The Franconian Open Air Museum Bad Windsheim

Thursday, 11 November 2021 13:19
Written by Portal Editor

Our stay in Kitzingen should also lead to a day trip that Brita and her friend Gerda had prepared. It started early in the morning to Bad Windsheim.

First along the Main, we then turned in the direction of the A7 motorway in Marktbreit, which we left at Gollhofen to reach our destination in Bad Windsheim a little later: the Franconian Open Air Museum in Bad Windsheim.

On the outskirts of Bad Windsheim, a museum area of around 45 hectares has been created in the last 35 years, which now includes more than one hundred historical buildings. The first steps regarding the sponsorship of the museum premises had already been taken in 1976; the first buildings, which were moved from their original locations to the museum, were erected in spring 1979. Today one or two houses are added every year, so it is also worth visiting the Franconian Open Air Museum repeatedly. But more on that later.

Original replaced buildings - even at the entry

After reaching the spacious parking lot, which is also geared towards campers, we walked the few meters to the entrance and information buildings, a former tavern that was originally in Oberampfrach, and a wicker house that was once located in Knittelsbach. With the size of the area and the structure of the houses into groups of houses that belong together, it makes perfect sense to use the site plan offered. Immediately after the entrance we used the breakfast offer of the historical "Schänke" in their outdoor area to study the map of the individual house groups. Our circular route was quickly established and so it should first go to the farmhouse assembly group from Regnitzfranken / Frankenalb.

This group of historic farmhouses consists of several farmsteads of different sizes as well as a mill and a hop garden. This also includes a barn building that was used at the original location for storage and processing during the hop harvest. On display boards and using old equipment, it is shown in detail and clearly how hops used to be harvested and processed. In general, it is extremely lively around the visitor, sometimes almost unexpectedly, when cackling chickens cross the path, the rooster crows on the dung, even the cows in the barn doze off munching on the hay, briefly the open-air museum is alive.

Even vegetable gardens are built in traditional way

We come across one of the many cottage gardens where an employee takes care of the vegetable garden. Our request for the vegetables is promptly answered with a freshly harvested carrot. In addition to the historical buildings, there are generously laid out areas of vegetables and fruit, green and arable land, where at least a part of one's own needs can be harvested. Horticulture and agriculture not just serve the view of the visitors but also serve the purpose of supply. We were enthusiastic about this concept, especially since you also get insights into the plant world, which is no longer widespread. Do you still know areas where millet is grown?

We continue on the path and come to the group of historic buildings from the Altmühl area. Here it is the special type of roofing made of limestone that appears so extraordinary. A day laborer's house in the group of Jura houses comes from the 14th century. The construction of the roof structure alone is admirable considering the weight of the roofing.

The demonstrations where craftsmen show their skills are also interesting and lively. So you come across carpenters, stonemasons and Büttner who use the material to show how work was done in the past. Glaziers, joiners and blacksmiths show their skills, even a painter shows how centuries ago bare walls were embellished with textured rolls and natural colors and made comfortable. Here, too, there is life and action everywhere. Of course, all of these activities are needed to set up and maintain the museum village anyway. But it is an extremely clever concept to introduce this to all the visitors and to involve them. The fact that bread from the stone oven and honey and jam from their own production are also offered on the premises then appears to be a matter of course.

Mainfranken-Frankenhöhe samples

We come to the Mainfranken / Frankenhöhe assembly group and, in addition to some farmhouses, come across a communal brewery that originally came from Schlüsselfeld. Here, too, it is not just a matter of showing, on the contrary. Beer is regularly brewed in demonstrations, which is also served in the tavern next door and since it has long been time for lunch anyway, we also take this opportunity: there are homemade Franconian sausages with cabbage and puree.

After dinner we come to the school house from Pfaffenhofen, a small court chapel from Rodheim, the hunting lodge from Eyerlohe, which can also have a permanent exhibition on the subject of hunting.

In the modern industry & technology assembly, a functional brick factory is set up with a derrick crane, where not only bricks are made.

On many days of the year, plays are performed in the area, readings from various topics are regularly held and guided tours on special topics are offered. In addition, there are extensive seminar programs that are aimed at both laypeople and experts. School classes can choose from 30 different activities on different topics for different age groups. A comprehensive and complex offer, the complexity of which only becomes clear to us during the tour.

The museum also has an ensemble that is not located on the actual museum grounds, but a few hundred meters away in the city of Bad Windsheim. The most important building here is the historic building yard from 1441 with its imposing, self-supporting roof structure. An outbuilding is presented as a historical construction site, on which the various old construction trades are presented.

Our day in the Franconian Open Air Museum Bad Windsheim is drawing to a close. And once again applies here, we will be back. After the first impressions of today, we will then deal with a special topic: maybe the historical beer brewing?

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