Dollhouse and miniature museums around the world

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Miniature museum projects are listed on another page: galleries.

This page lists European museums featuring dollhouses (or toys and dollhouses). Museums in North America are on the other page. Some of the museums have a page of their own: the museum pages in this wiki. See also photos from miniature exhibitions.

 

	Dollhouse and miniature museums around the world Miniature museum links and groups Austria Australia Belgium Brazil Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany India Israel Ireland Japan Monaco Netherlands Norway Poland South Africa Spain Switzerland  Taiwan Turkey United Kingdom

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Miniature museum links and groups

See museums in

• My Miniatures.com
• Miniatures.About.com
• Museum Miniatures @ Flickr

 

Austria

Spielzeug Museum, Salzburg - This delightfulMuseum exhibits every conceivable sort of toy, from a hand-carved Noah's Ark to a merry-go-round, from model trains to tin soldiers, from dolls to dollhouses, dating from the 16th century to the present.

 

Australia

Abingdon Miniature Village – Mandurah, Western Australia - Abingdon miniature village is a tourist attraction in Mandurah Western Australia, with a miniature village modelled on the town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, UK. The Website has a good gallery of the buildings. Here is a blogpost about it

Cobden Miniature Railway , South West Victoria has a railway house for visiting scale train enthusiasts.

Cockingtom Green Gardens, Canberra - The ‘Waverley’ a 34 room Dolls House, is on exhibit and a miniature steam train ride is available for the children.

Powerhouse Museum - Sydney Australia

The Victoria Museum exhibits the Clunes Quartz mining model that the Swedish-born miner and artisan Carl Nordström made for the museum in the late 1850s, depicting aspects of early Victorian goldmining in 1:32 scale.

White House Museum in Westbury, Tasmania - Contains a display of vintage cars and a nationally significant childhood memorabilia collection.

 

Belgium

De Kleine Wereld - near Antwerp

Minart West - A cowboy and Indian museum and club with miniatures, dioramas 1/10° scale on display in Herstal, Liege Belgium

 

Brazil

Minimundo -  a miniature park in  Gramado, Brazil

 

Czech Republic

Park Boheminum - Marianske Lazne, excellent miniatures (1:25) of significant building and technical landmarks of the Czech Republic.

Muzeum miniatur, Prague - A collection of micro-miniatures by Anatolij Koněnko Omsk, His work ranges from “standards” like Matisse’s “The Dance” on a sliver of mammoth bone to more whimsical creations like a caravan of camels parading with ease through a needle’s eye. Read more about micro-miniaturists here.

 

Denmark

Auning Miniseum - Museum & Shop!

Legoland, Billund The Lego Company has parks in California, Germany, Denmark and England, all of which have a section called Miniland, featuring 1:20 scale reproductions of famous cities and landmarks of that part of the world. Each Legoland web site interlinks with all of the others around the world at the top of the page.

Titania's Palace at Egeskov Castle about 2 hours from Copenhagen - probably the world's most fantastic doll's house, is on display in the Rigborg Room at Egeskov Castle. And in the castle attic, visitors can marvel at children's television presenter Shane Brox's magical universe in a large exhibition of his amazing creations. (background info)

 

Finland

Lelumuseo (The Suomenlinna Toy Museum) in Suomenlinna, Helsinki - Old toys from the beginning of 1800s until 1960s. Dolls, about 100 antique teddy bears, also some dollhouses. All toys are gathered from Finland. See the gallery.

Leikkilinna - a museum of toys including dolls. Exhibitions on different themes. Location: WeeGee-talo, Espoo.

Muumilaakso in Tampere - Moomin paintings, two Moomin houses and dozens of dioramas/ roomboxes of adventures of the Moomin, central characters in a series of 9 books, 5 picture books and a comic strip by Tove Jansson. There also have been many TV series.

Nukkemuseo/Museum of Dolls and Costumes, Tampere Over 5000 dolls of all kinds and dollhouses, as well as real life costumes are shown in this museum.

Porvoon nukke- ja lelumuseo aka Doll_and_toy_museum_of_Porvoo

Turun linna (Turku Castle) - The castle has a toy museum including old doll's houses and dolls. Location: Turku

 

France

Château de Meillant, Berry 2 hours south of Paris, this gothic chateau houses a display of miniatures and dollhouses.

