The Transylvanian Museum is a museum situated in Gundelsheim, Germany, dedicated to the protection, preservation and documentation of the cultural heritage of the Transylvanian Saxons and of their coexistence with the other Transylvanian ethnic groups in this multi-ethnic region.
History
The initial core of the museum was a collection of Transylvanian ethnographic objects gathered in Munich by Lore Connerth-Seraphin at the beginning of the 1950s. After moving into the nursing home for the elderly in the Horneck Castle, Gundelsheim, she donated the now extensive collection to the society "Johann Honterus". In 1968, it was opened as a mixed museum, functioning both as the Museum of Gundelsheim and as the Heritage Museum of the Transylvanian Saxons. In 1991, it received the national museum status. In 1997, the inner courtyard of the castle was roofed and made available for the museum as a central space. In 1999, the German federal government requested a merger between this museum and the :de:Donauschwäbisches Zentralmuseum|Danube Swabian Central Museum from Ulm. The Territorial Association of the Transylvanian Saxons in Germany opposed this plan, as they wanted to maintain the unity of its facilities in Gundelsheim. This position was supported by the state government of Baden-Württemberg. In June 2003, the federal government abandoned its plans.
Building
The museum is housed in the Horneck Castle, Gundelsheim. It shares the building with the Transylvanian Institute, the Transylvanian Library, as well as a nursing home for the elderly. The rooms of the museum are on the ground floor and first floor. The museum has an entrance independent of the other facilities.
Collections
The collections of the museum include material and objects about the history of the Transylvanian Saxons, their social system and rituals, the education system and also their rural and urban life. The museum has also collections of Transylvanian Saxon artists. It owns the 1853 self-portrait of Clara Adelheid Soterius von Sachsenheim and the portrait Clara did of her husband Theodor Sockl, from the same year. The museum also has some paintings by Theodor Sockl himself. In 1998, the Transylvanian Museum staged a retrospective exhibition of the painter Edith Soterius von Sachsenheim and bought 50 of her works. In 1999, this collection was also exhibited in Munich at the :de:Haus des Deutschen Ostens|Haus des Deutschen Ostens.
