This museum chronicles local lore from prehistory to the GDR's demise. An unexpected treat is a vast collection of locally produced mechanical toys. A more sinister object is the executioner's sword used in 1730 to behead Hans-Hermann von Katte, a close friend (and possibly lover) of the future King Frederick the Great. Accused of desertion, he was originally sentenced to life imprisonment but, wanting him dead, Frederick's father, King Friedrich Wilhelm I, had the sentence commuted and even made his son watch the execution.
