Kabinett für sentimentale Trivialliteratur
Literary museum devoted to sentimental women's and popular literature of the 19th century, currently moving to the Zentralbibliothek Solothurn.
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About the museum
The Kabinett was founded in the mid-1990s by Lotte Ravicini-Tschumi, a journalist and fashion expert from Solothurn. She passionately collected books regarded as trivial and sentimental: women's literature from the late 18th to the mid-20th century. In 2000 the Ravicini couple acquired the house at Klosterplatz 7 in Solothurn's old town, whose core dates from the late Middle Ages or the early modern period. After renovation, the Kabinett had been open there as a small museum since July 2001, later run by a foundation.
The collection comprises around 3,000 books and magazines: romance, family, adventure and Heimat novels, girls' books, household, doctor and young women's books, as well as complete volumes of the family magazine "Die Gartenlaube". The house combined library and museum, with a costume room and a reading room in Biedermeier style. The foundation also awards the Ravicini Prize every three years for academic work on popular literature.
Because the house at Klosterplatz does not belong to the foundation and the lease will not be renewed, the foundation agreed in 2026 to transfer the entire collection to the Zentralbibliothek Solothurn. The last guided tour at Klosterplatz was scheduled for July 7, 2026. The books are being deacidified before the move to protect the paper. Two rooms for changing exhibitions are to be created in the Zentralbibliothek on Bielstrasse; reopening is expected in autumn 2027.
Highlights
- Around 3,000 books and magazines of women's and popular literature from about 1780 to 1950
- Annual volumes of the family magazine "Die Gartenlaube"
- Girls' books as well as household and advice literature
- Ravicini Prize for academic work on popular literature
- In future in two exhibition rooms of the Zentralbibliothek Solothurn
- Founded
- 1996
- Operated by
- Stiftung Kabinett für sentimentale Trivialliteratur (Ravicini-Stiftung)
Admission & discounts
| Groups | CHF 5 per personPreviously: personal guided tour for groups of up to 10 people (about 1 hour), CHF 50 base fee plus CHF 5 per person. |
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Previously at Klosterplatz: public guided tour on the 7th of the month, CHF 10 per person. Admission prices at the new location have not yet been published.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
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| Good to know | Previously: public guided tour on the 7th of each month from 19:00 to 20:00, and personal tours by arrangement. The monthly tours will not continue at the new location. |
