Deutsches Feuerwehr-Museum

Description

The Deutsches Feuerwehr-Museum in the Neuenberg district of Fulda examines the history of firefighting in Germany. On an exhibition space of 1,600 m² it presents technical developments alongside the cultural and social aspects of fire fighting.

The museum is operated by the association Deutsches Feuerwehr-Museum Fulda e. V. The association was founded on 9 June 1963; in 1988 it moved to its present location. The exhibition spans the Middle Ages to the present and is organized thematically: Hall I is devoted mainly to the centuries from the 16th to the 19th, Hall II documents developments since the 20th century. A small garden with selected fire-relevant plants by the entrance helps visitors orient themselves. Information panels on Bundesautobahn 7 inform visitors even while en route.

Exhibits include early firefighting equipment such as leather buckets, ornate hand-operated pumps from the Baroque and Neoclassical periods, and the oldest surviving wheeled hand-pumped fire engine from 1624. Prominent large objects include the oldest known horse-drawn turntable ladder from 1808, a functioning steam fire engine from 1903 and the first electric automobile-mounted turntable ladder from the same year. Groups of objects range from motorized fire pumps of the 1920s to numerous fire service vehicles from the second half of the 20th century, including examples by Magirus, Magirus‑Deutz, Hanomag‑Henschel, MAN and Mercedes‑Benz; a DKW Munga of the Technisches Hilfswerk is also on display. Large vehicles are arranged in pits and surrounded by elevated visitor walkways so that children and wheelchair users also have a good view.

The museum links the history of technology with questions of fire safety and the social integration of that technology. In partnership with the Steirisches Feuerwehrmuseum Groß Sankt Florian, the Oberösterreichisches Feuerwehrmuseum St. Florian and the Vorarlberger Museumswelt Frastanz, the FIAS (Firefighting Historical Inventory and Archiving System / Feuerwehrhistorisches Inventarisierungs- und Archivierungs-System) was developed. The museum records around 25,000 visitors annually.