Eiffel Flowers - it took Gerard Brion 15 years crafting landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Sacré Coeur out of old concrete blocks, baby food jars and soup tins. His garden in Vaissac in the South of France is now a tourist attraction.

La France Miniature at Élancourt - On a 12-acre park which is a miniature re-creation of France, about 3/4 hr from Paris, you discover the most famous French monuments. Villages, churches, Paul Bocuse's famous restaurant, the Tour Eiffel, the Arc de Triomph - models of about a hundred-fifty of France's most important historic monuments, touristic and cultural locales are presented in 1/30th scale.

Mayenne Miniatures at Le Domaine des Hallais - new museum housing a private collection of more than 40 miniature displays. It is located in Northwest France near Le Mans, 2 1/2 hours from Paris,at Le Domaine des Hallais, a centre for group holidays.

Musée Animé du Jouet et Petit Trains, Colmar - The Animated Museum of Toys and Miniature Trains is based on the private collection of George Trincot, a painter of international fame. The museum is situated in a renovated Vauban movie theater. Over 2,000 antique toys - machines, robots, marionette puppets, models, are exhibited on three floors. Featured is a splendid collection of trains, like the marvelous brass "Britannia" – 140 cm long and weighing 35 kg.

Musée Miniature et Cinéma - Lyons.

Musée de la Miniature  in Montelimar France - This museum opened in March 1995 in the chapel an old hospital, and presents more than 300 miniatures from all over the world. There are scenes of daily life in !/12 scale, Russian micro-miniatures invisible to the naked eye and other record-breaking miniatures : cribs from Ecuador made from bread, an origami version of Noah’s Ark, a water-colour painted on a grain of rice 7 millimetres long … unbelievable marvels from Europe, the Americas and Asia … See this link also.

Musée de la Poupée in Paris More than 500 stunning French dolls from 1800 to 2000, cleverly displayed with their furniture, accessories and toys, are on permanent exhibition in the little Paris Museum of the Doll. Temporary exhibitions change 2 or 3 times a year. The museum draws from the private collection of Guido and Samy Odin.

Musee de l´Orangerie - check the page in this wiki

Musée des Miniatures & Décor de Cinéma in Lyons -Exhibits the work of Dan Ohlmann who recreates the world of 16th century France. If you loved the movie "perfume", you will love this exhibit! Projects by other miniaturists are represented, as well as movie decor. From a simple pool to the interior of Maxim's Paris, to the decrepit — an abandoned, dusty garage, to the serene — a Japanese temple, to scenes from fairy tales or popular culture. The most fascinating is an interior where counterfeit money is printed — bills emerging from a press, hanging to dry [!], in suitcases...

Musée des Poupées et Nounours in Lézan. A collection of miniature dollhouses ranging from 1900 to present day. Click on the paws to find the location.

Musée du Chapeau in Chazelles sur Lyon About 5 hours south of Paris, the Museum of the Hat resides in 1500 square meters of the old Jules Blanchard hat manufactory. This museum not only exhibits an exceptional collection of hats from the 18th century to the present, but documents, with video and live demonstrations, the process of transforming rabbit fur into luxury hats. The gift shop sells doll size hats.

Paris in Miniature - in  Vaissaic in the South of France

 

Germany

Arikalex Museum  - Berlin. See a review of the exhibits in the blog,  A Bee in a Bonnet

Coburger Puppenmuseum, Coburg -Coburg was, and still is, the center of German doll production. More than 900 dolls from the classical doll-manufacturing era of Germany, along with a wonderful collection of half-dolls and rare French dolls, are exhibited with period doll furniture, clothing and accessories in the Coburg Doll Museum. Fifty miniature rooms and doll-sized Dresden china will take your breath away. The museum shop offers dolls, miniatures, and doll books.

