Germanisches Nationalmuseum – Nuremberg, Germany

ABOUT THIS COLLECTION

The Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM) is Germany’s largest museum of cultural history, with over 1.3 million objects covering all facets of heritage. Its Musical Instruments collection features more than 3,000 instruments from the 16th to 20th centuries.

The permanent musical instrument exhibition offers a chronological overview of European art music’s instruments, from the 16th through the 20th century, showing technical developments and ensemble use. It includes a workshop display of a clarinet maker, and places smaller instruments like flutes, oboes, and others in contexts that illustrate their musical and technical evolution.

Flutes in the Collection:

The wind instrument section includes 16th- to 19th-century flutes, woodwinds, and related instruments, integrated into displays of ensemble and solo practice.

An art-installation project (“Umschlossene Luft”) featured a clay flute (MIR1290) drawn from the museum’s archives, showing active interest in flute heritage and acoustic research.

The museum holds the Ulrich Rück collection (a major private historical instrument collection donated to GNM), which greatly strengthened its holdings of rare wind instruments including flutes.

Public Access & Visitor Experience:

On-site: Musical instruments on permanent display; rotating exhibitions; instrument context within broader cultural history.

Technical Documentation: The museum publishes technical drawings of wind instruments, including flutes and other woodwinds, as documentation resources.