Isergebirgs-Museum Neugablonz

About the museum

A few years after the expulsion, the teacher Rudolf Tamm began around 1952 in Neugablonz to collect keepsakes from the Iser Mountains in northern Bohemia. From 1957, rooms in a school were available for this, and in 1961 the association Gablonzer Archiv und Museum was founded. In 1976 the Gablonzer Haus on Bürgerplatz opened, which housed an independent industry and jewelry museum alongside the local heritage collection.

Around the turn of the millennium, the two associations merged their collections and expanded them to include Reichenberg and Friedland. In 2000 five associations founded the Stiftung Isergebirgs-Museum as a joint operator; on June 1, 2003 the redesigned museum opened. It receives institutional funding from the Free State of Bavaria and, by its own account, is the largest museum in Germany on the integration history of expellees.

The tour leads through five rooms on two floors: from the relief of the Iser Mountains through glass pressing, the textile industry, and living environments to the expulsion in 1945/46 and the new start in barracks on the grounds of a former munitions factory. A VW Beetle recalls Ferdinand Porsche, who came from the region, and pieces of jewelry show the rise of Neugablonz to a center of costume jewelry. Changing exhibitions on the second floor complement the permanent exhibition.

Highlights

• Workshop staging of Gablonz glass pressing
• VW Beetle from 1954 as a tribute to Ferdinand Porsche
• Abstracted transport wagon on the theme of expulsion
• Reconstructed barracks room from the founding period of Neugablonz
• Costume jewelry from makeshift pieces to a belt buckle for Marlene Dietrich
• Nativity scene collection

Permanent exhibitions

• Glas, Schmuck, Industrie – Dauerausstellung – A tour through five rooms on the landscape, economy, and culture of the Iser Mountains, the expulsion of Germans after 1945, and the new beginning of the Gablonz jewelry industry in Kaufbeuren.

Founded

2003

Operated by

Stiftung Isergebirgs-Museum

Director

Ute Hultsch

Admission & discounts

For events, a €2 fee in addition to admission or the annual pass.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Access via a ramp; please announce yourself at the main entrance via the intercom at the reception. The exhibition rooms are connected by an elevator.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Kids’ birthday parties

Creative workshop for children aged 6 and up during the holidays and on school-free days (registration required, €3 for materials). Children's birthday parties for up to 10 children. Member of the network "Allgäuer Museen für Familien" with the puzzle game "Museums-Safari".

Getting there & parking

By car via the B12, exit Kaufbeuren; at the roundabout toward Neugablonz, follow Sudetenstraße to Neuer Markt and turn right before the pharmacy.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop with costume jewelry made in Neugablonz, jewelry made after historical models, books (including by Otfried Preußler), and souvenirs.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit