Handcrafted textiles

For centuries, natural fibres such as flax, hemp and wool were used to create our ancestors’ clothing. In rural society, almost all everyday articles made using textile materials were made at home out of wool or of linen made from flax or hemp. Our new permanent exhibition in the House from Grebenau, which has become known as the house of handcrafted textiles, displays handicrafts as well as the processes used to produce textiles. It illustrates the key role that the textile fibres traditionally used in Hesse, such as hemp, flax and wool, played – not just for the land but also, and perhaps even more so, for the people, their daily lives and their work. Media installations as well as sensory and interactive stations transport visitors to a bygone era when fabric and clothing production was key for survival and social status.