Our big Carnival exhibition, in cooperation with the Historische Narrozunft Villingen, got off to a great start with a festive opening! Come aboard the Fools’ Ship: We’ll also be open from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, coinciding with the highlights of the street carnival.
A must-see video by Jens Schaumann of the Historische Narrozunft offers a first glimpse into the exhibition.
Mysterious figures bustle about on the Fools’ Ship: alongside the elegant Röslehansel from Wolfach and the jolly Waggis from Basel stand devils, animals, and wild men. It’s not immediately obvious that this colorful bunch is supposed to be the family of the Villingen Narro. But the tour explains how the figures are connected, what they symbolize, and why they wear similar accessories like fox tails and bells.
Tickets for this and all other Sunday tours are available in advance at the museum ticket office (Tourist Information & Ticket Service) or online.
Museum Director Dr. Anita Auer invites Carnival enthusiasts—as well as skeptics, locals, and tourists—to a guided tour of the special exhibition. As is well known, the main figure of the historic Carnival, the Narro, is not allowed to leave the city walls. That’s why he has invited his “Bagasch”—his fellow fools—to join him. The exhibition situates the Villingen fool figure among the Carnival characters of the surrounding region, as well as within European cultural history as a whole.
On Noise-Making Day, participants will craft fun props for a loud and lively street carnival: funnel horns, bell sticks, ratchets, bottle cap rattles, and firecracker monsters. The workshop for families with children ages two and up is led by master’s student Anna-Maria Saurer.
Participation fee per child: 10 euros, including materials and admission
to the exhibition. Registration: franziskanermuseum@villingen-schwenningen.de
Members of the Villingen Historical Narro Guild personally guide visitors on Sundays: They are on hand in the exhibition halls to answer any questions about the exhibition and Villingen’s Carnival.
At 3:00 p.m., there is also a public guided tour, which is often led by members of the Narro Guild as well. On February 16, Clemens Wursthorn, a member of the Customs Committee, will lead the guided tour.
Additional Sunday tours will be offered on March 1, March 8, March 15, March 22, and March 29.
Tickets for the public tours are available in advance at the museum ticket office at Tourist-Info & Ticket-Service, as well as online here:
The special exhibition featuring Ingeborg Jaag’s Carnival figures has been extended until Sunday, March 15, in response to numerous requests from visitors. This year’s exhibition focuses on the Wuescht group, which can be seen in a lively scene as they stuff straw into their costumes. Other figures, such as Narro, Butzesel, and Altvillingerin, have lined up in a polonaise.
The exhibition is part of the permanent collection and can be visited free of charge.
Prof. Dr. Werner Mezger will be presenting an informative and entertaining lecture as part of the accompanying program for the special exhibition “Family Secrets: De Narro un si ganz Bagasch.” The period from Carnival to Easter is a time of particularly vibrant cultural traditions. Using numerous images from the local area as well as from across Europe, the lecture illustrates the diversity of symbolic acts, rituals, and popular games that mark the Carnival season, how these traditions originated, and what they signify.
Admission is free, but registration is required: franziskanermuseum@villingen-schwenningen.de or by phone at 07721/822351
In cooperation with the Historische Narrozunft Villingen
If you’re looking for more information or souvenirs related to Carnival, you’ll find what you’re looking for in the museum shop. A catalog accompanying the “Family Secrets” exhibition has been published, featuring contributions by Anita Auer, Peter Graßmann, Dominik Wunderlin, and others. The new publication is available for 9.50 euros. Other items in the shop include posters and postcards related to the Carnival exhibition “Family Secrets” and the exhibition “Wuescht 2-3-4: The Figures of Ingeborg Jaag.”
Public Guided Tours: Sunday, February 2 and 16, 3:00 p.m.
Lecture “The Courage to Claim Your Own Time—Ways Out of the Trap of Acceleration Toward a New Culture of Time” with Manfred Molicki: Thursday, February 27, 7:00 p.m.
