Do see the highlights in the Spielzeugmuseum Nürnberg, but leave time to see the many lesser but equally fascinating toys in this world class collection too.
Nuremberg has been the world’s “Toy Capital” for hundreds of years, and is the site of a major annual international toy fair today. So a visit to the town should certainly include its well-known toy museum. This contains over 65,000 items, some of them extremely unusual.
The Spielzeugmuseum Nürnberg is in Karlstrasse, in the heart of the city’s Old Town. It’s easily recognised from the fountain outside which is designed and painted to resemble a traditional wooden toy. The house which contains the museum looks old, but actually it is just a façade, and the museum itself is much larger and more modern than it seems from outside.
A Fine Collection
There are some very ancient toys here, dating back to a baby’s rattle that is over 2000 years old. Most visitors, though, head first for the set pieces: the magnificent collections of dolls and dolls houses, perhaps, or the gigantic railway model depicting Omaha, Nebraska, which occupies a whole room upstairs.
These can justifiably take hours to appreciate, but it’s also worth allowing time to seek out some of the intriguing one-offs and eccentricities which are the hidden glories of the museum.
Unusual Toys
A snail, for example, is not an obvious choice for a pull along toy, but the carved snail on wheels from 19th century Oberammergau is many times the size of a real snail, and its beautiful carving and painting would intrigue many a child. Also made of wood are nutcrackers in the shape of elephants, and a 19th century bagatelle type game in the shape of a spiral with an exotic lady’s head.
Amidst the 19th century dolls, resplendent frills and furbelows, is an unexpected clockwork pig made of leather. It can really walk alongside its doll owner. A splendid little lion seat on runners forms an imaginative doll’s sledge. Amongst the many dolls’ houses there is a milliner's shop, with exquisite cabinets, ornaments and rows of dummy doll heads for displaying the hats. A miniature Catholic altar is also a highlight, as is one of the tiniest dolls’ houses in the world, whose eighteenth century elegance can only be appreciated when seen through the magnifying glass provided.
Sinister Playthings
There is a hint of darkness in some of the toys, too: a reminder that Nuremberg is in the area where so many German fairytales are set. There are many grotesque stuffed manikins, witches, elves, dwarves and other fairytale creatures. And one of the weirdest toys in the museum is a two-faced baby doll.
One face of the doll is happy, the other is crying. The doll's owner is supposed to turn the head around to show the desired face, putting a bonnet over the head to cover the other face. When both faces are on display, though, the effect is decidedly sinister. There is also a chilling air to some of the Nazi board games, designed in militaristic art deco style.
Funny Tin Toys
The museum’s excellent collection of antique tin toys shows just how ingenious and imaginative it is possible for these to be. Some of the best include an ostrich-cart, a man riding a pig and a lady beating her driver to hurry him up. Many of them need to be seen in action to be fully appreciated, and so the museum provides silent movies showing some of the most interesting ones.
Toys Reflect Real Life
The Omaha railroad layout is the centerpiece of a fine railroad section which includes stations as well as locomotives and rolling stock. And, as toys always reflect life of their period, it is not surprising to see that the museum also holds a model of the “Adler” steam engine.
This puffing-billy contraption operated Germany’s first railroad service in 1835 – and it ran from right here in Nuremberg!
For more about Nuremberg, go to The Christmas Fairy of Nuremberg