Erzgebirge Toy Museum, Sieffen Wholesaler and toymaker Heinrich Emil Langer, responding to these factors, was the first to bring a large number of miniature toys into the marketplace. In order to survive, toymakers were forced to make a name for themselves by creating miniatures with the most exacting details. The figures of Louis Heinrich Hiemann and Auguste and Karl Müller are counted among the finest examples of the Seiffen miniatures. H. E. Langer was also a pioneer in the development of miniatures housed in matchboxes. Beginning with the farm room with stove and stove bench ordered by Langer in 1905, the motifs developed in these early years continued to be produced and influence production even today. These motifs (over 100 are known) include all types of rooms and scenes as well as building sets.

Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nurnberg Doll and toy exhibits spanning six centuries are concentrated in a special wing of the German National Museum. Included is a world-famous collection of 17th- and 18th-century dolls' houses, dolls, tin toys, and more. One of the oldest known intact doll houses is in the Germanisches National Museum, Nuremberg, Germany. Known as the Stromer House, because Baron von Stromer presented it to the museum, its original owner is unknown, but it is dated 1639. Like other famous doll houses, which followed it, the Stromer House offers a fascinating view of upper-class life for the time and place it was made. This doll house has 15 sections, with everything from stables and servants’ quarters, to elegant bedrooms and a reception room and hall with intricately panelled walls.

German Toy Museum, Sonneberg The German Toy Museum is the oldest toy museum in the now-united Germany. Its many treasures include an incredible array of salesmen's samples, shoes, wigs, and Sonneberg dolls of wood, papier mâchè, china and bisque. Dioramas depict daily life in a Sonneberg doll-making family. See link

Heidecksberg Museum - contains the miniature model "Rococo en miniature – the palaces of the much-lauded island" with miniature buildings with detailed interiors on a scale of 1 : 50. Ten palaces, about 1000 figures and 1000 items of furniture have been built in meticulous detail. There is no comparable model of this size and of this opulence and detail in the German-speaking world. See Google Images.

Helmatmuseum Oberammergau The local museum of Oberammergau illustrates the rich tradition of the Oberammergau woodcarvers with creches, crucifixes, reliquary crosses, saint figurines, finely carved needle cases, paperweights, and toys, dating from the mid-18th century to the end of the 19th century.

Heissisches Puppenmuseum, Hanau Children, by imitating grown-ups in their play, learn about becoming adults - the theme of the Hessian Doll Museum. Every facet of daily life is portrayed through dolls, dolls' clothing and accessories, and a complement of doll-scale toys, in a lovely, arcaded building overlooking the beautiful park of Wilhelmsbad spa.

Käthe Kruse Puppenmuseum, Stadt-Donauworth The Käthe Kruse Doll Museum is housed in an old Capuchin Monastery. 130 dolls, life-like shop window mannequins, dollhouses, and an old doll factory are exhibited.

Miniature Museum Arikalex, Berlin Furniture, castles, costumes and the Mirror Room of Versailles are on exhibit.

Even if you can't get to Germany, visit the site for photos of amazingly detailed miniatures and costumed figures from Medieval to Mid-Century Modern, including reproductions of castles and palaces. Pictures on the museum site

Miniatur Wunderland, Hamburg

Mon Plaisir in Schlossmuseum a baroque village in miniature assembled by princess Augusta Dorothea of Schwarzburg Arnstadt (1666-1751)

Münchner Stadtmuseum Puppentheater-Museum

Munich's Municipal Museum houses the largest permanent collection of puppets in the world – over 5,000 of them. The comical and grotesque figures include both marionettes and hand puppets. The collection also includes detailed puppet theaters and miniature scenery, a Lilliputian version of the world of the stage.

Museums der Deutschen Spielzeugindustrie, Coburg

On display are more than 800 costume dolls representing the people of more than 100 nations; and dioramas depicting Santa's workshop, scenes from fairy tales, and the antics of Max and Moritz. Dioramas depict daily life in a Sonneberg doll-making family.

Märklin Museum, Göppingen numerous historic models from the company's 140-year old history are on display. Several operating layouts including MAXI, HO and Digital are on display and available to try out. At the Museum Shop, models that are available only in the museum in a one-time series are a big attraction. The annual Märklin Museum Cars are a favorite among collectors.

