Dolled Up Treasures Seek New Home: Coburg Puppet Museum's Large Collection on the Hunt for a Suitable Exhibition Space
Seeking a new venue to house around two thousand dolls in an upcoming exhibition - Display room reserved for approximately two thousand doll figures
Gearing up for a brand-new look, the former Coburg Puppet Museum's dazzling 2,000 doll collection is on the prowl for a dashing showcase venue! The German Press Agency reports that discussions are underway with several museums across Coburg, Sonneberg, and Bamberg, according to Louay Yassin, city spokesperson for Coburg.
The remaining treasures from the beloved puppet museum, which shut its doors at year's end in 2022, are being kept secure in the Kulturfabrik Cortendorf on Coburg's outskirts. The city's cultural department is bent on resurrecting approximately 4,000 quirky exhibits for public viewing again, albeit encountering considerable obstacles.
As Yassin admits, dolls have plunged from trendy favorites of the 1990s to yesterday's news, making it tough to lure in audiences. The city is exploring various ideas, including scattering sections of the exhibition across various locations or creating satellite exhibits.
It's been an age-old ambition to exhibit parts of the gallery at numerous spots, says Yassin. However, the absence of municipal museum educators skilled enough to flawlessly present the exhibits poses a significant challenge. The ex-director of the Coburg Puppet Museum now works at Sonneberg's German Toy Museum in Thuringia.
In its heyday, the cobwebby corridors of the Coburg museum lured legions of visitors, drawing in especial schoolchildren. However, as the years passed, interest waned, and visitor numbers dipped. The city council reached a decision to close the museum in the heart of Coburg in late 2022, citing a host of factors such as declining visitor interest, lack of accessibility, and the museum building's poor layout.
Initially, a private foundation aimed to rescue the collection and exhibit it in Rodental, near Coburg. But the project was scrapped in 2023 due to budget constraints. Since May 2024, the dolls, dollhouses, trinkets, and assorted artefacts have found temporary refuge in the Kulturfabrik Cortendorf in the northeastern expanse of Coburg.
The dolls and their accessories hail from the 1800s to the 1960s and provide a fascinating peek into the habits of the bourgeoisie as they raised their kids. The museum, initially a private venture by Carin and Hans Lossnitzer from Ettlingen near Karlsruhe, opened in 1987. Two-thirds of the exhibits originated from North Franconia or South Thuringia, leading the Lossnitzers to select Coburg as their exhibition hub. The city eventually bought the collection and operated the museum until its closing in late 2022.
Keywords: Coburg, Sonneberg, Bamberg, German Press Agency, 1990s
In an effort to revive the 2,000-doll collection from the former Coburg Puppet Museum, the city of Coburg is considering a modern rebranding, potentially incorporating exhibits into areas of interest such as lifestyle, fashion-and-beauty, and home-and-garden displays. To address the decline in popularity of dolls observed in recent years, vocational training in museum education might be essential, as put forth by Louay Yassin, city spokesperson for Coburg.
While the city explores viable solutions for public viewing of the dazzling 2,000 doll collection, it also confronts challenges such as the lack of qualified museum educators and the need for creative exhibition strategies, which include the possible scattering of sections across various locations or creating satellite exhibits.
