Mennonite Heritage Village

The impetus for the museum began in the early 1960s after the destruction of a number of historic buildings in the area. Retired teacher John C. Reimer began to collect artifacts and established the Reimer Store museum on Main Street in Steinbach, a building that was later moved to the current museum.[5] A committee was established in 1964 and the museum, originally called Mennonite Village Museum was opened to the public in 1967. The museum changed its name to Mennonite Heritage Village in 1987.[6] A major expansion of the indoor galleries was completed in 1990.[7]

The village features original Mennonite housebarns, churches, schools, stores, a sod hut (or semlin) and other buildings, some of which date back to the 1800s.[8] The museum's collection contains more than 16,000 artifacts.[9] The indoor facility documents the history of Mennonites from their origins in the Netherlands and Switzerland and focuses on the Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites who came to Western Canada. The permanent collection includes images, videos, and numerous historic artifacts, including those connected to Klaas Reimer and other important Anabaptist figures. Temporary exhibits, also open year-round, are held in the Gerhard Enns Gallery. The museum collection also includes antique tractor and transportation buildings.

The museum is famous for its Dutch windmill, a replica of the original windmill built in Steinbach in the 1880s. The first replica was burned down by arsonists in 2000, but was later rebuilt.[10] The outdoor village also displays a section of the Berlin Wall, the original sawmill used by Mennonite Conscientious Objectors during their Alternative Service in World War II, and two important monuments originally erected in Ukraine to commemorate the centennial of Chortitza and honour the two Mennonite leaders, Jacob Hoeppner and Johann Bartsch, who chose the site and accompanied the first colonists.

In 2018, a statue of Anabaptist martyr Dirk Willems by sculptor Peter Sawatzky was unveiled on the grounds of the museum.[11]

The museum holds numerous special events and festivals, including the Pioneer Days Parade and festival each August. The museum also has a restaurant that serves Russian Mennonite food (open seasonally) and a bookstore (open year-round).

The Museum is affiliated with the Canadian Museums Association, the Canadian Heritage Information Network and Virtual Museum of Canada.

• 
  Drawing of a Mennonite settlement (Steinbach?) in Manitoba
• 
  Main building
• 
  Tribute to women
• 
  Very old tractor
• 
  Old tractor
• 
  Semlin
• 
  Semlin
• 
  Quilt making
• 
  Entrance
• 
• 
  Barns

• Threshing stone
• Open-air museum
• East Reserve
• Mennonites

• Mennonite Heritage Village