When I discovered that the only Easter Egg (Osterei) Museum in Germany was near Stuttgart, located in Sonnenbühl, less than 60 km away. How could we not go? I asked J.P. (my German fiance). He responded with “Why would we go?” We went.
Egg (Osteri) holders
As we checked out the few exhibits on the first floor of the Ostereimuseum, I became to think that this was the most unusual museum I had ever been to, an even more unusual museum than the World’s Largest Pig Museum in Stuttgart. What would you think if you saw a collection of egg holders and a display loosely translated as “Multi-Colored Chickens”?
Display of Multi-colored chickens
Display of Easter items
After less than 5 minutes checking out the exhibits on the first floor, we made our way up to the second floor. Fortunately things improved, at least for me, they did. The second floor features the Osterei as a work of art. Most of the Ostereier (Easter eggs) were beautifully decorated, but some were just for fun:
This was my favorite Osterei
A display showing how differently Easter eggs can be decorated. Check out the Coca-cola one.
The Osterei as a work of art.
Even the inside of the Osterei can be decorated.
I was glad I had watched this short video explaining how difficult the Osterei is as an artists medium since the entire surface can be decorated, but the artist can never see all of it at one time. It gave me a much greater appreciation for the Osterei as a piece of art:Germany\’s Easter Egg Museum (Ostereimuseum)
I also enjoyed seeing Ostereier decorated on different animals eggs:
Ostrich Osterei decorated with giraffes
Decorated Goose Osterei
Decorated Ostereier in the style from Hessen
And I enjoyed learning that Easter eggs are decorated in many parts of the world and seeing the different designs. Unfortunately this was where I was told that photographs were not allowed. This was not a problem, but there were no signs. So, all I have is a photo of Ostereier decorated from Hessen, an area in Germany (pictured on the left).
As much as I did appreciated the Ostereier as works of art, I did feel the €4 fee for adults was a bit pricy as the entire Ostereimuseum took us less than 20 minutes and that was with taking photos throughout part of it. Also, although the Ostereimuseum is near Stuttgart, it’s a long way to go just for the Ostereimusuem. If you do go I would recommend combining with other local tourist attractions such as one of the nearby caves or castle as we did (more coming soon in an upcoming post). It should be noted that I went more out of curiosity than interest and had this been in my home city in Canada, I likely would not have gone.
J.P. was less diplomatic in his review of the Ostereimuseum, “A complete waste of time. Only old people and maybe children would be interested in this.” Germans are known for being direct, but to be honest I think most of my guy friends would have had a similar opinion.
What do you think, would you be interested in an Ostereimuseum?
The Osterimuseum does not have a website, but you can find more information (available only in German) at: Sonnenbühl Ostereimuseum
