More than a sausage
A golden sausage – on display in the Nuremberg Bratwurst Museum
(Photo: Nuremberg Bratwurst Museum)
Small and fine, that applies to both the new museum and its exhibition object: the Nuremberg bratwurst. What is eaten hastily in some places is considered a cultural asset in the Franconian city. The people of Nuremberg are said to have enjoyed sausages as early as the Middle Ages. Traditionally they were eaten in the “Bratwurstglöcklein”, which was bombed in the Second World War. A wooden model in the museum that opens this Friday shows what the inn looked like. The original is the guest book. Visitors can browse through it and discover greetings from famous guests such as the actor Hans Albers.
Rainer Heimler, chairman of the Nuremberg Bratwurst Association, says: “The museum is even something for vegetarians because it also tells the story of the city of Nuremberg and the bratwurst.” If you want to try one of the famous sausages, all you have to do is follow your nose and you will find what you are looking for at the flea market directly opposite. By the way, there is also a new street in Nuremberg: Bratwurstgasse.
On Friday at 1 p.m., economic advisor Michael Fraas opens the museum at Bratwurstgasse 1, 90403 Nuremberg. Opening times: Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Underrated jewelry
The German Button Museum shows how buttons are actually made.
(Photo: Knopfmuseum / oh)
Normally you only think about them when you lose them: buttons. Nevertheless, an entire museum in Bärnau is dedicated to them. The Upper Palatinate city was once known worldwide as the button city. In 1957 there were 32 button companies, a button specialist school and with it the International Button Industry Fair (IKNOFA) for twenty years.
A highlight of the museum is the pair of Bernauer buttons. These are two dolls wearing clothes made from 18,500 buttons. And the robe was not made for the museum: two citizens were allowed to open the IKNOFA in it every year, as museum director Andrea Bäuml explains. The museum shows how the Bärnau craftsmen made the buttons using historical machines and films. Bäuml says: “Many visitors tell us that they hadn’t even imagined how much work there is in such a button.” In the museum, the button is finally being valued.
German Button Museum, Tachauer Strasse, 295671 Bärnau. The button museum usually takes a break from November to March. Because of the new special exhibition “Monastery Work and Folk Art”, however, it will be open from November 20th on the five weekends until Christmas. Opening times: Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Also open on January 2nd, 6th and 9th, 2022 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For tea in Eichenau
Angela Merkel also drinks the tea from Eichenau
(Photo: Eichenau peppermint museum)
A mint tea always works and helps against everything. No wonder that an entire museum is dedicated to this herb. The peppermint museum in Eichenau is dedicated to the history of mint cultivation in the region. The museum was founded in 1987. When the harvest came to a standstill in the early 1980s, an exhibition was dedicated to the farmers. Originally planned as a one-off event, it has become a permanent museum. It is now run by the Eichenau Peppermint Museum Association.
In addition to the original equipment, there is also a mint field. The English Mitcham mint is grown on 1000 square meters. This has a high essential mint content, explains Hans Kugler from the Friends’ Association. The roots were passed on to them from the last peppermint grower in the region.
Visitors to the museum receive a freshly brewed tea made from home-grown mint. Admission is free, but those who still want to support the association can buy a pack of tea. Even Angela Merkel is convinced of this. At the beginning, Kugler couldn’t believe it when he received a call from the Chancellor in person. But it wasn’t a dream: she ordered a large amount of Eichenau peppermint tea for herself.
Peppermint Museum, Adjacent building of the Starzelbachschule, Parkstrasse 43, 82223 Eichenau, opening times: Sundays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., groups of 10 people or more can also arrange special tours, Tel. 08141-7646.
Send sweepers
The brooms come from over 70 different countries and look very different.
(Photo: Besenmuseum)
Some feel soft and velvety, the next very fluffy and others scratchy and rigid. They range from tiny to huge, decorated with ribbons, feathers or small branches. Some have traveled widely, for example from the Himalayas or Indonesia. Christl Hirner collected them all. According to her own statement, she now has the largest collection of brooms in the world.
