During his expedition from 1850 to 1855, Agadez was an important stop for the German explorer of Africa, who set off from here to explore Lake Chad. Before that, he lived for some time in the house of his guide. His descendants still live there today and preserve the memory of Heinrich Barth. It still houses some of Barth’s belongings, including the travel boxes that contained everything he needed and collected on his way through the Libyan desert. Although the owners of the house carefully guarded the objects and converted part of the rooms into a museum a few years ago with the generous help of the German Embassy, the traditional adobe building is now in urgent need of renovation. The house is now being renovated from the ground up and equipped with electricity in order to enable a proper small museum business in the future, which will also secure the family’s livelihood. An important element of this renovation is to carry out all the work with local craftsmen and to restore the objects in collaboration with a Nigerien conservator from the museum in Niamey. Prof. Dr. Klaus Schneider, Director of the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum – Kulturen der Welt in Cologne and President of the Heinrich Barth Society, is in charge of the project. In accordance with the aims of the foundation, the Heinrich Barth House – integrated into tourism concepts and in cooperation with the schools in Agadez – is intended to serve the preservation of cultural heritage and the dialog between cultures. The Sultan in Agadez welcomed the project with great pleasure. The small museum is located in the historic old town of Agadez, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2013.
