A visit to Solingen
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On 21st July I had the pleasure of visiting the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Solingen, Germany. The museum is run by Wolfgang Günther and his wife, Vera. What a great tribute to the Boys. There is such an impressive collection of Laurel and Hardy memorabilia in the museum that I went back a few days later to enjoy it one more time. It surely is one of the best Laurel and Hardy collections in the world. Wolfgang has been collecting Laurel and Hardy items for about thirty years. In 1990 he opened the museum in his own home. Five years ago, he was able to locate a building owned by the city that he was able to arrange to rent in order to move the collection into this larger facility. Besides the bathroom (which also contains memorabilia), there are four other rooms with wall-to-wall displays. The largest room also serves as a theatre for showing Laurel and Hardy movies to appreciative visitors. There are clearly thousands of items to see, including posters, films, stills, dolls, statues, paper items, etc. Thus far this year, the museum has had over 1400 visitors. The museum is opened the last weekend of each month and also opened by special appointment (which happens about three or four times a month). Vera prepares all of the displays and has done a very fine job of setting items up for visitors to enjoy. Wolfgang is the Grand Sheik of the Two Tars Tent of Germany - he started this first-ever tent in Germany in 1985. The website for the museum can be seen at http://www.laurel-hardy-museum.com. Wolfgang and Vera are really great hosts. I've now had the pleasure of visiting the world's three Laurel and Hardy museums - in Ulverston, England, in Harlem, Georgia, USA, and in Solingen, Germany. All three are truly fine tributes to the memory of Laurel and Hardy, and those who run these museums clearly do it for their love of Laurel and Hardy. I hope that one day I might to able to visit the Solingen Laurel and Hardy Museum again. If you have not been there yet, try to make it. You truly will have a great time. |
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