German Bratwurst Museum, Food museum in Mühlhausen, Thuringia, Germany
The 1st German Bratwurst Museum is a theme park and museum in Mühlhausen/Thuringia, on a 3.7-hectare site by the Mühlhausen city forest in the southwest of the city. Its sign reads "Das leckerste Museum 1. DEUTSCHES BRATWURSTMUSEUM" with two sausage outlines and the address Bratwurstallee 1. The grounds combine indoor exhibitions with an outdoor leisure park.
The museum opened on 28 May 2006 in Holzhausen, a district of Amt Wachsenburg near Arnstadt, and closed there on 1 April 2020 after attracting over 800,000 visitors. Its centrepiece was the documented first mention of bratwurst on 20 January 1404, when Johann von Siebeleben, provost of Arnstadt's Walpurgis Monastery, recorded spending 1 Groschen on bratwurst casings. The new site at the Mühlhausen city forest had its foundation stone laid on 20 January 2020, and the museum reopened there on 16 August 2023.
The exhibition shows how bratwurst recipes and preparation methods differ from one German region to another, with the Thuringian variety and its protected status given particular attention. Visitors can see firsthand which spices and techniques set each regional style apart.
The museum is in Holzhausen, a small locality, so arriving by car or with a planned route is the most practical option. Once inside, the signage is clear enough to follow the displays without a guided tour.
The museum's centrepiece is a document from 20 January 1404: an account by Johann von Siebeleben, provost of the Walpurgis monastery in Arnstadt, recording one Groschen spent on "darme czu brotwurstin" — casings for bratwurst. This is the earliest documented mention of bratwurst.
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