Habkirchen Customs Museum
The customs museum in Habkirchen in Saarland documents the history of the border and the associated customs between Habkirchen in Germany and the neighboring French community of Frauenberg . The museum (approx. 90 m²) is housed in the rooms of the former customs house in Habkirchen. The former customs house is located directly on the pedestrian bridge ( Friendship Bridge ) to Frauenberg. The museum is supported by the Mandelbach-Habkirchen Heimat- und Geschichtsverein. The head of the customs museum is Franz-Josef Fries.
history
The museum was founded by the Habkirchen citizen and long-time mayor Manfred Nagel, who was a customs officer at the "Habkirchen Border Inspectorate" from 1960 to 1993. After the customs borders within the European Union fell in 1993, the customs station in Habkirchen was also closed . In order to document the more than 300-year history of the border post and to preserve it for posterity, Nagel began collecting exhibits and documents, which he was then able to present in a museum in the old customs building. In August 2011, Nagel was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon for his services to the customs museum and local history .
On January 1, 1993, a more than 300 year old customs history came to an end in Habkirchen. On this day, the customs borders between the states of the European Union were abolished. This small customs museum, which is unique in southwest Germany, reminds us of this eventful history of the Saarland border region with numerous interesting exhibits. The customs museum is stimulated and operated by the local history and history association Mandelbach-Habkirchen, whose members guide visitors through the building on a voluntary basis.
The Blies forms the state border between Germany and France in Habkirchen. But unlike usual, the border does not run in the middle of the river. Instead, the Blies is completely on French territory. The Countess Marianne von der Leyen from Blieskastel had this regulation in 1781 in a contract with the French King Louis XVI. set. The strange agreement was not withdrawn later at the Congress of Vienna and is therefore still in force today. An old boundary stone from 1826, which stands directly on the bridge, reminds of this.
Up until the French Revolution, high-count Leyian customs officials were on duty in the customs post. After the areas on the left bank of the Rhine were ceded to France in the Treaty of Luneville in 1801, the customs station also disappeared again. After Napoleon's defeat, the Palatinate became part of Bavaria in 1816. An original Bavarian border sign from this time can be seen in the customs museum. A particularly interesting exhibit in the museum comes from this Bavarian period: a copy of Karl Marx's French passport, who entered Germany on April 7, 1848 via the Habkirchen customs office.
Another interesting story is that of the customs inspector Maximilian Weizenberg. A daguerreotype of the official, around whom the legends are entwined, was an illegitimate offspring of the Bavarian aristocracy, a picture from the pioneering days of photography.
After the Franco-German War, Alsace-Lorraine was incorporated into the German Empire and the customs post in Habkirchen was closed again on December 31, 1871. It did not come back to life after the First World War, because the Saar area had been connected to the French economic area. Only after the referendum and the associated return of the Saar area to the German Reich was the customs service resumed by the Reich customs administration from 1935 until the occupation of France in 1940.
The Second World War brought great hardship and destruction to the population in the border region. In 1939 the two hundred year old bridge between Habkirchen and Frauenberg was blown up by French troops. Ninety percent of the two places were destroyed at the end of the war in 1945. On November 1, 1947, the economic annexation of the Saarland to France was completed with the introduction of the French France. After the rejection of the Saar Statute in 1955, it was not returned to Germany until 1959 and a customs office was needed again in Habkirchen. In 1964, the customs officials moved to the new customs building in Frauenberg on the bypass. There they were on duty until the borders fell in 1993 and the terminal buildings were subsequently demolished.
Today only the small customs museum, which was expanded by 50 m² in April 2011, reminds of the everyday life of German and French customs officers. Life-size dolls with original uniforms illustrate the demeanor and the respectful status of the customs officers on both sides. Numerous exhibits, photos and documents document everyday life in the border region and are waiting to be discovered by visitors.
content
The customs museum shows the everyday life of the German customs officers as well as that of their French colleagues. Life-size dolls with original uniforms illustrate the demeanor and the respectful status of the customs officers on both sides. Numerous documents also attest to everyday life in the border region. A special collector's item is the copy of Karl Marx's passport , which bears the entry stamp of April 7, 1848 with the note “Königl. Bavarian Secondary Customs Office 1st Class Habkirchen ”; Habkirchen also belonged to the Kingdom of Bavaria for a few decades . In the context of the documentation, special attention is paid to the smuggling behavior that is common at border crossings . In April 2011 a new extension was opened to the public. The extension extends the exhibition area by a further 50 m².
opening hours
The museum is open every third Sunday of the month, 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. or by appointment, admission is free.
literature
- Dieter Gräbner: As if the border post were still on duty. The Habkirchen Customs Museum. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung (supplement "Heimat") from 10./11. July 2010, p. H6
- Manfred Pfeiffer, Manfred Nagel: "Borderline experiences - The Habkirchen Customs Museum". Leaflet, 5th edition, status: February 2017, publisher: Verkehrsverein Mandelbachtal e. V.
Web links
- Habkirchen Customs Museum ( Memento from February 18, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- Literature on Habkirchen Customs Museum in the Saarland Bibliography
Coordinates: 49 ° 8 '12.9 " N , 7 ° 7' 49.2" E