The Doll and Toy Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

I’ve been waiting to share this gem with you all but with a slightly heavy heart. When I was a little girl my sweet, sweet Grammy used to bring me to a Doll Museum in Rochester and this was such a highlight for both of us. She collected dolls which are now antiques and I had collected a few when I was younger in hopes that those too will one day be antiques for my grandchild to admire.

While we were in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, we hit up as many museums as we could in the short time that they were open. The Christmas museum was great of course but this museum hit home and was absolutely the highlight of the day for me. Sadly, this museum will be closing due to the fact that people haven’t been visiting as much. It’s too much money to keep it open without much income. So, needless to say, I’m glad I got a chance to see this before they auction off all the amazing pieces.

But I write this post with a lump in my throat and a pain in my heart that more people in the world aren’t interested in this history. There were SO many people going to the Criminal (Torture) museum which was also great but really depressing and sickening. This museum is history of happy times and happy children. How is this not interesting? Are we all really so morbid? There was an older woman at this toy museum who told us about how no one comes anymore and she tries to visit several times a week to admire it all before it goes. I’m sure some of this reminded her of happy childhood days. You could see it in her face how sad she was to see it go. So I ask all of you who are in Germany and surrounding countries to please go and check out this wonderful museum!

This museum was a collection from one woman, Katharina Engels. She collected all these dolls, houses, and toys from the past 200 years mostly from doll and toy makers in France and Germany. Pay close attention to the details. The meats hanging in the butcher doll house, the details at the train station, the pans and ovens used in the kitchen, the faces on the dolls. Takes us all back to a different and much simpler times.