Bauernhofmuseum Jexhof

Bauernhofmuseum Jexhof is a farm museum located in the southern part of the Fürstenfeldbruck District, in Bavaria, Germany, approximately 700 meters southeast of the district road FFB 7 from Schöngeising to Mauern (part of the community of Grafrath). The farm is situated in the hamlet of Jexhof within the municipality of Schöngeising, in a valley in the western foothills of the Wildmoos nature reserve. The museum is part of the "Landpartie – Museums around Munich" network and is operated by the Fürstenfeldbruck District. It is supported by the Jexhof Association.

History
The existence of the Jexhof courtyard (a three-sided farmstead) can be traced back to 1433 through a purchase contract. From 1564 to 1803, it was 400 acres (about 160 hectares) of beech forest, part of the Fürstenfeld Monastery, which had leased the farm and its associated woodland for cultivation. Around 1775, the Schneider family, who had been farming Jexhof since the second half of the 17th century, built the residential house with the horse stable. In 1862, Josef Riedl acquired the farm, along with 88 acres of land (36 hectares) for 12,300 guilders, from the previous owner Stefan Schmid, and the family operated the farm for three generations. Most of the construction work that gave Jexhof its current appearance took place during the Riedl family's ownership. The former maid, who had been working for the family since 1930, lived on the farm until 1980.

Farm museum
In 1983, the Jexhof Association began its efforts to preserve the farm. In 1987, the Fürstenfeldbruck District took over ownership and opened the farm museum in the same year. Copies of documents relating to the farm are on display in the museum. The museum portrays rural life at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to the permanently accessible buildings and rooms of the farm, there are regular special exhibitions on regional topics. Periodic action days are organized to demonstrate life from a hundred years ago. Visitors can, for example, wash, iron, and dry laundry without washing machines and electricity, using a fire-heated wash kettle, washboard, and soap.

Layout
The farm complex consists of:
 * The barn-stable, which serves as the entrance building today
 * The horse engine house (Göpelhaus)
 * A residential house, built around 1775, consisting of a living room, kitchen, pantry, storage cellar, bedroom, upper hallway, servant's room, maid's room, hayloft, and horse stable
 * The bakehouse, built around 1891

Sound path (Klangweg)
Since 2014, visitors can take a sound path when walking to Jexhof. This path, created in collaboration with the Heinrich-Scherrer Music School for Schöngeising's 1250th anniversary, is a mix of an adventure trail, art installation, and forest playground. Among the sound objects on the path are a xylophone mammoth and giant listening tubes.

Exhibitions
In addition to the permanent exhibition, regular special exhibitions are presented. Past special exhibitions include:


 * In 2014, there were three special exhibitions: "The Forest in the Bruck Region: Forestry – Hunting – Nature", "Great War and Small Village: World War I in the Countryside", and the Christmas exhibition "The World in Miniature: Toys from the Ore Mountains".
 * In 2015, the exhibition "The Amper: History of a River" covered the natural and cultural history of the river valley from Lake Ammersee to Olching. The Amper exhibition was part of the "Water" project by the "Landpartie – Museums around Munich" association. Due to a great response, the special exhibition about World War I, titled "Great War and Small Village", was extended for an additional year.
 * December 4, 2015, to January 31, 2016: "Ali Mitgutsch: Discovering a Colorful World of Stories, from Picture Puzzles to Dream Boxes"
 * December 2, 2016, to January 29, 2017: "Aid for the Heathens: Overseas Missions, Homeland, and the Image of Africa (1887–1965)". The exhibition focused on the Christianization of the so-called heathens in Africa (Afrikamission) and told stories of people from the district who embarked on journeys there.
 * May 19 to November 5, 2017: "Clothes Make the Man"
 * December 8, 2017, to February 11, 2018: "Janosch: From Ammersee to Panama"
 * December 7, 2018, to February 17, 2019: "Straw into Gold: Fairy Tales and Rural Life"
 * December 17, 2019, to February 23, 2020: "Ignatius Taschner, the Restless Multitalent: Sculptor, Illustrator, and Artisan Around 1900"
 * July 2, 2020, to May 2, 2021: "Ice Ages: Glaciers, Mammoths, and Moraines"