A reconstruction of the music machine, which is powered by a water wheel, was presented to the museum in 2019. The moving figure of a nymph is operated by a pinned barrel to the accompaniment of joyful music.

“We were offered the opportunity to have the building scanned and a digital twin created.”

Anyone interested in the museum does not necessarily have to travel to the Harz region for a guided tour. The innovative online concept allows visitors to discover the history of the abbey and its musical tradition with a few clicks of the mouse.

The driving force behind the ambitious digitalisation project is the museum head Simon Sosnitza. “The starting point was the question of how a museum can be repositioned in a lockdown so that it is possible to continue making cultural exhibits and knowledge accessible. Then we were offered the opportunity to have the building scanned and a digital twin created,” he explains.

The result is a virtual tour where people can even look in detail at individual exhibits using the zoom function. The digital version of the abbey also includes videos with background information about inscriptions and special items in the exhibition. In addition, there is the opportunity of booking a virtual live tour. This involves the museum’s head of education streaming a tour through the abbey rooms, the garden and the exhibition with accompanying explanations.

Echtzeit - Online Magazin - The online abbey