Adults do not usually play with toys, but fondly remember the dolls they played with as children and the train they dreamed of. For children, however, toys are a real world, a playful way of experiencing adult life. This is why the Toy Museum in Munich is so interesting for travellers with children.
The entrance to the museum can be compared to the secret door in one of the tale. The old town hall in the town square hides an inconspicuous door behind which are four floors of toys. Director Ivan Steiger and his wife have collected them all — they have been collecting toys for more than 40 years! The highlight of the museum's collection is that all the items were in circulation, each toy had its own little owner.
The exhibits in the showcases compete with each other: dolls — one more elaborate than the other, cars — all kinds, soldiers — from different armies and eras, animals — miniature copies of real animals. The girls, holding their breath, look at the doll's houses with their toy furniture, crockery, clothes and many other necessary little things.
And the boys spend a long time in front of the display case with trains and aeroplanes, studying every detail of the toy railway station, examining the figures of the station staff, semaphores and cranes. It should be noted that the creators of the museum have clearly chosen toys that are not only of high quality, but also made with interest and love.
The attention to detail, the precision of the details and the ornamentation of the tiny objects is astonishing. The exhibition also features other interesting toys with mechanisms, from sewing machines to merry-go-rounds and windmills. Interestingly, the old dolls also have a clever mechanism and you can even look inside some of them.
Meanwhile, the museum is also a historical reference point; some of the toys on display date back a couple of centuries. One of the oldest figures dates back to 1580. The exhibition vividly reflects the evolution of society and changing interests: plump, chubby dolls give way to slender Barbies, while humanoid robots are horrified by the sight of them. But what is almost irresistible is the collection of stuffed animals, of which the owners have amassed an endless supply. Children are particularly fascinated by the huge family of teddy bears collected from all over the world.
The handmade toys — the little men, caterpillars and hedgehogs made from acorns, chestnuts and matches — that many people made in their childhood are very touching. There are toys made with great skill, such as the head of a curious gentleman made with the papier-mâché technique. And whatever the season, the sight of a decorated Christmas tree will get everyone in the mood for the New Year. You can decorate it with unique toys. Next to it are the figurines for the Christmas pageant.
It is worth noting that the Steiger family owns another toy museum — in Prague.
