German Museum of Music Automatons
The German Music Automaton Museum is housed in Bruchsal Castle. It is a branch of the Baden State Museum .
history
After the state of Baden-Württemberg had taken care of a large private collection of mechanical music machines - the Jan Brauers collection from Baden-Baden - in the early 1980s, the “Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments” in Bruchsal Castle became a branch on May 30, 1984 of the Baden State Museum opened.
In the following years the collection was expanded in a targeted manner and was completed in 2002 with the acquisition of substantial parts of one of the last German private collections - the Carlson Collection from Königslutter. The resulting “new” collection has made the presentation in Schloss Bruchsal one of the largest and most important public special museums in terms of the large number of objects and the breadth of documentation for the music automatons. That is why the previous "Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments" in Bruchsal Castle has been operating as the "German Museum of Music Automatons" since it was reorganized in December 2003.
The new presentation shows itself in an expanded space and follows a changed concept. It is not only the instruments as a collection that are in the foreground, but the earlier use of the music automatons is authentically conveyed through stagings. The highlights here are the installation of a “silent movie theater”, the “historical economy” and the “dance hall”, in which instruments in their original ambience create a mood for the visitors.
Exhibits
Individual instruments in the museum enjoy a legendary reputation, such as a self-playing Hupfeld grand piano owned by Konrad Adenauer or the Welte organ supposedly intended for the luxury steamer " Titanic ", the "Tino Rossi" figure automaton, or the one that was once described as the eighth wonder of the world Orchestrion "Hupfeld-Phonoliszt-Violina". All types of music automatons in all common techniques and sizes - from the Berloke the size of a thumb to the Welte Philharmonic Organ with 1269 pipes - demonstrate the diverse possibilities of musical entertainment of the past.
Audio samples from the new collection
literature
- Jan Brauers: Museum for Mechanical Musical Instruments Baden-Baden. Westermann Verlag, Braunschweig; Special print 4 1983 from ISSN 0341-8634
Web links
- Friends of the German Museum of Music Automatons
- German Museum of Music Automatons
- German Museum of Music Automatons in the Stadtwiki Karlsruhe
Coordinates: 49 ° 7 ′ 43.5 " N , 8 ° 35 ′ 52.7" E