Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets

The Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets, known in German as TheaterFigurenMuseum Lübeck, is a museum of international puppetry located in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, Germany. Founded in 2005, it stands as one of the most significant collections of theatrical puppetry in Europe, housed within five medieval brick houses in the city's historic center. The museum combines a vast collection of puppetry artifacts with an active puppet theater, operating under the unified name KOLK 17 Figurentheater & Museum since 2001. Its holdings span three centuries and three continents, making it a major research and exhibition center comparable to the Munich Stadtmuseum and the Dresden State Art Collections' puppet collections.

VaThe museum originated from the lifelong collecting passion of Fritz Fey Jr., who came from a family of puppeteers and worked as a cameraman for Norddeutscher Rundfunk. During his professional travels, he amassed a collection that eventually grew to approximately 25,000 objects. In 1982, he was given the opportunity to exhibit a portion of this collection publicly. The City of Lübeck and various sponsors, notably the Possehl-Stiftung, enabled the establishment of the museum in the Kolk, a narrow street in the medieval city center near the Holstentor and adjacent to the puppet theater of his father, Fritz Fey Sr. His wife, Saraswathi, a former classical Indian dancer, was a crucial co-founder and collaborator. The museum quickly became an established attraction, featured in every Lübeck travel guide. Rising rents and declining visitor numbers necessitated a restructuring in 2006, when the museum was converted into a GmbH (limited liability company). It is now continued by the Possehl-Stiftung. Fritz and Saraswathi Fey have since officially retired to Papenhusen. The museum's leadership has seen several directors: Martina Wagner directed from 2012 to 2014, followed by art historian Felicia Sternfeld from December 2014, and since November 15, 2015, Antonia Napp, a native of Lübeck, has served as managing director. A significant digital preservation project took place from September 2010 to the end of 2011, funded by the Possehl-Stiftung, during which approximately 35,000 pieces from the exhibition and storage were photographed and collection data digitally recorded. These images and records are freely accessible online, with a separate platform allowing collectors, scholars, and interested parties to contribute corrections and additions.

The museum displays approximately one thousand exhibits from three centuries, drawn from Europe, Africa, and Asia. The collection encompasses the full technical diversity of puppetry: glove puppets, marionettes and string marionettes, rod puppets, finger puppets, marottes, shadow puppets, ventriloquist's dummies, jointed figures, and mechanical puppets of all kinds. Beyond puppets themselves, the museum presents posters, props, scenery, costumes, musical instruments, and entire puppet theaters, representing all the attributes of high-quality puppeteering. The collection holds particular significance for its representation of forms recognized by UNESCO as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, including Sicilian marionette theater (Opera dei Pupi, 2001), Indonesian Wayang Kulit (2003), Japanese Ningyō Jōruri Bunraku (2003), and Cambodian Sbek thom shadow theater (2005). The museum also possesses several estates, including that of the puppeteer dynasty Schichtl, and maintains a specialized library with a catalog of over 3,000 volumes, searchable through the Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund (GBV).

Among the standout pieces in the collection are the imaginative shadow puppets from Indonesia (Wayang), the technically sophisticated "metamorphoses" or transformation puppets, and "Moto Rafael, the Electric Drawer." The "Dog Clown," used in performances with real dogs, represents another distinctive exhibit. The collection also includes the head of a Japanese Bunraku figure. A significant modern component is formed by the abstract figures of Kassel art professor Harry Kramer, representing the avant-garde in the museum's holdings. These pieces belong to his first of two programs, "13 Szenen," which premiered in 1955 at the Galerie Springer in Berlin. Kramer's Mechanical Theater consisted of bizarre, abstract sculptures made of papier-mâché, wood, and wire, moved by two performers in collage-like scenery to music on a small black stage. Unlike classical marionette theater, Kramer's figure theater presented movement sequences set to musical pieces, jazz, and musique concrète rather than narrative action. The museum has also produced notable publications, including "Fundsache: KRAMER - entdeckt, erkundet, entwickelt" (2012) and "Im Reich der Schatten - Chinesisches Schattentheater trifft Peking-Oper" (2012), both published by Puppen & Masken in Frankfurt.

The museum occupies five historic merchant houses in the Baltic brick Gothic style, located on the narrow street called Kolk in Lübeck's Old City. This medieval ensemble sits close to the Holstentor and below the brick Gothic St. Peter's Church (Petrikirche), placing it in one of the most historically significant quarters of Lübeck's medieval city center. The architectural character of these five contiguous buildings provides a distinctive setting that harmonizes with the historical nature of the collection. The location's intimate scale and historic atmosphere contribute to the museum's unique identity within Lübeck's museum landscape.

The museum is situated in Lübeck's Old City, on Kolk street near the Holstentor and St. Peter's Church. It operates as a private institution supported by the City of Lübeck, the Cultural Foundation of Schleswig-Holstein, and the Possehl-Stiftung, which serves as the carrying shareholder. Since 2001, the museum has been united with a puppet theater as KOLK 17 Figurentheater & Museum, offering both permanent exhibitions and active theatrical performances. Visitors can engage with the collection through a museum quiz designed for youths and parents to explore the world of puppetry playfully. A video room presents a short documentary showing puppet plays from around the world. The museum also maintains a shop and a café where visitors can relax among old marionettes and illustrations of ballads formerly recited by street singers. The official website is https://www.kolk17.de/de/museum.