Papiertheatermuseum Hanau, Paper theatre museum in Kesselstadt, Hanau, Germany
The Paper Theater Museum displays miniature stages, decorative scenery pieces, and paper figures that document this specialized art form across different periods. The collections showcase productions from various publishers and demonstrate how this craft tradition evolved and spread.
The museum was conceived in the late 1980s by the lawyer Dietger Dröse, son of former Hanau mayor Herbert Dröse, the art teacher Helmut Wurz and the cultural officer Klaus Remer, and opened on 28 January 1990 in a side wing of Schloss Philippsruhe. Since 1992 it has been run by the association Forum Papiertheater. In 2015 it had to be reduced for renovation work on the castle, and from 2024 it was rebuilt on 320 square metres at the same site.
The museum takes its name from the paper theatre (Papiertheater), a craft added to Germany's national register of intangible cultural heritage in 2021. Until 2015 its rooms held a permanent stage where two Hanau companies performed and 35 guest stages appeared in the museum's first twenty years; performances continue on a smaller scale.
The museum occupies 320 square metres in a side wing of Schloss Philippsruhe in Kesselstadt, reachable by regional train to Hanau-Kesselstadt and a short walk to the castle. It is being redesigned and was to reopen at the end of 2024; check opening times before travelling, as the museum was reduced in size from 2015 for castle renovation work.
Paper theater stages often featured elaborately painted backdrops held together by simple wooden frames, revealing how resourcefully families approached this craft. This blend of artistic care with practical simplicity makes the collections valuable for understanding amateur creative traditions.
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