Lace Museum Abenberg
The lace museum in Abenberg, south of Nuremberg, is the first real lace museum in Germany. It exsists since October 1, 1981 and is in the castle
"Abenberg Burg, Burg Strasse 16.
The collection is very varied. The collection consists of linen lace, mostly white, gold and silver lace, pattern books, pattern books and bobbins. The exhibition is beautiful and well designed. Nice are also videos from Abenberg lace, which
tell about past and present.
The museum is closed in January and February.
The opening hours are from 11.00 to 17.00
April-October: Tuesday through Sunday
November-March: Thursday through Sunday.
The lace tradition Abenberg existed for centuries. According to documents in the archives of Nuremberg the nuns of the monastery Marienburg already gave lessons in bobbinlace to the citizens of the town. Until the early 19th century the lace was only made of linen. Around 1830, this increasingly was replaced by the gold and silver lace. This lace is used in the headdress of the Bavarian costume.
To encourage lace making a lace school was founded in 1913 . This was originally
a vocational school Nowadays the courses are more focused on lacemaking as a leisure activities. There are still several of these lace schools in Germany, mostly in the former GDR. In the old Federal
Republic there were only two. Except Abenberg there is a school Nordhalben.
Although lace is still made in Abenberg, only a few metal lace is made and then only of simple patterns. I was told that metal lace is mostly made by older
women, but that only one or two of them can insert the little circles, the "Flinterchen".
More information about the museum, visit their website.