 Puppen- und Spielzeung Museum, Rothenburg More than 800 dolls produced by French and German makers over a span of 200 years are exhibited in the 15th-century house of the Doll and Toy Museum. Dolls' houses, doll kitchens, and doll shops are furnished with all the precious things that a complete dolly household requires. Puppet theaters, trains, tin toys, doll carriages, and thousands of charming accessories from the distant past are on display. The extensive museum shop is a miniaturist's Mecca!

Spielzeugmuseum im Alten Rathausturm Munich The Toy Museum in the Old City Hall Tower brings children's dreams back to life. The collection of European and American toys includes dolls and dolls' houses, model railways, planes, teddy bears, carousels, and zoos with animals.  

Welhnachtsmuseum, Rothenburg Enter the German Christmas Museum through Käthe Wohlfahrt's Weihnachtsdorf (Christmas Village), a 16,000-square-foot Christmas market that is a feast for the eyes and ears. Open year-round! Built around a model of a Franconian market square with half-timbered houses, snow-covered roofs, and an eighteen-foot revolving white Christmas tree, the Christmas Village offers more than 30,000 different Christmas decorations including smokers, nutcrackers, pyramids, and tree ornaments that reflect valued German Christmas traditions.

 

India

Joshi’s Museum of Miniature Railways, Mumbai Fully functional station yard with 6 platforms, announcement systems, 3 main lines, plenty of sidings, goods loading facilities, hump shunting, a turntable, crane, etc. The layout has about 26 points and 65 signals. The entire layout is in the HO scale (1:87) using Marklin a.c. and Digital systems.

 

Israel

Tel Aviv Museum of Art - Helena Rubenstein, the legendary Empress of cosmetics, collected art treasures for these roomboxes originally displayed in her offices.

 

Ireland

Model Railway Village, Clonakilty, West Cork Walk into the model village, which depicts busy market days back in the 1940’s. See the old West Cork railway line with handmade 1:24 scale models and figurines showing life and industry in the town.

Tara´s Palace  -  County Wicklow, Magnificent 20 room palace, furnished and constructed on a grand scale. Opening, hours, etc.. (Facebook, background info)
t is a fantastic setting, the house, gardens and a waterfall is a few minutes drive from there. Co. Wicklow is called the Garden of Ireland, with many places to visit if driving.

 

Japan

Papercraft Castle on the Ocean, Tokyo - The installation is hand made over four years of hard work, complete with electrical lights and a moving train, all made of paper! Clearly, this man must have created one of the most stunning examples of Paper Craft in the world? It is exhibited at Umihotaru, a place which in itself is a major attraction: a service area in the middle of the ocean, right between Tokyo City and Chiba Prefecture.

Tobu World Square - Completed in 1993, this Japanese attraction features 102 reproductions of historical landmarks from around the world at 1/25 their actual size. In Nikko, about 3 hours from Tokoyo.

 

Monaco

National Museum of Monaco - is all about dolls. Madeleine de Galéa's extensive collection includes mechanical and antique dolls in period costume. The mechanical doll demonstration is truly fascinating.

 

Netherlands

Centraal Museum, Utrecht Petronella de la Court’s Dutch Cabinet is built in a bookcase-like olivewood cabinet, an 11-section doll house commissioned by Dutch collector Petronella de la Court in 1670 took nearly 20 years to build. It is one of the oldest cabinet dolls houses (also known as “poppenhuizen“) in Holland. photos/monicamo

Efteling Park - miniature diorama and other attractions, all built around a fairytale-forest. Really wonderful for inspiration and pictures make nice background scenery.........

Gemeentemuseum, The Hague Dutch collector, Sara van Amstel, known in the doll house miniature world both as Sara Ploos Van Amstel, and Sara Rothe van Amstel, is known for two elaborate Dutch cabinets, one of which, made in 1743, Topped with Delft porcelain vases, the cabinet’s lower section includes a Dutch garden whose tromp l’oeil painted walls extend the landscape far into the distance.

Madurodam For more than 55 years Madurodam has been the smallest city in the Netherlands. Canals, gabled houses and all kinds of other typical Dutch scenes: the miniature city offers you the highlights of the Netherlands on a scale 1:25. About.com has some pictures here. Youtube video1 and 2.

