Folklore – the Museum of Popular Culture

The culture and way of life of a broad range of social classes – what we might call popular culture – is reflected in the museum's rich collections of special artefacts and every-day objects. For a long time, museum curators believed that only the “beautiful things” of the popular culture of past ages were worth preserving. For modern museologists, however, the study of folklore has long since expanded to include testimonies of every-day mass culture utensils. Everyday goods can provide excellent testimonies of the dramatic upheavals from the pre-industrial era to industrial and post-industrial times.

The Museum of Popular Culture in Waldenbuch Castle – one of the most important folklore museums in the German-speaking world – has an exhibition area of some 2,500 m² highlighting the evolution of lifestyles and attitudes over the years. Our presentations of personal life environments give visitors a vivid, genuine impression of life in past cultural epochs.