diff --git a/src/localstiffness.hh b/src/localstiffness.hh
index 3a049a91d47744cc5145fc460e685d93007c2d11..9dc94e777af01f0c9c29040635606581169a7286 100644
--- a/src/localstiffness.hh
+++ b/src/localstiffness.hh
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ namespace Dune
             return A.N();
 	}
 
-  protected:
+  public:
 	// assembled data
 	Matrix<MBlockType> A;