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Origin and history

The Westercamp Museum is a municipal museum founded in 1913 in Wissembourg, Lower Rhine. He owes his name to notary Paul Westercamp (1839-1920), whose personal collection, bequeathed to the city, constituted the initial core of the exhibitions. The Renaissance-style building features a 16th-century courtyard façade, a well and a gallery, which have been listed as historical monuments since 1935. Closed since 2002 for renovation, its reopening was originally planned for 2013, on the occasion of its centenary, but remains pending in 2022.

The museum covers various fields: archaeology, decorative arts, Alsatian folk traditions, wine and military history, including the Franco-German war of 1870. It has a rich collection of Wentzel imagery lithographs, acquired in 1991, as well as objects related to daily life, regional costumes (XVIII–XIXth centuries), and military pieces such as Second Empire uniforms. Since 1994, it has been part of the shared conservation network of the Vosges du Nord Regional Natural Park.

In 2022, a temporary exhibition entitled The museum's epic Westercamp museum in transition was organized in the former Wissembourg sub-prefecture, presenting the prospects for its future reopening. The museum, labeled "Musée de France", enjoys the support of the State and continues to offer cultural events pending its definitive reopening. Its building, a former bourgeois house probably linked to a wine-growing operation in 1599, is distinguished by its Renaissance oriel and its sculpted wine-themed decorations.

The collections have become richer over the years thanks to donations and purchases, such as the Wentzel collection with 600 lithographs. The museum also illustrates the Middle Ages through sculptures and architectural elements, as well as local history with Roman steles and Gallo-Roman objects. His role in the preservation of Alsatian heritage makes him a key player in regional memory.

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