Piano @museum.de

M:

The piano, made by the Stuttgart firm of Carl A. Pfeiffer, Court Pianoforte-Maker to his Majesty, the King of Württemberg, is doubtless one of our museum’s most prized exhibits. Manufactured in 1910, it was owned by Josef Pressburger, the principal and cantor you met on the first floor.

The Pressburger family lived in Creglingen for forty years. They rented an apartment at Hauptstrasse 38. When Pressburger died, and his widow and daughter emigrated to Brazil, the piano remained in the property owners’ home. Their daughter Elisabeth learnt to play the piano and became an organist for the Protestant parish. In 2019, Elisabeth Wagner gave instruction that the piano should pass to the Jewish Museum.

F:

But how do you move such a substantial instrument into the museum?

Through the window, obviously! Take a look at your screen. Three burly men heaved the piano on to a forklift that moved it to the outside wall and then lifted it up to the lower edge of the big window. It looked almost effortless, but was actually seriously hard work!

But it was worthwhile. The museum not only gained a new exhibit; the piano is also used for concerts and adds to our institution’s broad appeal.

Before you move on, take a look at the frieze of portraits, with photographs of Jewish people from Creglingen. On the tablet by the banister, you’ll find brief biographies of the people in the pictures. Our next stop will introduce you to the museum’s co-founder, a descendant of the Sinsheimer family. It’s the colorful portrait hanging on the dark wall.