From May onwards, the exhibits from the former Coburg Doll Museum will be stored in the Cortendorf culture factory on the outskirts of Coburg. When and where the approximately 4,000 exhibits will be presented to the public again is currently completely open, said a city spokesman for the German Press Agency. Until now, the collection had been stored in the former museum building on Rückertstrasse.
There is an idea to show parts of the exhibition in different locations, said the spokesman. “But first a concept must be developed as to how the exhibits can be made accessible to the public again.” Nevertheless, they are happy to have safely housed the museum collection. “The room is air-conditioned, nothing breaks there.”
In November 2022, the Coburg city council decided to close the museum in Coburg’s old town at the end of 2022. The reasons for this were the sharp drop in visitor numbers and the lack of accessibility. The listed museum building on Rückertstrasse also had the disadvantage that the dolls, doll houses and accessories had to be distributed across more than 30 small exhibition rooms. There was no larger space in which groups of visitors such as school classes could gather.
In 2023, a private foundation from Rödental near Coburg wanted to take over the exhibits and put them on display in Rödental. But then the foundation withdrew its offer. The reason given by the CEO at the time for the cancellation was that he had not received urgently needed funding.
The exhibits in the Coburg Doll Museum date from around 1800 to 1960. In the museum you could experience how the middle class used toys to raise children. In 1987, the couple Carin and Hans Lossnitzer from Ettlingen near Karlsruhe initially opened the doll museum as a private institution and thus made their private doll collection accessible to the public. Since two thirds of the exhibits came from the North Franconia-South Thuringia region, they chose Coburg as the museum location.
In 2007 the city bought the collection and took over the doll museum. In 2012 the building was affected by a fire and was subsequently renovated. The renovation was partly financed by donations.