Anyone visiting the museum will be amazed at the versatility of the sweepers. Almost all of them are handmade. Museum director Hirmer brought most of them back with her from her own travels. She says, “I can tell the background story of many of them.” For example, from the straw broom, which is pasted with patterned fabrics, woven with colored ribbons and equipped with mirrors. “It comes from a ritual in Syria: you hang it in front of the door to drive away evil spirits,” she explains. In addition to the brooms, Hirner also exhibits tin toys. The exhibits range from self-jumping frogs to dance figures and miniature trains.
Broom Museum, Am Hang 11, 89312 Günzburg-Denzingen. Opening times: Fridays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., further appointments by arrangement, Tel. 08221/930630.
A top international exhibition
A woman making lace (symbolic image)
(Photo: Renate Schmidt)
We know them from tablecloths or wedding dresses and even fashion from fast fashion stores uses their style – the bobbin lace. The same craft is behind it, but its appearance is diverse: sometimes filigree small holes juxtaposed, sometimes wide-meshed, sometimes flowery, sometimes bead-embroidered. Each piece resembles a work of art. In Nordhalben an entire museum is dedicated to her, the lace museum.
Before that there was a school here. It was founded at the beginning of the 20th century to teach young girls and women the craft. That way they could earn some extra money. The history of the school as well as the technique of the bobbin craft are thematized in the exhibition “International Lace Collection”. Various European styles are also presented, such as Brussels lace or Maltese lace.
A well-known lace pattern even comes from the Nordhalben lace school: the Frankenwaldspitze. Small spruce trees are bobbin lace with green colored thread.
The lace museum, Klöppelschule 4, 96365 Nordhalben, opening times: Friday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday evening free admission, guided tours possible by prior arrangement, Tel. 09267 375
Of reflecting fish
The culinary department in the carp museum
(Photo: Andreas Riedel / oh)
He’s looking a little dazed, maybe a little heavy with mind, maybe he’s just had a bad day – the carp. He has been fished for in the Aischgrund for over 1250 years. There is even a special species there: the mirror carp. “He doesn’t have that many scales, but they reflect all the more,” explains Jochen Ringer from the Aischgründer Carp Museum. In 2008 the Neustadt an der Aisch history and homeland association opened the exhibition in honor of the regional pond economy.
The ten rooms of the museum are dedicated, among other things, to the history of the Aischgründer fishing. But a lot can also be learned about the fish itself, for example how to prepare it deliciously. And after visiting the museum, visitors can try the carp right away. Aischgründer Spiegelkarpfen has been served in the inns in the region since September. By the way, carp season is in all months that contain an “R”, i.e. from September to April.
Aischgründer Carp Museum, Untere Schlossgasse 891413 Neustadt / Aisch. Opening times: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Second hand
The “Second Hand” tells the development of prostheses.
(Photo: Sebastian Pretzsch / www.designtobusiness.de)
The back hurts when bending down and getting up from sitting comfortably is like an exertion. Young people are already experiencing this in the Würzburg “Second Hand” prosthesis collection. In the self-awareness area, visitors slip into age simulation suits or put on virtual reality glasses that simulate the perspective of a wheelchair user.
With its exhibition, the museum raises awareness for people with disabilities and war victims. Historical and modern exhibits show how prostheses have changed over the course of history. Underneath there are stilted legs and ear trumpets as well as glass art eyes and simulated fingers.
Second hand, Würzburg prosthesis collection, Georg-Eydel-Str. 13, 97082 Würzburg. No visits are currently possible. The website of the museum offers a comprehensive insight. Further information is available at Tel. 0931/4107107.
Experiences in Duckburg
In the Museum of Comics and Linguistic Art, visitors immerse themselves in the world of comic heroes.
(Photo: Nicolas Armer / dpa)
Take a dip in money, this dream comes true in the Museum of Comics and Language Art in Schwarzenbach an der Saale. In the accessible Duckburg, there is a large bathtub for visitors, filled with shiny thalers. A few steps further, in the Room of Speech Art, it looks loud: “BUMM” is written in capital letters on the floor, drawn explosions and jagged lines run along the wall. In this room, guests experience how comics come to life. This is where you can get creative yourself and fill in speech bubbles with your own words. With its exhibition, the Lower Franconian Museum pays homage to Erika Fuchs. She shaped the German Mickey Mouse editions with her translations. The museum presents her biography – of course – in a comic.
Museum of comics and language art, Bahnhofstrasse 12, 95126 Schwarzenbach ad Saale. Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.