Dispute over the Fritz Reuter Museum: City fights for cultural heritage!

Dispute over the Fritz Reuter Museum: City fights for cultural heritage!

A real cultural dispute has just broken out in Stavenhagen, which affects the legacy of the important writer Fritz Reuter. The elimination of two funded positions in Fritz Reuter Literature Museum causes heated discussions in the city. The Die Linke/EB faction around Lutz Trautmann not only calls for sustainable support for the museum, but also proposes the creation of an independent cultural brand “Fritz Reuter”. “We have a special responsibility as the birthplace of Fritz Reuter,” said Trautmann, emphasizing the need to create long-term personnel and financial security for the museum.

Fritz Reuter, who is considered a defining figure in Low German literature, left behind an important cultural legacy. The museum is dedicated to preserving and communicating this history in a variety of formats. Creative approaches to communication will be particularly outstanding, ranging from digital offerings to more unconventional ideas such as “Playmobil-Fritz-Reuter”. The responsible museum director, Torsten Jahn, emphasizes that despite the current challenges, the work will continue and major investments will be made in the digital future.

Cultural responsibility and gaps in funding

Stavenhagen's cultural profile could be significantly sharpened by such a cultural brand. The aim is to attract national visitors and thus enrich the cultural life of the city. “The counting community advocates financial, structural and intellectual support for the museum,” warns Jahn, while the removal of funding agencies leaves a noticeable gap in the “Road of Low German” cultural route.

This route has already been agreed with several municipalities such as Mirow, Altentreptow, Ivenack, Siedenbollentin and the Mecklenburg Foundation, but without secured financing. The ongoing dispute over the guaranteed funding and the unclear financing of the Reuterspiele in 2026 is fueling the discussions even further. It is now important to clarify what the future of cultural offerings actually looks like.

Cultural partnerships as an opportunity

The cooperation with the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Festival, whose partner institutions include theaters, museums and artistic universities, offers a ray of hope. The Fritz Reuter Literature Museum is part of these cultural partnerships and plans to work more intensively in the future to improve the way we address new target groups. By combining literature with music and other interdisciplinary approaches, new creative impulses can arise.

It is clear that Stavenhagen has an important role to play in preserving and promoting Fritz Reuter's cultural heritage. The path to a secure and flourishing cultural landscape will not be easy, but the steps have already been taken. If we succeed in overcoming the challenges together, the city could appear on the cultural map with fresh momentum in the future.