Memorialmuseum Friedrich Fröbel Oberweißbach

About the museum

The Memorialmuseum is located in Oberweißbach (town of Schwarzatal) on the market square, in the birthplace of Friedrich Fröbel (1782–1852). The roughly 400-year-old half-timbered house commemorates the educator, who won worldwide fame in 1840 with his first kindergarten in Bad Blankenburg. The museum itself was set up in 1982 and is run by Fröbelstadt Marketing GmbH on behalf of the town.

The exhibition leads through Fröbel’s life and work and shows how his ideas still shape early childhood education today. On display are the play gifts he developed, paper-folding work and weaving and threading techniques. Particular emphasis is placed on his mother and caressing songs, which were meant as a guide to playing together as a family.

The Olitätenstübchen is a separate exhibition area: it tells of the Olitäten, traditional remedies made from the herbs of the Thuringian Forest. Here too, visitors are invited to join in, for example by filling herb sachets or as a scent detective. The ground floor also houses the Tourist Information and a museum shop. The museum is complemented by the Fröbelturm, the Fröbel adventure trail and the Fröbelwald in the surrounding area.

Highlights

• Birthplace of Friedrich Fröbel, a roughly 400-year-old half-timbered house
• Fröbel's play gifts, paper folding, and weaving and threading techniques
• Mother and caressing songs to listen to
• Hands-on stations for building with wooden blocks and laying tiles
• Olitätenstübchen on the medicinal herbs of the Thuringian Forest, with a scent detective game

Permanent exhibition

• Dauerausstellung zu Leben und Werk Friedrich Fröbels – The exhibition in the birthplace presents Fröbel's pedagogy with play gifts, paper-folding and weaving work, and his mother and caressing songs. Visitors can try many things themselves.

Founded

1982

Operated by

Fröbelstadt Marketing GmbH im Auftrag der Stadt Oberweißbach (Schwarzatal)

Admission & discounts

The prices apply to the museum and the Olitätenstübchen. For tours and lectures for groups of 10 to 12 people, please register in advance.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Children can build with wooden blocks and coloured laying tiles and fold paper in the Fröbel way, fill herb sachets in the Olitätenstübchen or recognise herbs by smell as a scent detective. There are children’s tours and group programmes for kindergartens and schools; children under 14 enter free.

Getting there & parking

By car: take the Ilmenau Ost motorway exit and continue on the Naturpark route to the Bergbahn.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

On the ground floor there is a museum shop (wooden toys, Anker building-block sets, natural remedies) as well as the Tourist Information. The Olitätenstübchen is an exhibition, not a shop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit