Ulm, a city in Baden-Württemberg with a population of roughly 120,000, has many worthwhile cultural sights. One of its more unexpected and especially delightful sights is its Museum of Bread Culture on the northern edge of the Old City.
The Museum of Bread and Art
The Museum of Bread and Art (“Museum Brot und Kunst”) is the only museum of this kind in the world. It was established in 1955 by Willy Eiselen and his son Hermann Eiselen, who promoted the museum not only throughout Germany, but also worldwide.
The Eiselen family provided supplies and equipment to the bakery trade and felt a strong allegiance to the craft of which they had been a part for so many decades. The first permanent exhibition opened in 1960 and the museum flourished in the next 56 years. Its one-millionth visitor passed through its doors in 2004 and it is now administered by the Eiselen (charitable) Foundation.
The Size of the German Bread Museum
In 1991, the museum’s funding was taken over by the Eiselen Foundation, an independent charitable institution. The museum moved into the Salzstadel, a historic storehouse in the center of Ulm, and houses more than 18,000 public-collection objects, of which 700 are on permanent display, supported by a rotating display of selected stored items to keep the exhibits as fresh as freshly baked bread.
Displays include advances in bread making over the past 6 centuries and underscore the cultural, social, and religious significance of bread. The museum also boasts a bread-oriented library of more than 6,000 books. One thing you will not find in the museum is even a crumb of bread. Why?
Because, from its inception, the Eiselen family and the museum administrators have wisely held that bread is not a museum artefact but a part of everyday life, to be baked and eaten fresh daily. The fact is that the history of bread can be dated from more than 12,000 years ago. I assure you that when Germans perfected “Bauernbrot,” i.e., coarse rye or farmhouse bread, it reached its apotheosis, for “Bauernbrot” is perfection itself.
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In the Beginning, There Were the Grains…
The history of bread with all its intrinsic characteristics begins with grains, i.e., cereals, which ancient peoples ground carefully to make flour. The museum covers this and all aspects of bread and bread making in detail on the first floor. In the process, grains such as maize (corn), barley, millet, buckwheat—none of which contained sufficient gluten to create raised bread—wheat, and rye.
The well-known flat breads of various cultures came about because of the lack of gluten in the grains used, while the raised breads came about through grains which contained sufficient gluten to generate the gas (CO2) needed to inflate the gluten-rich dough. To promote such gases, savvy bakers use leavens, e.g., natural leavens (yeast) and chemical leavens (baking powder, baking soda, etc.). These are the most popular leavens, but there are certainly several more which provide specific and unique characteristics to the breads for which they’re used.
Bread Throughout the Ages
The second floor of the museum deals with the extrinsic aspects of bread. Civilizations and cultures have progressed through history side-by-side with bread. Bread’s only rival as a necessity of life is water, which is itself an essential part of bread.
When we realize that bread and water are requisites for life, it should be no surprise to find that both are linked inextricably to religious beliefs, ceremonies, and rituals. Without a good harvest, in the wake of wars, and in the aftermath of natural disasters such as floods earthquakes, hurricanes, locusts, fires, wars, and plagues, there is soon no bread. People starve.
As Jonathan Swift said in A Tail of a Tub, “Bread is the staff of life.” Who could argue with that? A significant display by such artists such as Markus Lüpertz, Salvador Dali, Käthe Kollwitz, Franz Francken, Pablo, Picasso, Georg Flegel, Max Beckmann, Man Ray, and Ernst Barlach includes magnificent representations of bread throughout the ages.
The Historical Significance of Bread
If there were ever a commodity that meant the same thing to all people, regardless of culture or religion, it is bread. First, of course, bread is a food; indeed, it is the basic food. Beyond that, the word bread stands for all food in many expressions, e.g., “Give us this day our daily bread.”
In his Satires, Juvenal observed that the Roman empire had deteriorated to the point that the “. . . people . . . longs eagerly for just two things—bread and circuses!” Shakespeare referred to “. . . the bitter bread of banishment” in “The Tragedy of King Richard the Second.”
Esau sold his inheritance for bread and stew. The author of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám could not be happy with his life if he could not have a loaf of bread along with the company of his sweetheart.
Marie Antoinette allegedly lost her life by sneering at the plight of the commoners who had no bread. “Let them eat cake,” she callously crowed.
Bread was also a lifesaver in a quite literal way. In ancient Egypt, physicians applied poultices of moldy bread to infected wounds. In the early 17th century, wet bread was mixed with spider webs to treat wounds. And, while the development was not sparked by bread, it is based on a mold much like the bread molds used by the ancient Egyptians and the medieval Poles.
Want to know more about German food and food culture? Check out our series.
Permanent Exhibition Dates
The Museum of Bread Culture is open daily from 1000 until 1700. The address is Salzstadelgasse 10, 89073 Ulm; Telefon +49 731 69955; eMail info@museum-brotkultur.de. Admission cost: adults €4 and children, seniors, students, and the disabled €3.
A new permanent exhibition was opened in 2005 when the museum celebrated its 50th anniversary. The ground floor is where you’ll find the gift shop and rotating exhibits.
There’s a good chance that your visit of the museum will inspire your appetite. If so, “guten Appetit!”
FAQs
Here are some of the questions people ask about German bread culture.
Why is bread important in German culture?
Bread holds significant importance in German culture due to its rich culinary tradition and cultural symbolism. Germans take pride in their diverse range of bread varieties and have established what remained for a long time the first and only museum in the world dedicated to bread.
How many German breads are there?
Germany boasts an extensive variety of bread, with estimates suggesting there are over 3,000 types of bread in the country.
Which country has the most types of bread?
Bread is a staple in human culture and many countries worldwide contribute to the global tapestry of bread varieties. Countries like Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, and India are often recognized for their extensive and varied bread cultures.
Summing Up: The Museum of Bread Culture in Ulm
The Museum of Bread Culture in Ulm, Germany, stands as a testament to the decades-long personal commitment of the two entrepreneurs and the museum founders’ firm belief in bread’s cultural dimensions. The “Museum Brot und Kunst” is indeed a unique museum that embodies a cultural journey, with over 18,000 objects and renowned artworks, emphasizing its enduring role in human life and culture. If you’d like to know more about German culture, come check out our blog!