Description [EN]
In Rindern on the Lower Rhine, the Museum Forum Arenacum documents the region's Roman and Frankish past. Since its opening in 2002 the museum has occupied the former teachers' apartment of the Johanna-Sebus-Grundschule dating from 1890; across approximately 300 m² it displays finds from Rindern and the surrounding area.
The museum regularly curates rotating exhibitions on regional themes and artists that connect to Rindern and the surrounding landscape. Research focuses on Johanna Sebus and civic engagement, on the development of Lower Rhine cheese production by Maria Reymer, and on the work of the internationally known artist Joseph Beuys in Rindern; on display, among other items, is his original childhood and youth room. The museum's name refers to Harenatium, mentioned by Tacitus (also Kastell Kleve-Rindern), a presumed Roman fortification dating from the 1st to the 3rd centuries on the Lower Germanic Limes, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2021.
The permanent exhibition presents bronze objects from Düffelward, Roman coins, fine terra sigillata, utilitarian ceramics, ship finds from Spyck and Frankish burial finds. Particularly highlighted is the cast of the Mars-Camulus stone from the time of Emperor Nero; the original stone was consecrated as a Christian altar in the 6th century and today forms the focal point of the altar of the St. Willibrord Pfarrkirche in Rindern.
The museum also houses the local Rindern archive, which includes, among other items, a collection of death notices, the church registers of Rindern and additional holdings. For schools, the Forum Arenacum offers regular guided tours that present four regional topics at primary and lower secondary level: the local Roman history, the cultural commemoration of Johanna Sebus, the transformation of cheese production on the Lower Rhine, and Joseph Beuys' connection to Rindern and its surroundings.