Schweinemuseum

About the museum

The collection goes back to Stuttgart restaurateur Erika Wilhelmer, who spent decades collecting pig-related objects of all kinds. At the turn of the year 1988/89 she opened a collectors' and lucky-pig museum in Bad Wimpfen, which in 1992, with around 25,000 exhibits, was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest pig museum in the world.

When the space there became too small, the Wilhelmer family bought the last surviving listed ensemble of the former Stuttgart livestock market and slaughterhouse in Gaisburg in 2009: the Art Nouveau administration building, the gatehouse and the former police station. The slaughterhouse had been built at the beginning of the 20th century as a large municipal facility and was abandoned in the early 1990s. After renovation, the museum and the "Schlachthof" restaurant opened on May 1, 2010.

Today, 27 themed rooms covering around 800 square meters on the second and third floors display more than 50,000 exhibits – from piggy banks and lucky charms to plush toys, art and kitsch, and rooms on wild boars, hunting, pig breeds, the butcher's trade and the role of the pig in religion and film. The family continues to run the museum and restaurant after the founder's death.

Highlights

• More than 50,000 pig-related objects in 27 themed rooms
• Art Nouveau administration building of the old Stuttgart slaughterhouse
• Wild boar forest, hunter's parlor and life-size pig skeleton
• 2.5-meter-high pyramid of plush pigs
• Restaurant and beer garden with around 600 seats

Permanent exhibitions

• Sammlung Erika Wilhelmer – 27 Themenräume rund ums Schwein – Permanent exhibition with more than 50,000 objects: from lucky pigs and piggy banks to art and kitsch, wild boars, hunting, pig breeds and the butcher's trade.

Founded

1989

Operated by

Familie Wilhelmer (SchweineMuseum Stuttgart)

Admission & discounts

StuttCard available in the museum shop.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: no information
• 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

The exhibition is on the second and third floors and cannot be reached step-free.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children's birthday parties with discovery tour, quiz and crafts (guided tour €60 plus group admission); bookable family tours during school holidays. According to the museum, the beer garden also caters to families.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Café and restaurant "Schlachthof" with Swabian cuisine (dining rooms for up to 195 guests, two terraces) and beer garden with around 600 seats; museum shop.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 195 guests.

Parties, weddings and corporate events in the dining rooms of the museum restaurant (rooms for 35 to 80 people, up to 195 guests indoors in total); in summer also the beer garden with around 600 seats.

Plan your visit