Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets
Encyclopedia
The Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets (in German
: "TheaterFigurenMuseum Lübeck") is a museum of international puppetry
in the Hanseatic
city of Lübeck
, Germany
.
and below the brick Gothic
St. Peter's church in the medieval
city centre of Lübeck.
ing in Germany and abroad and has exhibited part of his collection in this museum
which comprises five medieval brick
houses. It can well compete with the internationally renowned corresponding collections of the Münchener Stadtmuseum in Munich
or the Dresdner Puppenmuseum in Dresden
and is a widely acknowledged enrichment of Lübeck's museum scene, sponsored above all by the City of Lübeck and a private charitable foundation
, the Possehl-Stiftung.
The museum contains some thousand exhibits from three centuries and three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia). They demonstrate that puppeteer
s have always and everywhere tried to hold a mirror up to their societies. The puppet
s they have used are technically quite different: glove puppets, marionette
s, rod- and finger puppets, shadow puppets, ventriloquist's dummies, mechanical puppets
, five-in-one puppets: all these puppets are represented in this museum.
The stars of the museum are the imaginative shadow puppets from Indonesia (Wayang
), "Moto Rafael, the Electric Drawer", the "Dog Clown" that was used in scenes with real dogs, or the technically sophisticated "metamorphoses" - to name but a few.
In addition to the great variety of puppets the museum displays posters, props, scenery, costumes, musical instruments and even entire puppet theaters, i. e, all the attributes of high-quality puppeteering.
By means of a museum quiz youths and their parents can playfully dive into the world of puppeteers. In the video room a short documentary shows puppet plays from all over the world.
The museum has a shop and a café in which the visitors can relax among old marionettes and illustrations of gruesome and moralising ballad
s formerly recited by street singers.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: "TheaterFigurenMuseum Lübeck") is a museum of international puppetry
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
in the Hanseatic
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
city of Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Location
Fritz Fey Jr's private TheaterFigurenMuseum Lübeck is hidden in a narrow street called Kolk situated close to the HolstentorHolstentor
The Holsten Gate is a city gate marking off the western boundary of the old center of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. This Brick Gothic construction is one of the relics of Lübeck’s medieval city fortifications and the only remaining city gate, except for the Citadel Gate...
and below the brick Gothic
Brick Gothic
Brick Gothic is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northern Europe, especially in Northern Germany and the regions around the Baltic Sea that do not have natural rock resources. The buildings are essentially built from bricks...
St. Peter's church in the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
city centre of Lübeck.
Collection
For decades Fritz Fey has passionately collected anything related to the history of puppeteerPuppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
ing in Germany and abroad and has exhibited part of his collection in this museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
which comprises five medieval brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
houses. It can well compete with the internationally renowned corresponding collections of the Münchener Stadtmuseum in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
or the Dresdner Puppenmuseum in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and is a widely acknowledged enrichment of Lübeck's museum scene, sponsored above all by the City of Lübeck and a private charitable foundation
Foundation (charity)
A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes....
, the Possehl-Stiftung.
The museum contains some thousand exhibits from three centuries and three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia). They demonstrate that puppeteer
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
s have always and everywhere tried to hold a mirror up to their societies. The puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
s they have used are technically quite different: glove puppets, marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
s, rod- and finger puppets, shadow puppets, ventriloquist's dummies, mechanical puppets
Automata
Automata is the plural form of automaton, a self-operating machine. It may also refer to:* "Automata", a short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann* "Automata", a hardboiled science fiction crime series by Penny Arcade...
, five-in-one puppets: all these puppets are represented in this museum.
The stars of the museum are the imaginative shadow puppets from Indonesia (Wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
), "Moto Rafael, the Electric Drawer", the "Dog Clown" that was used in scenes with real dogs, or the technically sophisticated "metamorphoses" - to name but a few.
In addition to the great variety of puppets the museum displays posters, props, scenery, costumes, musical instruments and even entire puppet theaters, i. e, all the attributes of high-quality puppeteering.
By means of a museum quiz youths and their parents can playfully dive into the world of puppeteers. In the video room a short documentary shows puppet plays from all over the world.
The museum has a shop and a café in which the visitors can relax among old marionettes and illustrations of gruesome and moralising ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s formerly recited by street singers.