The Zinnfigurenklause is a private museum in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

that depicts the history of the

Schwabentor The Schwabentor (English Swabian Gate), also called Obertor in the Middle Ages, is the more recent of the two remaining city gates of the medieval defensive wall of Freiburg im Breisgau in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History The gate tower bui ...

in south-eastern Germany.

History

Arthur-Andreas Lehmann, a skilled compositor and member of the working group "Burgen der Heimat" (castles of the homeland), had been working on his tin figures and models of castles for years before he established the Zinnfigurenklause museum across from the German inn "Schiff" in May 1969. In the Zinnfigurenklause, historical events are depicted by small tin figures and further explained with pictures. Eugen Keidel, mayor of Freiburg, made the first floor of the Schwabentor available to Lehmann in 1969. At that time, the Schwabentor was unutilized and in need of rehabilitation. The second floor of the Schwabentor would be later used by Lehmann as well. The city of Freiburg bought twelve of the

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

s that Lehmann had created in the years leading up to 1985. Lehmann administered the Zinnfigurenklause between 1985 and 1989. After he died in 1989 in the age of 80, Andreas Müller, who had previously filled in for Lehmann while he was absent, took charge of the museum in the meantime. On November 2, 1989, Müller founded a society for the promotion of the Zinnfigurenklause of which he acted as chairman. In December 1989, the city of Freiburg made Müller responsible for the care of the collection. The city of Freiburg does not charge rent for the museum's rooms, and pays for lighting, heating and cleaning. The Zinnfigurenklause is a private museum and independent of other urban museums. However, these museums have representation in the society for promotion founded by Müller. After Andreas Müller retired in 2008, Volkmar Vogt, head of the Freiburg Archive of Social Movements (''Archiv Soziale Bewegungen'') took charge of the management of the Zinnfigurenklause. Martin Wiebel is the chairman of the society for the promotion of the Zinnfigurenklause in the Schwabentor. Volkmar Vogt is a member of the extended board of the society. Since 1983, the Archives of social movements have been collecting print media that deal with topics related to the

new social movements The term new social movements (NSMs) is a theory of social movements that attempts to explain the plethora of new movements that have come up in various western societies roughly since the mid-1960s (i.e. in a post-industrial economy) which are cla ...

Julia Littmann: Freiburg: Die Geschichte von unten geht weiter, Badische Zeitung, 17 May 2008, retrieved 1 July 2012.

Collection

Castles in the second floor The collection of the museum consists of 9000 tin figures in 21 dioramas which, among other scenes, depict the

Battle of Sempach The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the lo ...

in 1386 (which makes up for 1150 of the figures), a battle from the Swabian-Swiss War of 1499, the German Peasant's War of 1525 that took place in the Black Forest region of Germany, the siege of the

Küssaburg The Küssaburg, Küssenberg or Küssaberg Castle (german: Burg Küssaberg) is a ruined hilltop castle located at an elevation of in Bechtersbohl, a village in the municipality of Küssaberg, in the county of Waldshut in the German state ...

/ Oberlauchringen, the events of the Badische Revolution and a siege from

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. Furthermore, there are diorama with castles of the Hochrhein und Oberrhein, the hunting of witches, and the examination of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

. Many of the tin figures are threatened by

Tin pest Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

and must be occasionally recast and repainted. The museum is open to visitors only during the summertime (from the third Saturday in May until the third of October).

References

External links

Website
of the Archives of social movements

{{coord, 47, 59, 34, N, 07, 51, 15, E, region:DE-BW_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Freiburg im Breisgau History museums in Germany Tourist attractions in Freiburg im Breisgau