The Brushmakers' Museum (german: Bürstenbindermuseum Ramberg) in Ramberg is a
local history museum
A local museum or local history museum is a type of museum that shows the historical development of a place/region (local history) using exhibits. These museums usually maintain a collection of historic three-dimensional objects which are exh ...
in the village of
Ramberg in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate. The responsible body that set the museum up in 1997 and has run it since then is the Local History and Museum Society of the Brushmakers' Workshop, Ramber (''Heimat- und Museumsverein des Bürstenmacherhandwerks Ramberg e. V.'').
Geography
Ramberg is part of the
collective municipality of Annweiler am Trifels in the county of
Südliche Weinstraße
Südliche Weinstraße ( pfl, Siedlischi Woischdrooß; en, "Southern Wine Route") is a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Südwestpfalz, Bad Dürkheim, the district-f ...
. The specialist museum in the village centre west of the high street (''Hauptstraße''), the ''
Landesstraße'' 506, is housed in an old brush factory that, following a major strike in 1907 was formed on a
co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
basis.
History
Since the 18th century, the municipality of Ramberg has been known beyond the boundaries of the
Palatinate region for its brushmakers and brush merchants; for a long time these were almost the only occupations that were undertaken in this remote corner of the
Palatinate Forest.
Initially brushmaking was a
cottage industry
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
with
brush
A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...
es and
brooms,
scrubbers and similar everyday articles made painstakingly by hand in the home, it later became a factory-based activity. For example, in 1907 there were eight brush and brushwood factories in Ramberg.
The raw materials, especially
wood and
Common Broom, were obtained ''inter alia'' from the
Holpertal
The Holpertal is a valley, just one and a half kilometres long, in the central Palatine Forest of Germany. It lies within the municipality of Ramberg (Pfalz), Ramberg in the county of Südliche Weinstraße in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Its ...
valley, which begins just northeast of Ramberg. The Ramberg brush merchants sold their wares not just across the whole of Germany, but also in other European countries.
Museum
The museum offers insights into the occupations of the brushmakers and brush merchants. With the aid of diverse exhibits it portrays the industrial and social development in Ramberg from about 1800 to the time around 1970. Guided tours by experts inform the visitor about the history, manufacture and marketing of brooms and brushes.
On view are, for example, technical implements used in brush production, a range of still working
machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...
s and the live-size figure of a Ramberg brush merchant in his original dress and equipment. In addition there is an overview of family life in Ramberg from 1780 to 1960.
References
Literature
*
External links
Website of the ''Heimat- und Museumsvereins des Bürstenmacherhandwerks Ramberg e. V.''Annweiler Collective Municipality: Brushmakers' Museumpfalz.de: ''Lehrreiche Besenkammer: Das Bürstenbindermuseum in Ramberg'' ("Informative Broom Cupboard: The Brushmakers' Museum in Ramberg")
{{Authority control
Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate
Museums in Rhineland-Palatinate
Buildings and structures in the Palatinate Forest
Buildings and structures in Südliche Weinstraße