Miniature Art Museum - Amsterdam

Pathuis Koophandel  

Rijks Museum Amsterdam - Contains one of three surviving cabinet houses from the17th century commissioned by Petronella Oortman, a wealthy Amsterdam Lady.

The Frisian Museum, Leeuwarden - A three dimensional biography of the famous Mata Hari. Also see the Titinic on this website.

 

Norway

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum) in Oslo. An open-air museum with traditional houses from all the Norway and a toys permanent exhibit with some dollhouses, dolls and accessories. See pictures by Marottesud(Facebook).

Hunderfossen Familiepark featuring Ivo Caprinos dolls and trolls

 

Poland

Pobiedziska Miniature Open Air Museum - a park displaying miniature models of historic structures and interesting fragments of town development in the region of Wielkopolska. The main role of the museum is presenting the spatial structure of the Piast Route* in its current and historic perspective, as well as settlement processes and the development of Polish statehood. The museum was opened in May 1998, which marked the 950th anniversary of founding Pobiedziska, although some of the models were already created in 1994.

The Toy and Play Museum in Kielce

City Toy Museum in Karpacz

Lower Silesia Monument's Miniatures Park - Kowary. Park visitors can view castles from around Europe reproduced in 1:25 scale. 

 

South Africa

Stellenbosch Toy & Miniature Museum, Stellenbosch Dollhouse miniature enthusiasts traveling to South Africa should make time to visit this museum in scenic surroundings. Doll houses and room boxes are in 1:12 scale. Plus, for miniature lovers and model railroaders, there's a detailed miniature model of South Africa's famous Blue Train.

 

Spain

Miniature Catalonia Park - in Barcelona

Museo Antonio Marco - in Guadalest (Alicante)

Museo Casa de Muñecas - in Málaga

 

Switzerland 

Swiss Miniature Village, Lugano Small replicas of the major buildings in Switzerland are displayed along a labyrinth of asphalt paths. There's also a miniature of the twin castles in Sion. You can purchase an official guidebook for detailed explanations. This attraction is especially popular with children.

The Puppenhaus Museum The Doll House Museum has several floors stuffed with 18th- and 19th-century toys and classic miniature toy furnishings. The main stars are themselves stuffed – more than 2,000 teddy bears are exhibited in perhaps the world's most complete collection representing major manufacturers. The museum's collections are organized not by toy type, but by themes – don't be surprised to see a Steiff bear racing a model Formula-1 racecar, cheered on by a crowd of other bears and dolls of every manufacture! The museum shop offers postcards, miniatures, and an outstanding catalog of the museum's collections in several languages, including English, on CD.

Speilzeugmuseum in Davos The vast collection includes dolls, dolls' houses, tin toys, games, theaters, lead figures, cardboard and paper toys, dolls' porcelain sets, teddy bears, and circus and zoo scenes. Specially featured are three "miniature cabinets," small rooms where only the smallest items are exhibited.

 

Taiwan

Miniatures Museum of Taiwan Take a virtual tour.

 

Turkey

Istanbul Toy Museum, Istanbul this private toy museum offers a variety of toy displays, including doll houses and miniatures displayed in the café, and miniature trains showcased in a train compartment.

 

United Kingdom

A World In Miniature Museum at Houghton Hall Garden Centre, Carlisle, Cumbria Contains pieces from many of the best miniature makers in the world, as well as the world’s smallest Teddy!

Babbacombe Model Village - Torquay, Devon

Bekonscot Model Village  - Beaconsfield, roughly 45 minutes by train from London, close to Windsor.

British Museum of Miniatures, Royston, Cambridgeshire National dolls house and miniatures museum, including the largest dolls house in the world. Dolls house and miniatures shop, the largest in Europe. Features the Zetter Collection.

Bourton on the Water - in the Cotswolds. A one-ninth scale replica in local stone of Bourton on the Water. Perhaps a dollhouse museum as well? Daily Mail article

Doll’s House and Toy Museum - Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales Video on FB 

Geffrye Museum - Kingsland Road, London. While not strictly mini, this is a wonderful place to research period rooms and furnishings, as well as gardens. If you can't get there in person, the site has panoramic views of the displays.

