Christian Wagner-Haus

Description

In the townscape of Warmbronn the Christian‑Wagner‑Haus fulfils a special role as a place of remembrance for the poet Christian Wagner; since 1983 the former residence has been open to the public as a poet’s museum.

The building on the road to Renningen was erected in 1780 as a typical Swabian timber‑framed house. A vaulted cellar supports a ground floor of rubble‑stone masonry; the upper and roof storeys are executed in post‑and‑beam timber framing and were originally plastered for protection. A barn added later complemented the property; a courtyard, washhouse, outbuildings, pigsties and gardens once belonged to it.

A land survey of 1834 divided the ownership; on 5 August 1835 Christian Wagner was born here. Co-ownership changed hands several times, and the house served for decades as the family’s living and working place. After the poet’s death in 1918 the two ground‑floor parlours were preserved as a private place of remembrance. Over the course of the 20th century sales and changes of ownership, as well as demolition of the courtyard buildings, altered the condition of the property; the house fell into disrepair for a time until, in the 1970s, the threat of demolition was taken up by a local citizens’ movement.

On 5 February 1972 the Christian‑Wagner‑Gesellschaft was founded to safeguard the poet’s work and former home. Through fundraising campaigns, the donation of the house without the grounds, the commitment of supporters and the decision by the Stuttgart Regional Council to place the building fabric under ensemble protection, restoration was achieved. The city of Leonberg ultimately took over the building, renovated it and established it as a poet’s museum. Since then the Christian‑Wagner‑Gesellschaft has cared for the house and garden and has prepared the literary estate.

The museum education display on the ground floor shows the kitchen as well as the living and sleeping rooms with their original furnishings. The permanent exhibition “Christian Wagner – Life and Work” was reworked in 2017/18 and exhibits were distributed across the ground and upper floors. A large room on the upper floor serves as an events space; in the attic is the archive, where the almost entirely transferred estate is kept. This comprises the poet’s library, first editions, correspondence, manuscript drafts, newspaper and periodical clippings, and a photographic collection. The cataloguing of letters and postcards is largely complete; the alphabetical recording of the poetry manuscripts is in progress. Behind the house a cottage garden planted with species referenced in Wagner’s poetry commemorates motifs from his work; the archive is available for use by appointment.