual meeting we try to establish our routes and build a more international cooperation on Megalithic routes.