Harris Museum and Art Gallery - Preston, Lancashire, home to a 140 year old dolls’ house which has recently undergone intense conservation work to restore it to its former glory, the Peddar dolllhouse.   

Hever Castle in Kent was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth the First. This double moated castle sits within 125 acres of stunning gardens and dates back to 1270.

Anne's ghost haunts the castle, appearing within its grounds on Christmas Day, when she is seen drifting silently over the bridge which crosses the river Eden.

Katharina Gerstorfer Collection, Essex Private dolls' house museum, which shows the collection of Katharina Gerstorfer with over 1,500 images online. The museum is open by appointment.

Little Treasures - shop and museum, 14 mi north of Aberdeen, Scotland

Merrivale Model Village - Yarmouth.

Model Town at Wimborne Minster, Dorset

The Wimborne Model Town recreates the historic market town of the 1950's in 1/10 scale. Their website has several views of the town.

Museum of Farnham, Surrey  Manwaring Dolls' House, an early Georgian house (1718) with a walled garden and a collection of 19th- to 20th-century paintings The maker is said to have based the facade of the doll's house on that of the children's own house. The Manwaring's former house is next door to the museum and, like the doll's house, a fine example of Georgian architecture

Museum of London - the Blackett baby house is on permanent display

Newby Hall - Ripon, York. Permanents display of Hamilton -Fiddick collection of Dollhouses.

Nostell Pirory Baby House, Yorkshire The life of a mid-eighteenth century Yorkshire manor is preserved in the grand architecture of England’s Nostell Priory baby house. This nine-room dolls house was begun in 1735 by Susannah Lady Winn, about the same time as her husband, Sir Rowland Winn, began construction on Nostell Priory, the house for which it is named, and the baby house’s style in many ways mirrors the style of the full-size home. Nostell Priory baby house is still housed at Nostell Priory, which is now a British National Trust property. The dollhouse is similarly three stories high atop a faux-stone basement, and its pedimented facade is likewise crowned with classical urns and statuary. According to tradition it was built by Thomas Chippendale; probably for the children of Sir Rowland Winn and Susan Henshaw of Nostell Priory. It is nearly seven feet tall, and its nine rooms are appointed with appropriate furniture, wall coverings, silver, ceramics, textiles, and paintings. 

Pendon Indoor Model Village and Railways, Oxfordshire Famous for its historical depictions of the English Countryside circa 1930, the model railways are a special draw.

Queen Mary's Dolls´House in Windsor Castle - A 1:12 scale dollhouse built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924, for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V by one of the top architects of the time, Sir Edwin Lutyens.

It was created as a gift to Queen Mary from the people, and to serve as an historical document on how a royal family might live during that period in England. It showcased the very finest and most modern goods of the period.

Sudley House - a Victorian merchant's house with its period furniture and beautiful paintings, plus it has a
miniature room (toys) with a dolls house which looks to be in a glass case.

Uppark House and Garden, West Sussex An 18th-century dolls' house, with original contents, is one of the highlights.

Sarah Lethieullier brought her baby house to Uppark shortly after' she married Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh in 1746. Three stories tall and seven bays across, it is highly classical with pilasters and a pedimented and balustraded roof ornamented with seven sculptures. It stands atop a tall arcade of faux-stone and retains its original furnishings. A palladio minimus is an article form an antiques magazine, describing the house..

Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood - Bethnal Green - The Museum's dolls' house collection is the largest British collection not in private hands. The oldest house, the Nuremberg House of 1673, is one of the Museum's greatest treasures. There is also a small group of 18th century houses, including the magnificent Tate Baby House of about 1760, and a rich holding from the 19th century. Some were made by carpenters whilst others, such as the house given to the Museum in 1921 by Queen Mary, have royal connections. The exhibit Small Stories starts Jan to Sept 2015

Wallington Hall in Northumberland boasts an entire room devoted to dolls’ houses.  Taking pride of place in the collection is the truly impressive Hammond House.  Named after Ruby Hammond, the little girl who once owned it, the house dates back to 1886 and boasts 36 beautifully decorated rooms in miniature complete with original furniture, wallpaper and carpets

Whiteway Dollhouse  - Devon

 

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